"You monster..."
"Can you think of no better name to call me? Your father did, I assure you. Especially when he was wrestling with the terrible choice I gave him—to live forever in infamy and shame and let his son be raised by the man who destroyed him or to watch you die. I expected to have to kill you as well. Imagine my astonishment when I discovered that Ronan loved you more than his honor, more than life, more than truth."
Conn sneered. "I wonder what your father felt when he saw your love for him change to hate. When you ran away from his cell, I was watching from the shadows. The great Ronan of Daire wept there, all alone. It might have comforted him a little—how loyal his wife and daughterremained to him after his death. No fire or storm I could rain down upon them would shake their faith in him, make them hate him as I desired."
"You laid waste to Daire. Just as..."Nay!a voice cried in his head.Cannot remind him of Fiona, leave her vulnerable in case I fail—nay, but I will not fail.
"So much loyalty to someone a chieftain has executed can be most dangerous after all. I had vowed to let them live as well, but I hoped fending off starvation would keep them too busy to think about revenge."
"Curse you..."
"I hope Ronan saw their sufferings from the halls ofTir naN Og, but more than that, I hope your father saw every quest you fought to rid yourself of his name. I fed your hatred of him, so certain you would sacrifice anything to free yourself of the taint of his supposed treachery. I staked my lands on it, my title of chieftain. But you surprised me. You did not carry out the quest I planned for you from the day I brought you to Glenfluirse. You refused to kill Fintan's daughter."
"You... you planned..."
"Every act of kindness, every bid I made for your loyalty, was all for one purpose: to hone you into the blade that would rid me of that curse.Aye, and in murdering an innocent girl, destroy yourself as well."
Conn gazed out over the crowd and sighed. "But now, because of Magnus's babbling, some of my people know much of the truth. They will soon guess the rest. Can you not see them, amidst the crowd, Niall? Their doubts? Their suspicions? Even with all my power, I will never be able to find them all, silence them before the rumors spread. Rumors are hard to silence. The truth, impossible once it escapes. The curse, it seems, will come to pass. The girl doomed my rule. There is only one thing I can do in the face of all you have cost me."
Before Niall could move, the chieftain snatched the sword from Niall's numb hand. "You will die by your father's sword,” Conn murmured. "It is the perfect end to this sordid tale. Ronan's son will never rule in my place!"
He drew back the sword, his voice a roar. "Niall killed my son! It is my right to take his life!"
Niall searched for another weapon, stumbled to his knees. "Caitlin!" He screamed her name, helpless, loving her.
Caitlin saw the sword flash high above Conn's head—knew in a heartbeat what the chieftain intended. Not even the finest warrior could helpher love now! Nay, it could not end this way after all Niall had suffered!
She tore from the grasp of the stunned warriors, wrenching a spear from a burly hand. Desperation and hopelessness clawed through her. Every time she had aimed a shaft before, she had failed.
This time, she closed her eyes, groping through time and space for a hand she had never held, a love she had never known, though both had been there all her life.
"Father, help me!" she cried out as she hurled the spear into the darkness. A guttural cry rent the night, and she opened her eyes to see Conn crumple, the spear buried in his heart. Niall's sword clattered from the chieftain's hand to the wood dais.
Clutching up the folds of her leine, Caitlin plunged through the shocked crowd. She clambered onto the dais, gathered Niall in her arms.
Blood. There was so much blood. A sob tore from her throat as she clutched him close.
"You are safe now," Niall said, with a tortured peace in his face. "Declan will take care of... of—"
"Take care of me yourself! You promised me a home! Family! Promised me babes!"
Death-pale lips curled in a shadow of thesmile she loved so much. "Pray there may be one. When you look in his eyes, remember how... much I loved you, Lily Fair. But the cup. Conn gave me... poison."
Sick horror jolted through her. "Nay! Nay, Niall, it cannot be true! Help him!" she screamed, clutching him tight. "Someone help him!"
The bard slipped forward, his face grief-stricken. How much had this wise man heard? "There is nothing to be done if he was poisoned. No magic that can bring him back"
Caitlin shook Niall, desperate. "You promised not to leave me alone!"
"Wish we had forever. Tell Fiona she was... right about Father. Conn... told me the truth. The treachery was his. Father was innocent. Tell her. Nothing... girl likes more than proving me wrong. And Mother—tell her—how sorry—for pain I... caused her."
"She loves you, Niall. She always has."
Niall's hand curled in the waves of Caitlin's hair, his eyes suddenly fierce, pleading. "Take me back to Father. Bury me beside him. He sacrificed everything for us. M-Mother, Fiona, and—and me. Beg... his forgiveness."
"There is nothing to forgive! Oh, Niall! He knew—he always knew you were too fine a manto be corrupted by Conn. He trusted you would find the truth someday, know he had always loved you."
"Love... I forgot what it was until you. Think my—my father sent you to remind me?"
