Fiona might even have seemed furious, if her voice had not cracked just a little bit. "Caitlin, do you know what you have done?"
Sick with a sense of doom, Caitlin swallowed hard. "I could not let him take you away."
"You might as well have done. When Niall discovers what happened today, he will kill me himself. That is, after he has ground your bones to dust between his teeth!"
"He will be angry, but once he hears the tale, he will know there was nothing else to do."
"Aye, there was. Plenty." Fiona regarded her with a suddenly solemn face. "You could have kept yourself hidden, waited for Niall to return, or see if there was some way to get me out ofGormley's clutches without putting yourself in danger. It is what I would have done."
"Fiona, you know you would have helped me."
The girl nibbled at her lip, a sad self-reckoning darkening her downcast eyes. "I have not stayed alive this long by hurling myself into danger on behalf of a near stranger, Caitlin. I learned early that I could barely hope to take care of Mother and myself."
Caitlin's chest ached as she saw the desolation in the girl's face, knew what Fiona said was true. Regret softened Fiona's features with self-blame. Caitlin cupped the girl's wind-chapped cheeks in her palms, saw Fiona gaze up at her, still amazed by what she had sacrificed moments before. "I am sorry that you have been so long alone," Caitlin said softly.
Fiona's throat worked convulsively, and Caitlin knew there were tears in her eyes for just a heartbeat before the girl willed them away. "I like to be alone," Fiona said, her chin jutting out in a pale copy of her usual defiance.
"I might as well take poor Boann out to the pasture now," the girl said with a shrug. "I thought if you heard the lowing in the night, I could say it was a ghost, but it was going to be bloody hell dragging armfuls of grass all the wayback here without you or Niall growing suspicious."
With that, the girl went to the cow, leading her out by the crooked horn. Caitlin listened to the sound of hooves upon the stone, felt them echo, hollow in her heart.
Eyes stinging, she pushed back the sleeve of her leine and stared down at her naked wrist. Strange, she had had the bracelet for such a short time, yet it had become a part of her, the one tangible link to the parents she would never know.
A life for a life, she thought. Niall had bought her life with everything he owned, with his past and his future. He had initiated her into a world of passion she had never hoped to know, compelled her to love him. Surely, a simple bracelet was not too much for her to give in return when his sister was in peril.
And yet... she shivered with sadness and loss and resignation. God help Fiona and Caitlin herself when Niall learned what they had done.
Chapter 16
Druid stones held secrets. From the first long-ago morning his father had lifted him up to touch the ancient carvings with grubby child-fingers, Niall had sensed it. Enigmas captured not only in the ancient writings scribed upon the rocky faces but deeper, more mystic enigmas hoarded within the stones' hearts.
Even now, as he stood braced, defiant in the first rays of moonlight, Niall knew what treasures lay there. Wisdom from the beginning of time, echoes of ages when the veil between worlds of flesh and spirit were thin as mist, and a man only had to step across that airy divide into a realm beyond imagining. Voices so strong, so sage, even death could not silence them.
Niall's chest tightened as a memory shivered to life in the darkest reaches of his mind. A child's joyous chatter, a father's indulgent smile, a day so magical Niall could still feel the gritty scrape of rock against his skin, feel the sun bake his nose.
Is this the gate to Tir naN Og? his eager voice queried. Show me where it is, I beg you!
And let you steal off to the land of the fairies without me? Nay, anam cara. You will have to be patient awhile longer.Grow tall and strong and brave. But know this. When you do pass through those gates, I will be waiting for you.
Even now, Niall could remember the prickling of foreboding, unsettling enough that he spoke despite his jealously guarded dignity, trying and failing to hide his fear from the man he adored.But if you were in Tir naN Og, Fiona would be lonely for you.
His father tousled Niall's hair, smiled down, tall as a mountain, stronger than the fairy king.Do you not know, my little man? No fairy magic could keep me from watching over those I love. Even when you can no longer see my face, I will always walk by your side.He had grinned, Ronan of Daire, mindful of Niall's boyish pride.You tell Fiona that for me, if ever she is afraid.
Apprehension quelled, Niall had dashed off with a shout, chasing a rabbit that darted through the grass. Yet he had carried his father's promise with him, as confident that his father would watch over him as he was that the sun would rise at dawn.
He had believed until angry warriors dragged his father away from Daire, until those dark, hopeless nights at the mercy of Conn's strapping sons, when Niall had strained with all his being into the dark night sky, desperate despite his anger, his betrayal, his fear, to feel his father's presence beside him.
Niall raked his hand through his wind-tossed hair, that lost boy's anguish fresh inside him. Was that the moment he had begun to truly hate Ronan of Daire? The moment he realized that he was alone?
Niall shook his head, scattering the images, half tempted to mount his horse again, to ride away from the glen and his father's cairn and the druid stone with its secrets.
But he was seeking an answer only the stone could give, desperate for some sign that he had not run mad.
Yet as Niall summoned his courage and pressed callused palms to the rugged gray stone,the ancient carvings only mocked him, hoarding their secrets despite his silent plea.
His cheeks burned despite the bite of the wind. Why was the accursed stone silent? Had theTuatha de Danaanwho ruled from the earth's secret depths judged him undeserving? Ancient wisdom was for heroes, champions, not liars who had betrayed their chieftain.
And yet, even if Niall himself did not merit an answer, surely Caitlin would. He could only hope that mighty Fintan would care more about his imperiled daughter than Niall's dishonor.
