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I bit my lip. What if I chose differently? But I knew, even if I chose differently, wearing that armor wouldn’t save me, not from Badb or Macha. No, it would only weigh me down. This was my chance to walk into that bog and determine who I was going to be. And if I walked out to face my sisters and to face death, then I’d know I deserved that armor.
“Chels?” Palon’s voice came.
“Yes?”
He handed the requested clothes through the tent flap. Roisin had already sent sturdier shoes along. “Thank you.”
“His Majesty requests that if you don’t wear the armor, then to at least take the sword.”
I pressed my lips. It wasn’t worth the fight. “Okay. But you hold on to it until it’s time.” He took the weapon, then let the canvas flap fall closed. I changed into my new clothes.
We flew a short distance into the marshland. A power emanated from the distant trees, washing over me, calling to me, ready to show me the way I should go. I shut my eyes briefly, letting it settle into me. Palon unstrapped my legs and assisted me off the pegasus.
Samhain didn’t begin until the evening. I spent the hours chained in my tent, staring at the ceiling, attempting to counter my sister’s feelings of triumph. Even though I couldn’t read their thoughts, their feelings were undeniable. And the more sure they became, the less certain I was that I’d be able to do anything to stop them.
The sun started to dip below the horizon. Palon entered. “Your majesty, it is time.”
I stood, and he undid my chains. He handed me the sword, and I strapped it to my waist.
Palon held the tent flap as I exited. Suddenly Dagda was there. The guards surrounding us, including Palon, moved off, giving us space.
He wore a plain tunic and casual pants. His presence didn’t have the all-consuming nature that it once did, and for some reason, regret twisted inside.
He bowed his head. I noticed the several days’ old scruff on his face, the drawnness of his features. “I understand you feel trapped.” His voice was quiet, worn. “So I am giving you a choice. You will succeed and defeat your sisters, and when you come out, I need a yes or no. Yes, if you want to rule beside me as my wife. Or no, if you would rather I step down and let you rule alone.”
I blinked, my brows drawing inward. “You can’t step down. You said it's not possible.”
That vastness remained in his dark eyes, swirling with a deep emotion. “There is one way.”
I had no clue what he was talking about. My teeth sank into my lip in frustration. At his damn stubbornness. I’d tried to warn him so many times. Warn him about me. And now, to discover what our bond had done to him those years I’d been away. How it had hurt him. “Or you could just end our bond.”
He looked off into the trees and when his eyes finally met mine, I sucked in a breath. There was such sorrow there. “It is already ending. Can you not feel it?”
I did feel it. The emptiness. A hollow ache inside.
“I do not understand,” Dagda said. “It usually takes more than a fight to end the oncemate bond. Especially one as ancient as ours.”
“Dagda—”
“But even if our bond ended, our positions as rulers would force us together. You’d never be rid of me.” He took a long breath. “No, this way is better. I will step down, if that is what you desire.”
A tightness gripped my chest. “You can’t have this much faith in someone. You can’t have this much faith in me.” Curse Ornan. Curse him and his stupid—
“I believe inyou, Chels. I have no doubts. When you put your mind to it, there is nothing you cannot do. Before you, I was just going through the motions, but now that you are here—the very world has come alive. When you come out, you will be the queen this realm needs. Remember, one word.”
And with that, he turned and walked away.
Tears stung my eyes, and I clenched my hands, fighting to hold them back.
Keelin approached. “The path is through there, your majesty.” He pointed at large towering trees with vines hanging off them. I knew the direction. The magic already tugged me that way.
He and the rest of the guards watched. But Dagda… Dagda didn’t. He walked up to his pegasus and rested his hands on its back, his head bowed.
I took a step toward the bog, my soul shattering with each step.
Look at me, I thought.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from him as I passed between the trees.
