“And to deal with the kraken,” she says. “It may take longer to solve our trade problems, but a monster...that’s a problem I can fix immediately. Well, was a problem I could fix immediately, except your lot beat me to it. Another triumph for the Horned King, eh?”
She rises slowly from her seat and gives us all one final, warm smile. “While I’ve enjoyed seeing you all again, I’m afraid my work here is yet unfinished.” She chucks me under the chin and reminds me, “When you’re on your way back from Eyjar and long for a comfortable place to rest your weary heads...”
“We’ll visit soon,” I promise.
She glances at Lugh. “Hold him to that, if you will, seidhr. It’s about time he caught us up on your newest exploits.”
Lugh tilts his head. “I will, Voll. The best to your people.”
“And safe travels to you.”
She leaves us and from outside the hall we can hear the rise and fall of voices. More of the villagers must be waking up, judging from the mixture of tones. Armel inspects the map with a wrinkled brow. “Perhaps we should swing south to Resnik’s lands?” he asks the table at large.
“They’re out of our way,” Cybel points out.
“Friendly though,” Drest says. “You know he’d offer us a warm welcome. The seidhr’s presence would be considered a blessing by his people.”
“A last resort then,” Lugh suggests, “if our supplies are running low.” He flicks a glance to me and tension brackets the corners of his mouth and eyes. “The sooner we reach Eyjar, the better.”
“Good then,” Drest announces. He stands and stretches. “We’d best be on our way. Traveling through unfriendly lands after snow falls is a foolish decision, even for us. Better to beat winter’s arrival, even if it means harder riding.”
“Agreed,” Cybel says.
Lugh taps his finger against the tabletop, still staring at the map with unfocused eyes. I reach out and rest my hand over his, stilling the motion. His fingers press against the wood, but he allows my touch.
“We’ll need to be careful,” he says.
“Yes.”
No further words pass between us. None are needed. I make a final butter and jam sandwich to take with me and we abandon the hall to collect our horses. Voll and her attendants have already begun their work of stopping by each house, but they wave to us when they see us preparing to leave. We leave our tribute with one of the elders, and then we’re riding out of the sleepy village and into the woods.
Lugh
We fall to the ground, crushing fallen leaves and sending their sweet scents drifting up into the air. He kisses me with single-minded focus—Who? Why can’t I see his face?—and I sigh when his hands slide down my body, running up and down the smooth fabric of my best dress. I’m glad he caught me today, on my way home from the Unseelie sídhe where I acted as the host in the Rite Hibernum. Perhaps it’s the tiny shred of King Oberon’s power still nestled inside me, perhaps it’s the bite of autumn in the air, the promise that winter will arrive soon and leave me no reason to wander from the Seelie sídhe anymore, but I kiss him back and imagine what would happen if I asked him to stay with me. I have my pride. I won’t ask him that. Instead, I close my eyes and revel in the sensation of his lips on mine.
“You have my heart,” I whisper when he finally draws away. I can’t bear to look at him, see his distaste. He told me he’d never been in love. Like a fool, I fell anyway.
“Do I?” he asks. “You would give me that?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you,” he whispers. “I need it so much.”
A brilliant pain flashes through my chest and I scream when he pins my shoulder and works his knife in deeper—
* * *
I jolt awake from my nap. No blood weeps underhand when I clutch my chest. Nevertheless, the shade’s fatal injury seems etched in my skin. The dream—the memory—lingers and I shake my head, trying to dislodge it. How dare she? How dare she sneak into my head like that? For fuck’s sake, it’s the middle of the day.
The lochan we’ve stopped to lunch at is a mirror. The autumnal colors of the trees reflect in the dark waters, shimmering like wildfire when the light breeze blows. The horses browse happily and their hooves scuff over the ground, leaving whispers from fallen leaves in their wake. Cybel, Armel, and Drest are gathered along the shore. Armel tries his hand at fishing, and the other two have decided the best use of their time is to correct his technique and form. Their good-natured bickering is comforting. It almost helps me forget the flitting movements in the edges of my vision.
I had hoped escaping the sídhe before Samhain would grant me some peace from the restless spirits waiting to cross through the veil into Tir na nÓg. The hushed voices and ghostly touches I felt there shouldn’t have followed me into the Wylds. In the Wylds there are no victims to remind me of Mother’s vicious methods to consolidate her power, nor to blame me for complicity due to the blood running through my veins. At least, there didn’t used to be so many shades here. Now I can’t ride for more than a day before we run into more. I’m not sure if they’ve always been here, only clear to me now that the rebalancing of the Triumvirate has granted me more power, or whether they’re the sign of a greater problem. Regardless of the reason, the shades haunt my steps with greater and greater frequency.
The past two days, a swirling flock of five have dogged our trail. When I ignore them during the day, they try to force their way into my dreams at night. Avoiding sleep is the easiest option now, though I have to deal with Keiran’s increasing worry. I’m not sure how much longer I can pretend. They’re growing bolder.
I grit my teeth when a cool finger brushes over the back of my neck. She’s back. The strongest of the group dances around me. Her dress’s ragged hem drags against the ground and her skin flakes from her bones as she moves. It’s impossible to ignore her completely, not when her constant movement draws the eye, but I can at least refuse to look up from our map. My feigned ignorance isn’t a deterrent. Incorporeal lips whisper an unending plea into my ear, one not limited by the need for breath or thought.
He lay me down on a bed of harebell and kissed me till I sighed. And then he sliced into my heart and bled me till I died.