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“All right now.” He stroked her hair, her back, her shoulders to warm and dry her. Then he wrapped around her, searched for words. But all he could think of was: “All right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So you’ve said. It’s done and finished. Weep if you must until that’s done and finished as well.”
“I sat with Flynn, and he… I couldn’t hold it anymore. I couldn’t just lock it inside anymore. I needed to…”
“Scream at the gods.”
When she lifted her head, he cocked his. “I expect they heard you all the way to the Far West.”
“Oh, stupid, stupid.” She covered her face with her hands. “I shouldn’t have— I scared everyone when—”
“Scared? Woman, we’re Talamhish, and not some weak-knees to fear when one of our own unleashes her power. And such as yours, such as it was, well now, there’s some rejoicing for that. The storm, now, was a bit much, as people will be some time chasing down clothes that flew off the line and such.”
“I’m—”
“Don’t say it again, by the gods, it’s tiring. You promised me you wouldn’t come here alone.”
“I didn’t mean to.” On another sob, she shook her head. “I mean, I didn’t plan to. I think I went a little crazy for a minute.”
“A bleeding hour at the least. It took a bit of time to find you, and would’ve been longer without this one here.” He gave Bollocks a good rub. “He came and got me. I was about to hunt you up, before the heavens opened. I expect you’re tired out now after all that energy and a few gallons of tears. We can leave in the morning instead of this afternoon.”
“Leave? For where?”
“The valley.” He stood, offered a hand to help her up.
“No. Keegan.” She pushed up quickly. “I needed to purge or vent, or just—” She looked back at the portal. “I needed to let him know. But you can’t just send me back because I had… an episode.”
“An episode, is it? First time in my experience I’ve seen sheep fly.”
“Oh my God.”
“None the worse for it. And while it’s true enough I’d send you back—and I’m taoiseach, so I could do just that. But I’m needed elsewhere, and I’ve given the Capital the time it’s needed. For now. You’ll go with me because I need it, and I know bloody well you do as well.”
“Yes.” She stepped into him, dropped her head on his shoulder. “Yes, I need it. Can we go now?”
“We can. After we clean up a bit, you can say your goodbyes and put together what you need to take with you. And I wouldn’t mind it if you let Marco know through the mirror so he can make a meal. His meatballs would be a fine thing tonight.”
“Okay.” She breathed out. “Let me do a glamour so I don’t look like I’ve been crying.”
“No.” He gripped her hand. “They heard your grief, let them see it. Let them see you. And let me say to you Odran hasn’t a prayer in heaven or hell against the woman I saw standing there, burning like a thousand candles. Not a prayer.
“Now come along. The day’s wasting.”
CHAPTER TWO
She said her goodbyes and tucked messages from Morena’s mother and Keegan’s for their daughters in her bag. And as she sat on Lonrach’s broad back with Bollocks, she thought of the wild flight to the Capital, of the urgency and fear that had sent her hurtling east.
Now she flew home, forever changed.
She knew what spread beneath her in the shadow of Lonrach’s wings. She knew the green hills and fertile dales, the scent of thick forests, the majesty of mountain peaks. The villages, cottages, caves, and all who dwelled in them.
There, beneath the clouds, a horse and rider at the gallop, and a woman in a cloak with a basket on her arm. There a stag, regal as a king, poised at the edge of a wood, and there a woman on the banks of a stream, her line in the water and a swaddled babe on a blanket beside her.
There would be Trolls mining the deep caverns in the mountains, and children in the schoolroom bored with their lessons and dreaming of adventures. Farmers would check their winter crops and sharpen their plows; mothers would tuck the littles up for a nap.
And warriors would train and train and train, honing every skill to protect the hills and dales, the mountains and streams, and all who dwelled there.
