Maybe it was time to stop believing what others said about him—and time to seize what he truly wanted.And if being wicked gave him Mairead MacEgan, so be it.
Balor walked forward, keeping his hand on his sword hilt as he silently passed the guards and continued to the stables to retrieve the horse he’d taken from Laochre.
After he mounted the horse, he rode outside the gates alone.It wouldn’t be long before someone discovered Mairead’s disappearance, so he searched for a sign of her.She was no longer with the serfs she’d followed, and he studied the forest nearby.
He kept his horse in a walk, still searching.Then, at last, he saw her emerge at the edge of the woods.After ensuring that no one was watching, Balor dismounted and helped her on the horse before swinging up behind her.Within moments, he urged the horse into a hard run, moving swiftly towards the coast.
‘Your father will have me whipped for this if we’re caught,’ he murmured in her ear.
‘Then let’s not get caught.’She leaned back against him, and her words made him tighten his grip around her as they rode hard towards Dunmalus.
He was careful to hide their tracks as best he could, riding through forests and streams.But during the journey, all he could think of was that he’d given her the choice to return to her safe world—and she’d chosen him instead.
No one had ever chosen him.Ever.
She didn’t know, couldn’t understand, what that meant.This was no longer about finding her brother or learning the truth about King John’s plans amid the Irish nobility.She had trusted him with her life, and he no longer cared about what was right or honourable.If Mairead wanted him, then he would keep her until the last breath was ripped from his body.No one would take her from him.
The sun was high in the sky by the time they neared Dunmalus.Balor slowed their pace slightly, unwilling to risk Mairead’s safety.He had no interest in speaking with his father, but his mother might have the answers they sought.
There was one place where the Ó Phelans might have hidden Liam, if hewastheir prisoner—and it was not at the fortress.
They continued riding past Dunmalus before he turned the horse towards the coast.‘Where are we going?’Mairead asked.‘I thought—’
‘We’re travelling to the place where the chieftain keeps his prisoners,’ he finished.‘The mound of hostages.’
He continued past the fortress, keeping the hill of Amadán behind them, until they reached a smaller hillside.The earthen interior had been hollowed out with an iron gate.
But the moment Balor saw it, his hopes faded.‘There are no guards.’Fergus would never keep a high-ranking prisoner such as thetánaisteunguarded.
‘We should look inside anyway,’ Mairead said.
Her suggestion held merit, for it was still possible thatthey might find evidence that her brother had been there at one time.
He obeyed her wish, and they dismounted and approached.Mairead walked downhill towards the entrance of the mound.Balor shadowed her, and as they drew close, his heart sank.
There was indeed a prisoner inside.And it was his mother.
* * *
Balor wrenched the iron gate open, and Mairead saw that the woman’s hands and feet were tied together.Sympathy rose within her, and she reached for the blade at her waist, intending to cut the woman’s bonds.
‘Why did they do this to you?’Balor demanded.
The woman glanced up, her face paling at the sight of her son.‘You shouldn’t be here.Fergus will kill you.’
‘That’s not what I asked.’His voice remained tight with fury.And when Mairead took a closer look, she noticed that the woman had Balor’s same blue eyes.It had to be his mother.But for whatever reason, there was anger between them.
‘Are you hurt?’she asked.
The woman’s gaze turned tired.‘No.Only hungry and thirsty.’
Mairead used her blade to cut the woman’s ropes while Balor pulled out food and drink to offer her.He gave her a flask of mead, which she accepted gratefully, along with the bread.Afterwards, Balor repeated his earlier question.‘What happened, Orla?’
She leaned back against the earthen wall.‘The Normans came to Dunmalus.’
Mairead’s gut tightened, and she feared that they had taken her brother to England.It wouldn’t be hard to sail away from these shores.
‘Why?What did they want?’Balor asked.
