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“Oriana gives you no opportunity to sleep?” Albyn teased. “It appears you’ve finally met your match. Who are her people?”
“No one you know,” Egan exclaimed through another noisy y
awn.
“How can that be? She is clearly a lady. Does her father approve of your taking her for mistress rather than wife? Or do you intend to marry her soon?”
“Regretfully no, and no. Now let me rest.”
“I offered my sword should you desire vengeance,” Albyn countered. “I’d not realized you’d been so busy making enemies of your own. Now tell me Oriana’s clan so I’ll at least know how many men we’ll have to fight.”
“It’s always wise to keep a sharpened sword, but now you could spare the time for a nap,” Egan suggested.
Albyn thought Egan daft but rather than argue, scanned the lush countryside. It sloped down to the cliffs bordering the sea. When they were children, they’d rolled through the heather and laughed themselves silly not far from that very spot. That day was such a distant memory, it seemed part of another lifetime now.
“I’d rather not be caught sleeping should Oriana’s kin appear brandishing spears.”
Unconcerned by that unlikely threat, Egan threw his arm over his eyes. “She has no one. Now hush so that I might rest, or my next arrow might go wide and strike you.”
“There is always that danger when we hunt,” Albyn muttered under his breath.
More amused than insulted, Egan sat up ready to pummel him, but Albyn was gazing off toward the sea. Egan turned to see what he was watching, but there was no sign of a boat on the horizon. “Are you thinking of going to sea?” he asked.
Albyn wore a preoccupied frown. “I’ve heard of fabulous islands,” he confided almost reverently.
“All populated by such beautiful virgins no man ever sails away,” Egan chided. “We’ve all heard those tales, and they hold no more weight than sunshine.”
“Perhaps not, but just seeking such a glorious isle would be a fine adventure. Or I could remain here and die fighting Oriana’s kin.”
“You must rein in your imagination, for I speak the truth when I swear she has no kin walking the earth. That is why I’ve offered her my protection. Now I have given up all hope of becoming refreshed, so let’s be on our way.”
Albyn also struggled to his feet and brushed the leaves from his trousers. “Didn’t you just admit her father did not approve of you?”
“That is another story,” Egan admitted, “and far too long and complicated to begin today.”
“It isn’t like you to keep secrets,” Albyn complained.
Egan grabbed Raven’s trailing reins, but paused to study his old friend’s puzzled expression. They had each grown a foot since they had parted, but the physical difference was but a slight change compared with all the others.
“You’ve been away long enough for me to have a great many things to hide,” Egan scolded. “Now cease your complaining and let’s hunt as we intended.”
“Aye, my lord,” Albyn agreed grudgingly, but despite the warning, his curiosity about the lovely Oriana continued to build. “Perhaps it was merely my imagination, or a trick of the firelight, but your lady seemed to glow with an inner light. It made her all the more enchanting.”
“Another word about her, and I’ll pin a target to your chest and send my arrows your way on purpose,” Egan threatened, but as they continued their ride, he wondered if Albyn did not possess more insight than he had realized.
“If you must keep that restless mind of yours occupied,” Egan suggested, “concentrate on who would have wished my father dead.”
Albyn nodded, but he sensed they were in for a brutal fight.
Chapter Eight
Oriana returned to the bluff overlooking the sea. Dressed again in the blue-violet gown, she sat cross-legged in the thick grass with Egan’s wondrous amethyst lightly cradled in her folded palms. The salty breeze caressed her cheeks, gently tossed her long curls, and kept her mind clear as she attempted to focus on Egan’s fate.
She had hoped that close to his fortress home, the knowing would speak of him, but the clouds of danger refused to lift and no more was revealed than in her earlier attempts. Determined to discover something of significance, she cast around him to concentrate on those he knew best. She swiftly settled upon Kieran.
His face readily formed in her mind, then dissolved, leaving her to fear that his fate and Egan’s were too closely entwined to be viewed separately. Discouraged, she breathed deeply to calm her own troubled spirit and simply waited for whatever thought might appear. It was Egan’s proud grin that came to her next, attended by a deep blush at the memory of last night’s wanton kiss.
There was a magic to his affection that she had longed to savor, but Lugh, or perhaps even her future husband himself, had promptly put an end to that folly. What tonight might bring she dared not even contemplate. Distressed her thoughts had strayed so far from her original purpose, she tightened her grasp on the glowing purple crystal and wished with all her heart to see her own future in its faceted depths.
