Garrick approached to take Ula’s side. “Despite our loyalties, we are honor bound to make unbiased judgments and can be relied upon to do so today. Three will be the perfect number, and I’ll call upon Neal to assist us.”
A young sandy-haired Druid of ample girth moved forward with a rolling gait. He appeared inordinately pleased to have been asked to serve. “I have a keen eye,” he boasted.
“It won’t even be close,” Egan swore.
“Close or not, I’ll serve as judge,” Albyn agreed, but he did not trust Garrick to decide in Egan’s favor unless he beat Kieran by more than an arm’s length. Equally confident Egan could do just that, he broke into a grin. “Let’s walk down to the bay then.”
Oriana felt the crowd surge forward, and might have tripped and fallen had Egan not come to her side. She tried to return his confident smile, but while she thought he would win, she was frightened for him all the same. “Please take care,” she whispered.
“I’m as at home in the sea as you are in the forest,” he assured her confidently. “Watch the race from the bluff where you admired the view.”
Oriana chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. “I’d have an excellent view there, it’s true, but I’d be too far from the finish and unable to greet you.”
“Then stand wherever you please,” Egan offered. “It won’t affect the outcome.”
Oriana wished he had been open to her warning, but clearly he thought any need for caution absurd. As they reached the shore, she feared the men might strip nude, but each removed only his shoes and shirt. Their muscular bodies were so much alike, but the gleam in Kieran’s dark eyes was murderous. As Egan kissed her for luck, she felt a dark chill of foreboding and wished the race were already over.
“To accurately judge the winner, we should stand near the cliffs,” Albyn urged, and when he turned toward them, Oriana hastened to his side, followed by Garrick and Neal.
Oriana turned back to make certain Egan and Kieran were waiting for the Druids to take their places and a boat to be dispatched. Then she nearly had to run to keep up with the men. “Will this be the end of it?” she whispered to Albyn.
“It could be, if Kieran will concede defeat,” Albyn replied just as softly. “How likely do you believe that to be?”
“Not at all,” Oriana nearly moaned. When they reached a spot near the fortress with the best view, she stepped away from the Druids rather than give in to the temptation to cling to Albyn. The crowd now stood stretched out along the shore with the majority bunched behind the Druids.
Oriana felt their heat at her back and caught a glimpse of Ula standing nearby with Madi and Skell. As she glanced down the rocky cliff below, a shiver of dread coursed down her spine, and the knowing whispered a clear warning to step away from the edge. Because it would take no more than a misplaced elbow or a deliberate hand to send her tumbling onto the jagged rocks, she swiftly obeyed.
Unwilling to miss seeing her husband race, however, she slid in front of Albyn and sat down at his feet. With the solid earth beneath her, she felt secure, but she could still feel the hostile glances being sent her way and heard more than a few grumbling about Egan’s choice of wife.
Then Egan and Kieran waded into the water and Oriana lost all interest in the restless crowd. As the young men dove under the waves and began to swim, each displayed powerful strokes. They remained even for a time, but Egan gradually began to pull ahead.
There were those who shouted for Kieran to pour on the speed, while others cheered wildly for Egan. But with still a quarter of the distance left to swim, Kieran suddenly slipped beneath the surface of the chill water. A hush swept through his kin, and when he broke the surface, all heard his terrified screams.
“What’s happened to Kieran?” Oriana cried.
Albyn knelt by her side to respond. “He must have suffered a muscle cramp, and they cause excruciating pain.”
Kieran went under again, then drew himself up, his wildly flailing arms failing to produce a smooth stroke. This time his sputtering cries for help reached Egan’s ears. Alarmed, Egan glanced back over his shoulder just as Kieran slid under for a third time.
“The race is over,” Albyn moaned. “Egan won’t let him drown.”
“No,” Oriana cried, and she reached out to clutch his cloak. “It’s a trick, and Kieran means him great harm.” She was too far away to shout a warning to Egan, but as he turned back to save his half brother, her heart caught in her throat. She had been the one to insist he safeguard Kieran’s life, but she had never dreamed extracting that promise might cost Egan his own.
She watched in horror as Egan dove deep to pull Kieran to the surface, but rather than float meekly when he bobbed into view, Kieran rose up to fill his lungs with air and then shoved Egan under. The whole crowd gasped, then began to cheer as through a sheet of flying spray Egan emerged to tackle Kieran. Too slippery to hold, Kieran broke away and each rained heavy blows on the other.
“It was a trick,” Albyn cursed, and grit his teeth in horror. He covered Oriana’s hand with his own.
As quickly as it had begun, the fight ended with one brother pulling away with a long savage stroke while the over lay floating facedown in the sea. Albyn strained to discern which it was, for now the slick wetness of their hair made it impossible to recognize Egan’s longer curls.
“Who is it?” he cried.
“Kieran’s still swimming,” Oriana responded in an anguished sob. Using Albyn’s cloak for handholds, she scrambled to her feet, and he rose just as quickly to stand beside her. With the press of the crowd, there was no way for her to turn back and run down to the shore. Even there, she would not have been able to swim, but she refused to just stand by and watch her beloved drown.
“You must help him!” she screamed to anyone who might listen, but before her cry was lost on the breeze, Egan raised his head and began to swim for the cliffs. He swam as though he were now the one in agonizing pain, but at least he was alive, and Oriana shouted encouragement to him with joyous pride.
Kieran easily reached the cliff first and took the offered hand to climb into the boat. He waved to his cheering kin, and then appeared dumbfounded when he turned and found Egan nearing the cliff. Rather than swim toward the boat, however, Egan veered away to haul himself up on a small rocky ledge, where he used both hands to stem the blood flowing from a long gash in his side. Too weak to call to Oriana, he could only look up at her and smile.
“Kieran stabbed him,” Oriana screamed, and she turned the full force of her fury on Garrick. “You can’t name Kieran the victor when clearly he resorted to treachery!”