Beyond a Darkened Shore(39)



“Your maidservant returns,” he said, watching the girl’s progress across the bailey. “You must swear you’ll stay in your room for the remainder of the evening.”

“I will swear to nothing.”

Leif took hold of my upper arms, his face determined. “You’re strong, Ciara, stronger than most warriors I’ve seen, but I can see the pain and exhaustion in your face. You should rest.”

I pulled away from his hold. “Don’t make the mistake of treating me as a subordinate. It won’t go well for you.”

“Don’t be so stubborn,” he said in almost a growl. “You will not heed my warning?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, unwilling to answer. Anger rose within me like a great wave, washing away the sympathy I’d felt. I might have been injured, but I didn’t require coddling.

Aideen returned to lead me to my room, and I was saved from making assurances I would not keep. Nothing would keep me confined to my room against my will, not even an arrogant Northman.





11





Aideen turned out to be more than an apprentice healer. After a brief examination of my head, she declared it only a mild injury, and then prepared me a bath scented with sweet herbs. With gentle fingers, she applied a salve to my head and the scratches on my side. When she finished, my light-headedness disappeared, my wound stopped throbbing, and my tight muscles finally relaxed. I lay upon the soft bed with the intention of resting for only a moment. But as soon as my eyes closed, I was swept away.

My dreams were full of violence. The Morrigan, tearing into the hound’s heart; Alana with her throat cut before my eyes; and even Leif’s sister, Finna, though I’d never seen her before, visited my dreams, her body gruesomely mangled.

In my dream, I watched as Leif wept over her broken body, and my own heart bled for him. I went to him as I couldn’t do in life, running my hand over his golden head. He turned and took me into his arms, and I closed my eyes, listening to the strong beat of his heart. I pulled back to look at him, and just as his mouth was descending upon mine, I saw the red glow in his chest—the same I’d seen when I had floated above my body.

Before I could react to the fact that I was dreaming about Leif kissing me, he disappeared. Dark mist poured into the room in his place, and the Morrigan stepped forward. She wore a headdress of black crows’ feathers, but the rest of her figure was obscured by fog.

Find the Northman’s seer. There is a power you must master before you can complete your journey. The enemy is closer than you think. Every moment you waste brings them closer to their goal.

What power? I tried to ask, but in the way of dreams, the Morrigan had disappeared as quickly as she’d come.

The resounding boom of thunder awoke me, accompanied by the shouts of men. I sat up in the wide bed, my eyes adjusting to the low light of a fire burning cheerily in the massive stone fireplace. The Morrigan’s words echoed in my mind, and I knew it was more than just a dream. Was she referencing my newfound ability to float outside my body? I failed to see how that was a power—it seemed more like a liability, especially in battle. If she meant that I needed to learn to control it so it didn’t happen when I wasn’t ready, then I agreed. It could mean my death if I lost control of myself at the wrong moment. I shivered thinking of the rest of the Morrigan’s message. The enemy is closer than you think. Leif’s men had said before that their company included a seer, and though I hadn’t met her when we first arrived, I had to believe she was in the castle somewhere.

Still dressed in the beautiful emerald-green gown Aideen had given me, I came to my feet slowly, and though the room seemed to tilt for a moment, everything righted itself after a few deep breaths. Again the thunderous boom came. Fully conscious now, I recognized it wasn’t thunder at all, but the sound of tankards banging on wooden tables. The roar of drunken men rang out beneath my room. Would the seer be among them?

Only one way to find out.

I touched the sheathed dagger I’d strapped to my forearm before going to sleep. Leif’s warning whispered through my mind, and for a moment I shamed myself by hesitating. Fear wouldn’t keep me prisoner here, and neither would Leif.

The guest quarters in which I found myself were located in one of the turrets over the great room. A winding stone staircase led me down, and I yanked the heavy velvet skirt of my gown higher as I went. This was one of the many reasons I only ever wore my soft leather leggings. Gowns, though beautiful, were much too cumbersome.

The moon hung low in the sky; it was late, much too late for such revelry. I followed the low sounds of male voices until I walked through two enormous wooden doors. The cavernous hall was in such disarray, I was immediately thankful the king wasn’t here, for he would surely throw us from his castle. Scraps of food littered every available surface; spilled goblets, empty plates, and the carcass of a pig were scattered as though hounds had been set free. But even that wasn’t as chaotic a sight as the men, who lay across the tables in a state of total unconsciousness, guzzled great tankards of ale or mead, or played a game upon a carved wooden board.

In the chaos, it was difficult to find anyone, but it quickly became clear from the room full of burly men that the seer wasn’t here. I’d have to find Leif instead and see if he knew where to find her. But among so many men of enormous stature and blond hair, I had to search the room several times before I found Leif. He sat at the head of the table where the game was played. Enthralled as they all were with their various activities, no one took note of me.

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