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Clearly he wanted her out of his sight, and his cool rejection ripped her heart in two. He had sought her out for her visions, then claimed he loved only her. He had just proven otherwise, and she had never even imagined he could inflict such incredible pain. Only this time, it was not an injury Albyn could mend with a needle and thread.
“I’ll find my own way,” she announced with her last shred of dignity, and moved on shaky legs toward the door. “Just as I always have.”
Albyn admired her composure but barely managed to hold on to his own until the door had closed behind her. “What have you done?” he shouted. “I’ve never known you to be mean, but to blame Oriana for Kieran’s treachery is simply cruel.”
Too weak to argue, Egan cursed under his breath. “I’ll not have her here while I’m as helpless as a babe.”
“Oh, it’s only your pride, is it?” Albyn exclaimed with raised hands. He then refilled Egan’s cup with ale, bent to pick up the platter heaped with venison, and carried them both to the bed. “I don’t care if you get sick or not. Start eating so that you can get up off that bed and go apologize to your wife.
“She thought of a clever way to salvage a victory in the challenge, but I’ll not reveal what it is. What I will tell you, though, is that if you’re so stupid as to send Oriana away, she won’t go alone. You may be a great fool, but I’m not, and Oriana is worth more than any kingdom.”
Oriana had gone quietly, but Albyn grabbed up his cloak and slammed the door on his way out. His warning rang against the stone walls, and it was not the first time Egan had been called a fool where Oriana was concerned. But if he had trusted his own instincts rather than hers, he would not have been hurt, and he would not have had to send her away.
Until he could devise a way to keep a prophetess for a wife without heeding any more of her prophecies, he believed he was better off alone. “I know. You needn’t say it,” he begged the voice that spoke only in his head. “Without Oriana, I’ll be a fool no matter what I do.”
With that thought clearly in mind, he grabbed a hunk of venison and began to eat. As expected, his stomach lurched, but he kept right on eating because he intended to face Kieran tomorrow, and on his own terms. He just hoped he would not collapse in the dirt.
Albyn rapped lightly on Adelaine’s door, but Oriana took longer than he had anticipated to respond. Her eyes were dry, but her expression reflected her deep despair. Rather than invite him to enter as he had hoped, she remained in the doorway.
Always cautious, Albyn hid his disappointment and dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Egan has never been so badly wounded, and he’s not himself. You mustn’t judge him too harshly.”
“He’s not the one being judged,” Oriana reminded him. She could not help but wonder whether his encouragement was sincere or merely a plausible excuse to see her. Whatever his reason, she took no comfort from his plea.
“You should be with Egan,” she urged. “Somehow you must inspire him to eat.”
Albyn rested an outstretched arm against the arched doorway. “For the time being, I’m going to ignore him. I left food and drink within easy reach, and he’ll just have to take care of himself.” He watched concern fill her gaze and could not help but wish it were for him rather than Egan. “You needn’t worry. I’ll look in on him before I go to sleep.”
“You mustn’t abandon him,” Oriana cautioned. “Wait a while if you must, but visit him before nightfall and sleep in his chamber tonight. He’ll suffer too greatly alone if you don’t.”
“If it will please you,” Albyn replied with a mere flash of a charming grin. “I told him you’d thought of a plan.”
Oriana shook her head dejectedly. “Now he won’t trust it.”
“Wait,” Albyn implored. “I didn’t reveal what it was, and I don’t intend to. That way, when Kieran offers a flight as the next test in the challenge, Egan’s surprise will be genuine. I’ll advise him to accept, and he’ll quickly understand why it’s to his advantage.”
When everything had gone so tragically wrong that day, Oriana found it difficult to cling to her earlier optimism. “I know you’ll do your best.”
Albyn wanted to circulate in the great hall to spread the rumor she had inspired, but he hated to leave her so dejected and alone. “You left with nothing in your hand. What may I bring you from Egan’s chamber?”
“Thank you, but I’ve been wearing Adelaine’s clothes and everything I need is already here.” Except Egan, she did not add.
“You’ll need food at least.”
“I’ve no more appetite than Egan,” Oriana replied. “Besides, you can’t bring food here and destroy the illusion of Egan’s health and happiness.”
“Unlike the homes of some great men, here there are no servants standing idly about awaiting a summons. So no one will see where I take a platter of food. You must eat too, Oriana, because I’m counting on your help to walk Egan down the stairs in the morning.”
“Going down will not be half the challenge of coming back up,” Oriana responded.
Albyn noted the determined angle of her chin, and took it as a good sign. “Tomorrow everything we do will be an illusion, but Egan will be in too much pain to notice, and Kieran is too full of himself to see through it.”
That she was plotting with a Druid was a happenstance Oriana could never have foreseen, but then, nothing had been as she had expected it since the hour Egan had entered her tent. Her former life
seemed so far removed from her now, while the future was as dim as the mists hanging over Mount Royal.
“I’ll follow your lead,” she promised, but once Albyn had left, she leaned back against the door and wondered how she would survive the night, let alone tomorrow.
Chapter Sixteen
