She laughed aloud as the first sprinkling of sea spray dampened her cheeks, remembering tales of silkies, seals that left the water on magical nights, taking human form to find mortal lovers. It had sounded so wonderful, so romantic, when she was a child, yet now she wondered how any creature, enchanted or human, could leave a realm as beautiful as the one that danced just beyond her reach.
It all seemed so perfect, so enchanting, as she neared the lowest stone that she did not expect its surface to turn treacherous. Her foot skidded out from under her, the waves grabbing at the hem of her leine with stunningly strong fingers. She felt herself tumbling, sliding, her hands scrabbling for purchase on the rocks, failing to find it.
Plummeting into the cold water, she felt an instant of astonishing weightlessness. Her leine billowed out in linen wings, but suddenly the sea's mysterious beauty betrayed her.
Stones battered at her kicking legs, waves slamming against her, filling her nose, her mouth. The music of the sea turned dark, the waterclosing her ears to anything but the roar that filled her head.
But just as the current was about to suck her under for the last time, a violent rush of bubbles tumbled about her, something large swooping toward her as she struggled against the choking waves. A hard hand knotted in her hair, strong fingers clutching at her waist, flinging her upward. Her ribs cracked hard against the rock, driving out what little breath she had left, but this time, when she breathed in, her lungs filled with blessed air that burned deep.
Niall hauled himself onto the flat surface, where they both lay, gasping. She gazed at him through a wild tangle of wet hair, his own face gleaming with sea water, mighty, all-powerful, like Manannán mac Lir come to life. A rock had gashed the muscles of his leg, a trickle of blood vivid red against the hair-dusted skin.
"Y-you hurt yourself," she choked out.
"You all but got yourself killed!" he accused, fighting to catch his own breath. "What the were you doing?"
She curled on the rock, trembling with cold beneath the sodden linen of her gown, feeling like a fool as she tried to explain the forces that had driven her toward the waves. She settled for thetruth. "I never imagined anything so—so powerful. I wanted to touch it."
"Touch it?" he echoed, incredulous.
"The sea."
“Foolish excuse. Did you stop to consider what the chieftain's reaction would be if I presented it to him? Caitlin of the Lilies drowned trying to touch the sea! Conn would have taken my head, and I would have deserved to lose it!"
It had not occurred to her what might happen to Niall if any harm had befallen her. She had been carried away by the beauty of it all. "I did not think it would be dangerous."
"Did you not hear my warnings?" he demanded. "I nearly split the stones bellowing at you!"
Despite the chill, her cheeks burned. "I rarely listen when I charge out into the storm."
He looked at her sharply. "If you are to live at a chieftain's fortress, you had best learn to be more cautious. I will not be there to pull you out of whatever mischief you plunge into, and the currents can be far more dangerous than any the sea can muster."
She should have been chastened, perhaps even a little daunted at the warning. At the very least, she should have felt some guilt for the positionshe had nearly put him in—drowning would have been most uncivil under the circumstances. After all, Niall had been kind after a fashion. But Caitlin could not help herself, now that the danger was past. Her spirit soared, her whole body a-tingle with the delight of it.
She had touched the water, felt the power of it all around her. It had been foolhardy and terrifying, and for a moment, just a moment, it had been glorious.
Niall lifted her back onto the horse, more surly than ever. Caitlin sucked in a deep breath. "I—I want to say one thing, then I will not badger you any longer."
"You want food now? You can eat while astride the horse."
"No. I wanted to ask something."
He crossed his arms over his broad chest, waiting. For a moment, he seemed like the mate of druid magic her imagination had woven at the ancient altar.
"I just do not understand why..." A droplet ran from his temple down along that iron-honed jaw, stealing away all thought of what she had intended to say. "Why?"
She glanced back into his eyes, struggled to drive away any thoughts of how that droplet wasnow trickling a path down the powerful cords of his neck. "Why you took me to the sea."
The hard mask fell over his features. "The horse was growing lame. I had to—"
"There was no stone in his hoof. It sorrows me to mention it, but beneath that gruff exterior, I fear you are most kind."
"Kind? Devil if I am!" He bristled as if she had dealt him an insult black enough to draw blood over. "I do my duty. Follow the chieftain's command."
"You need not worry." Caitlin smiled. "Your secret is safe with me."
The planes of that unspeakably handsome face reddened, his voice gruff as he scrambled to change the subject. "We will not stop again until dark. If you want food, tell me now. The nuns gave us bread and cheese."
She leaned back, turning her face to the sea winds one last time. She breathed in the fragrance of distant lands she would never see. "I am not hungry," she said with a sated sigh. "The sea filled me in a way mere bread never could."
