He gave her a lopsided smile. “She said something about Tirechan’s great-grandsire being mad, so they had sympathy. I guess having a father who is away with the fairies is less scandalous than having no father at all.”
A sad commentary on their society. She’d been much happier without Oisinne around, and she would bet good wool that both Etromma and Donn had enjoyed better lives those moons. Still, she had a duty to care for her own. Clíodhna had made her vows, and family remained the most important part of society. Someone who turned out their own kin because they became inconvenient to care for should be shunned from any right-thinking village.
That didn’t mean she didn’t dream of running away, never to return.
With that thought in mind, she gathered the baby for their trip to the stones. Donn, dressing the hares, glanced up at her movement. “Would you like me to mind him, Ma? I’m just going to make a stew, so don’t mind. Da’s been sleeping well enough.”
Guilt flooded in her mind. Da only slept because she’d ensorcelled him. Her own husband, under a sleeping magic by her hand. Maybe she had fostered evil, as the Abbot had accused. She swallowed down an unexpected sob.
After giving her son a thankful nod, she handed Aileran to him. The baby giggled and yanked on Donn’s brown curls, making nonsense sounds of delight. With a glance to the skinned hares, Clíodhna’s stomach jumped, a touch of nausea sweeping over her. She clutched her stomach under her léine, hoping Donn hadn’t noticed. Her husband had only just returned, so the baby wouldn’t be his.
After her encounter with the dead land, her journey up the glittering path to the standing stones grew more ominous than she remembered. Every shift in the wind, fluttering late summer leaves, made her cringe and assess the danger. Adhna had mentioned Bodach entrapped him. Had it been to catch her, like Pátraic’s trap? Or had it been out of some other reason? Bodach didn’t seem the type to have a methodical sense of revenge. His personality seemed much more chaotic and random. However, she knew little of Fae temperament. She’d only met Adhna and the local nature spirits.
Adhna had taught her the local spirits weren’t quite Fae, though humans grouped them together. The Fae existed as separate beings, magical creatures who primarily lived in Faerie, while the local nature spirits lived as part of the land, trees, rocks, and rivers. Still, they operated under similar rules and magics, so he understood the conflation amongst common lore.
When Clíodhna had asked about life in Faerie, he’d shaken his head. “That is not a lesson I wish to give, Clíodhna. Someday, perhaps, I will let you visit. Until then, be content in your life here. It is, in some ways, much safer and more beautiful than Faerie.”
All the tales told of the beauty of Faerie. Even those humans who had escaped entrapment in Faerie spoke of the breath-taking loveliness of that realm. Perhaps Adhna spoke of something other than physical beauty.
Clíodhna passed the guardian stones just as the sun’s top edge dipped below the hills. The landscape, awash in deep orange, shifted into a cool violet. She shivered and drew her cloak up around her shoulders. The day’s warmth had disappeared with the sun.
The black stones glittered in the dying light. No moon had yet risen, and besides it would be but a sliver this night. Another shiver traveled up her spine as she contemplated the tallest stone in the north.
Spiral symbols had been carved on the inside face of this stone, though they’d worn with the wind of time. Barely visible in this twilight, she traced the pattern with her fingers, turning around once, twice, three times and then again and again. Three spirals connected in the center. A trinity of eternal movement.
Adhna’s voice behind her made her smile. “You look better rested, Clíodhna. You must have slept well today.”
Clíodhna turned, a smile on her face. Her lover stood in the center of the circle, midnight robes covering his body in amorphous mystery. “I did, though the exhaustion helped.”
He narrowed his eyes, staring into hers. “You performed the calming charm on your husband, didn’t you?”
She swallowed, unprepared for the guilt which attacked her conscience. She forced herself to stand straight and take responsibility for her decision. “I did. He might have hurt himself or my children.”
He paused a moment before nodding. “It’s as well. You would have been tempted eventually, at any rate. There’s no changing that now.” He reached into his robe and pulled out a small object wrapped in white fabric. It glinted in the darkness, almost glowing with its own light.
“I have something for you. This is payment not only for freeing me but also for helping the Fae to safety. It’s a gift from me and my Queen, mind you, but there is no price or payment asked in return. Will you accept this gift with a free heart and mind?”
She stared at the object, mesmerized by the glittering white. “What is it?”
“I will show you. But first, I must have your assent.”
Breaking the spell, she glared at him. “How can I know if I want to accept if I don’t know what the gift is? You might be handing me death, for all I know! It might be a gift like a hump back, or a tongue that can never lie!”
His eyes turned sad. “Do you believe I would treat you so, Clíodhna?”
Ashamed at her distrust, she bowed her head. “I don’t think that of you, Adhna.” Raising her head, she set her lips in a firm line. “However, I don’t know your Queen, and have no way to assess her goodwill toward me. She might have commanded you to dispose of me in this way, and you wouldn’t be able
