What did that mean? Something was very wrong at Clonagh, and already she was regretting her decision to come here. She could not make her home in a place like this, heavily guarded by a neighbouring king who had executed her father for treason.
Her mother pushed open the doorway and waited at the entrance. ‘Come inside. There is someone else I’ve been wanting you to meet.’
Breanne risked a glance back at the soldiers and the old woman. Every part of her felt the invisible threat. She knew it wasn’t safe here, but no longer did she have strong Lochlannach warriors to guard her. Instead, she would have to defend herself.
You’ve done nothing wrong, she reminded herself.
These men had no reason to harm her. Unless they did not want her or her mother to dwell here. Clonagh felt like a graveyard, filled with spirits haunting the air.
‘Breanne?’ her mother prompted. ‘Go inside. It’s warmer there, and we can talk.’
With a sigh, she decided to obey. There was no reason not to. She ducked her head inside the low opening and stepped inside the space. The ceiling was tall, supported by heavy beams, and the roof was made of thatch.
The door closed behind her, and she turned to where her mother had been standing. But Treasa was gone.
‘Mother?’ she asked. She tried to open the door, and when she did, she saw the face of Oisin.
‘Hello, Breanne,’ he said. His smile held malice as he pushed his way inside. ‘I’ve been waiting a long time for this.’
They journeyed with all haste, for which Alarr was grateful. He had never imagined that Treasa was a threat to Breanne, and he cursed himself for letting her go. Feann had insisted that they take his fastest horses, and when night fell, they stopped briefly to let the horses drink. Alarr held the reins of his mount. ‘Why do you think she brought Breanne to Clonagh? Why not Dún Bolg?’
‘Because Treasa wants to rule over Clonagh. She won’t hesitate to use Breanne for that purpose. Whether that means another arranged marriage to a weaker man or she’ll choose a man who will die sooner, leaving Treasa in command.’ Feann rubbed his horse down, tending to the animal.
‘What happened to Breanne’s father?’ Alarr asked. He had heard murmurings about treason, but it made him wonder what the truth really was.
‘Treasa lied to Cerball. She tried to seduce him and failed. Then she told him that Dal was cruel and beat her. She claimed that Dal was raising an army against Cerball. But the men Dal brought to the gates were men who had planned to swear an oath of fealty to Cerball. Dal was trying to bring their families together.’ Feann let out a breath and lowered his gaze. ‘Treasa betrayed him, and he was executed before anyone recognised the truth.
‘When Cerball learned that he had killed an innocent man, he had Treasa exiled. Were it me, I would have executed her for what she did to Dal.’
Alarr had never suspected that the matron had caused so much trouble, and he hoped they could reach Breanne in time. ‘What will Treasa do to her daughter?’
‘I don’t know,’ Feann admitted. ‘But we’re going to find Breanne and bring her home.’
Alarr nodded in agreement. But this time, he wanted to offer her a different choice. She had begged him to set aside his vengeance, and now, he had come to an understanding with Feann. No longer did the bitterness of revenge burn within his veins. Instead, he saw a man who loved his foster daughter as his own blood, who would stop at nothing to save her. Alarr had found a grudging respect for the king, in the way he had gathered his forces and planned their strategy.
‘Do you need to rest?’ Feann asked.
‘Only when we have her back,’ Alarr answered.
At that, the king’s face relaxed somewhat. ‘If you were not a Lochlannach who tried to kill me, I might like you, Alarr Sigurdsson.’ He mounted his horse once again and led the animal back to the pathway.
Alarr climbed on to his own horse. ‘If you were not the man who took away my ability to walk for a year, I might like you, Feann.’ He shrugged, making it clear that it was still unlikely. Though he had bandaged his shoulder, the cut still burned from their earlier fight.
There was a slight lift in the older man’s mouth, as if he were suppressing a smile. They rode in silence for a time, and finally Feann asked, ‘Why did you let Breanne leave that night? Especially with so few men to guard her?’
Guilt pressed upon his conscience, for Alarr regretted it. But a part of him had known that if he didn’t let her go, she would talk him into giving up his vengeance. She held a power over him that he didn’t understand. And the only way to overcome it was with distance.
‘She wanted to go, and I don’t believe in imprisoning women. Since I hold no command over your men, I couldn’t send them with her, could I?’
‘You should have told me of her plans to leave.’
‘It was her decision to make. And she wanted to leave quietly.’
Feann tightened his grip on the reins, his expression a harsh mask of anger. ‘You wanted her to go, didn’t you?’
He didn’t answer the king. Because both answers were true. He’d wanted Breanne to leave because he didn’t want her to witness the fight. He had needed the chance to fight Feann, to drive out the demons of his past and strike back. In the end, the battle hadn’t given him the resolution he’d wanted—but he held no regrets.
‘I didn’t want her to watch our fight,’ he admitted. ‘And I knew I wasn’t worthy of her.’ But he’d missed waking up and seeing her each day. He missed the warmth of her mouth and the touch
