He dropped his arms. “I am, but I will not make you touch me to verify. However, I cannot stay long. I only came to urge you to leave.”
Clíodhna bit her lip. “Despite what I said before, I can’t leave, Adhna. I have my children, and Oisinne. And the new one on the way.” She patted her stomach, just beginning to bulge. They both shared a smile.
“I know it will be dangerous, but the man of the new religion has been gaining power. He will hurt you if you stay. He will hurt your children.”
She clenched her jaw. “I’ve had just about enough of people threatening my children! Adhna, if you have a solution, I’d like to hear it. Otherwise, you’re throwing water into the wind.”
“Come to Faerie.”
She glanced around. “Here? Where Bodach can attack me? I think not.”
He clasped his hands in front of him and placed his two index fingers on his lips. “I may have a place I can keep you safe. And your children. I might even be able to help Oisinne’s mind.”
Clíodhna raised her eyebrows and asked, “What sort of place? In the Queen’s Court?”
His eyes grew wide. “Nothing so grand. A small cottage near a pond. It will be quiet and lonely, but safer.”
“Safer. Not safe, but safer. I don’t like that, Adhna.”
“Safer is the best I can offer, Clíodhna. Even that will take all my power and influence, but I can provide a safer place. If you come, however, know this; you will only be able to return once to the mortal world. That visit can be as many winters as you wish, but only one journey back.”
She lowered her gaze. “I’ll consider it. I’ll come to the stone circle if I agree.”
He bowed his head, and the motes flew away again, swirling up to form stars in the ink-black sky.
Chapter Seven
Clíodhna stumbled out of her dream and back into the mortal realm.
She startled awake by the crackle of the fire. The glowing coals had burst into a raging hearth fire, the flames reaching for her body. She scrambled back from the hungry, flickering flames and tried to regain her balance, both physical and mental.
Donn came out, rubbing his eyes. “Ma? Are you still out here? It’s almost dawn.”
After dusting off her clothing, she stood to face him. “Sorry to wake you, dear. I slept out here but had a bad dream.” Clíodhna considered her eldest son. “Donn, if we left the village, would you be horribly upset?”
He blinked a few times, still not awake. “Leave? To where?”
“A friend said he had a safe place for us all. A cottage near a pond.”
“That Fae friend of yours?”
Asleep or awake, her son wasn’t stupid. “The same.”
He bit at his lip, watching the fire. “I don’t know. I enjoyed the classes at the abbey, and don’t want to leave those. But I haven’t been going anyhow, because of your fight with the Abbot.”
She felt as if Donn had punched her in the gut. “My fight? He tried to take you away from me! How is this my fault?”
He picked at his fingers. “I don’t blame you, Ma! But if you just acted more like the other mothers, maybe the Abbot wouldn’t be so angry with you all the time.”
Etromma stumbled out, her hair a tangled mess. “What’s all the shouting about?”
“Ma here wants us to move away with her lover.”
Clíodhna rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant, Donn, and you know it! I’m just trying to find a place that’s safe for all of us.”
Etromma stared at Donn and then at Clíodhna. “Move away? But Ma, that would mean I’d have to leave Tirechan! You can’t do this to me!”
After covering her face with her hands, Clíodhna rubbed her skin, trying to dispel the mounting fight before it escalated. “I’m just trying to keep you all safe.”
Etromma rubbed her arms. “I’ll be plenty safe as Tirechan’s wife.”
Donn glanced at his sister, nodding. “And I’d be safe in the abbey, as Brother Cronan’s apprentice. I should have a trade other than just fishing, anyhow, don’t you think?”
Clíodhna glared at her elder children, not wanting to admit they had grown into independent people, with their own thoughts and dreams. She’d have to let them go, and she didn’t want to admit that, even to herself.
Aileran wailed, his voice piercing the pre-dawn silence. Clíodhna closed her eyes, wishing for a way to start the conversation anew. When she opened her eyes again, a bird darted across the clearing, almost straight at her. She ducked and cursed, then stomped into the roundhouse to comfort her baby.
She must have dozed. As the sun rose, she rushed out to greet the dawn. She’d neglected such devotions and felt strong guilt for her omission. Almost as if in reaction, the dawn rose deep red, an angry, sullen color. A heavy blanket of dark gray clouds swallowed the sun mere moments after it rose. The air cooled considerably as it disappeared, and she shivered.
Clíodhna spoke no more of moving to Faerie, but her children whispered when they thought she couldn’t hear. They made plans to escape, either to the blacksmith’s home or to the abbey. Why had she fought so hard to keep her children if they would only leave her at the first sign of trouble? No, she must be fair. They aged fourteen and sixteen winters old, well old enough to be on their own soon. They’d marry off and move in with their spouse soon, regardless of her feud with the Abbot.
With a sigh, she hugged Aileran more tightly to her bosom. At least she still had one son left, one who would love her a few more seasons yet. Another child on
