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Oriana lay coiled around him, too content to move. “What a delicious thought; but now we are seldom alone.”
“Aye, but we could sneak away before dawn and make the depths of the forest our real home.”
Delighted by the prospect, Oriana raised up slightly. “You’d do that for me?”
A slow smile danced across Egan’s lips. “For you, of course. But for myself as well.”
“For us, then,” Oriana murmured through a lengthy yawn.
Egan rather liked the phrase. “For us,” he repeated sleepily, and with nothing left unsaid, they fell asleep locked in each other’s arms.
Ula clenched her fists in furious knots and shook them at Garrick. “The bitch took the white mare! Egan had already given her a sweet-tempered dapple gray. What need has any woman for two such fine horses? Clearly she took the white mare to insult every last member of the Dál Cais!”
“That is one interpretation,” Garrick admitted, “or perhaps she fears that Kieran will become king, and she took the mare to curse him.”
While confounded by that suggestion, Ula quickly discounted it. “That is the same deliberate insult, and she must be severely punished.”
“I would enjoy nothing more, but rather than vent our temper on her over a mare, which Albyn has already replaced, we must use the incident to prove her unfit to be queen. Of course, when Egan may not live out the week, we may not need to speak out against Oriana.”
“Nay, I say you denounce the bitch at your every opportunity. Let her know she’s despised,” Ula hissed.
Garrick responded with an indulgent smile. “She can’t possibly feel welcome here. Now put her out of your mind and contemplate instead the celebration when Kieran becomes king. Won’t you need a new gown?”
“I have more than I can wear.” Ula ran her fingers through her flowing hair and shook it out to the tips. “I suppose I really should have something new though.”
“Aye, and exquisite,” Garrick encouraged, and he excused himself to allow her to consult with her seamstresses.
It rained steadily until the eve of Samhain, and even on that morning, the sun struggled to burn through a thick layer of ominous clouds. Eager for the contest to begin, Egan pushed himself to climb the stairs and stood for a while on the wall walk to study not the overcast skies, but the direction of the wind.
Oriana pressed close and clutched his arm. “Will this be a good day to fly?”
“It’s as good as any we’re likely to have. Yowan and his sons should already have my wing in place on Mount Royal, but I want to leave now and rob Kieran of an opportunity to jeer at me for moving slowly.”
The sea was a calm gray-green that morning, as though it had yet to shake off the night. In Oriana’s opinion, it was a deceptively tranquil scene for a dangerous challenge.
“Wouldn’t it be wise to let Kieran believe you’ve barely the strength to stand, let alone climb?” she asked.
Egan understood the ploy, but he foresaw a difficulty she had not recognized. “If it were only the two of us on the mountain, I’d hobble up leaning on a staff; but there’s sure to be an enormous crowd gathered to watch, and I’d not want anyone to mistakenly believe I’m too weak to become king. A king must be healthy and whole, or he’s swiftly replaced.”
Oriana reached up to caress his cheek. “I’d prefer a frail man blessed with wisdom to a brawny fool.”
Egan could laugh now without suffering painful consequences, and he relished the hearty sound echoing off the surrounding stone walls. “So would I, but I can handle only one challenge today, and I’ll not incite an argument over a longstanding tradition.”
He took her hand to lead her down the stairs, and they found Albyn waiting in the corridor outside his chamber. Since the hunt, they had seen him only for the evening meals in the great hall. To impress that noisy crowd, Egan had ignored the pain in his side to stand or sit in a confident pose. He had spoken at length with his kin, but Albyn had remained preoccupied and added little to those discussions.
“Are you ready?” Egan asked.
“Aye, but I’m not the one who’ll have to climb and fly. The more important question concerns your health.”
“My side won’t hamper me today. After I win the challenge, would you care to be the second to try my wing?”
Albyn was relieved Egan felt well enough to joke with him, but the fear in Oriana’s eyes tore at his heart. “There’ll be no time today.”
“Another day, then?” Egan persisted.
Albyn had never envied birds. “I’ll think on it,” he promised.
Egan rested his hands on Oriana’s shoulders and placed a light kiss on her forehead. They had spent so much time making love in the last few days that he felt confident he had sired an heir, but he did not want to frighten her with instructions on how he should be raised, nor did he wish to bid her an elaborate farewell.
