With every step, his dread increased.He called out, no longer caring if anyone else heard him.The last of the sunlight was dying, and he began to run back towards the Ó Phelan ringfort of Dunmalus.Panic turned his stomach rancid, and his blood chilled when he saw the flare of torches and a gathering of his father’s men.
Balor cursed to himself, knowing what that meant.He slowed his pace near the edge of the forest, trying to decide whether to reveal himself.
Before he could take another step, he heard a sniffling sound through the trees.He tracked the sound to a sprawling oak tree with branches the size of his waist.When he glanced up, he saw his little brother hugging a large limb.
He didn’t bother asking what Kenneth was doing in the tree—it was clear that he’d been climbing and wasn’t strong enough to get down.Balor easily caught the lower branch and swung himself up, climbing towards the young boy.
Kenneth was openly crying, his arms shaking as heclung to the branch.The moment he saw Balor, his sobbing grew louder.
‘It’s all right,’ he told his brother.‘I’ll help you down.’
‘I’m scared,’ Kenneth cried.
‘I’m going to come to you.When I do, you’ll let go of the branch and hold on to me,’ he said.‘You’ll be safe.’
‘I wanted to be a bear,’ Kenneth cried.‘Bears live in trees.’
Balor inched his way across the heavy limb.‘No, they don’t.They live in caves.’
‘I want to be a bear who l-lives in a tree,’ his brother wailed.
‘Well, you can’t.’Balor reached out and took the boy around the waist, pulling Kenneth’s arms off the branch and around his neck.‘Hold on as tight as you can.Don’t let go.’
His brother squeezed him so fiercely, it was hard to breathe, but Balor moved towards the main trunk.It was difficult to move with his brother gripping him in front, but he eased his leg off the branch, holding on to a lower branch as he brought them both down.
His brother’s tears dampened his throat, but he didn’t mind much.‘I love you, Balor.’
‘I love you, too,’ he muttered, the ache inside deepening.No one else had ever said the words to him except Kenneth.And for that reason, he would do anything for the boy.
At last, his feet touched the ground, and Balor let go of the lowest branch.He could have set Kenneth down to walk, but he continued holding him.The scent of leaves and winter clung to his brother as Balor carried him back home.
But his footsteps turned heavy when the men saw him returning.Balor slowed down, not wanting to face what lay ahead.Instead, he tried to distance himself, wondering more about the dark-haired girl and her family.He thought of her smile and the unexpected wave.
When he reached the men, Fergus’s expression held a quiet rage.‘So, you found him, did you?’
Balor lowered his brother to the ground, and the boy ran to his father.Fergus embraced Kenneth a moment before he said, ‘Go to your mother, my son.She’ll have food for you.You’re hungry, aren’t you?’
Kenneth’s head bobbed in agreement.
‘Go on, then,’ Fergus urged.Balor started to follow, but the chieftain blocked his path.‘Not you.There won’t be food for you.’The sneer on the man’s face was as familiar as his fists.
Balor raised his chin and squared his shoulders, meeting Fergus’s gaze.Despite his own raging hunger, it was a familiar punishment.He nodded obedience, and just as he turned away, pain exploded against his cheek as Fergus struck him.
‘He’s a child.Were you hoping he would die outside?’
‘I was trying to find him—’ he started to say.
‘Liar.’Fergus landed another blow to his stomach, and Balor doubled over in pain.As the beating continued, a quiet rage began to bloom within him.He’d done nothing to deserve this life.Fergus might despise him, but one day, Balor vowed he would get his revenge.He would bide his time and grow up to become the man Fergus feared—a man of strength.
A man who would stop at nothing to gain vengeance against his enemy.
And a man who wouldn’t stop until he ended Fergus’s reign for good.
Chapter One
Nine years later
If there was one thing Mairead MacEgan enjoyed, it was helping her friends find love.Probably because her own life was nearly devoid of it, thanks to her overprotective father and uncles, who had driven away most of her potential suitors.But then again, most of the men only wanted to wed her because she was the daughter of a provincial Irish king—not because of who she was.
