Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning #1)(69)

CC kept a tight hold on Isabel as she half-turned to face the priest. He had moved back to the knight's side and his hand was resting protectively on Andras's shoulder.

'Thank you for your concern for my safety," CC said, allowing her voice to sound weak and shaky.

"I have concern for all of the lost…" The abbot's voice drifted after them as the women left the courtyard.

"I don't want to eat in the dining room," CC whispered to Isabel in the hall. Isabel nodded in understanding, and they headed for the servant's entrance to the kitchen.

Lynelle was the first to notice them. Her look of welcome shifted instantly to one of concern.

"Sir Andras attacked her," Isabel said grimly, leading CC over to a roughly carved stool that sat near the center workstation. "She needs food and drink."

The four women went to work like a well-oiled machine, and soon CC was eating a steaming bowl of Isabel's excellent mint-flavored stew and taking turns sipping from a mug of herbal tea and a goblet of rich red wine.

"Drink all of the tea," Bronwyn slurred as she and the other women hovered henlike around CC. "It is chamomile and rosehips. It will help to soothe your stomach upset."

"And drink all of the wine," Lynelle rasped in her grumpy voice. "It will help with everything else."

CC smiled weakly at the old women.

Isabel offered her a second helping of the stew, which CC enthusiastically accepted. As Isabel placed the steaming bowl in front of her, she asked, "Have you recovered enough to explain?"

The other women paused in their chores, their interest piqued. CC nodded slowly.

"The knight was not himself?"

"No, he wasn't," CC answered, meeting Isabel's gaze squarely.

"He seemed to be possessed," Isabel said.

CC heard the shocked gasps from the old women, but she kept her eyes on Isabel.

"Yes. Andras was possessed by a creature named Sarpedon. I was escaping from him when the knight found me washed up on the shore."

Isabel nodded. "I knew it. I could clearly see the change in the knight, and that was the name you used when you spoke to him." The old woman took a deep breath before she asked her next question. "You did not want the abbot to touch your amulet. Why?"

The room fell silent waiting for the answer.

"Because I didn't know what he would feel if he touched it. What did you feel?"

"Warmth," Isabel said simply.

CC nodded. "Because you don't wish me harm. Sarpedon did, and the amulet protects me. I think the abbot wishes me harm, too. I didn't know what would happen if he touched it."

"Are you a sorceress?" Isabel asked.

Still meeting her eyes, CC shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"But how do you know?" Gwenyth broke in breathlessly. "You cannot remember your past."

"I remember more about my past than I can admit to you right now, and I'm sorry about that. I can assure you, though, that I am not a sorceress." CC looked at each woman as she spoke. "But I do believe that women have magic. I don't mean anything dark and sinful. I just mean that I think that there is something special inside of us, and it's a part of what makes us women. I don't think you have to be young or beautiful or a princess to have it—you just have to be female and willing to listen within and to believe."

The room was silent as CC continued eating, but the silence didn't feel tense, instead it felt thoughtful.

"I had no idea I would be putting to use what you taught me this afternoon so quickly," CC said, breaking the silence with a smile.

CC was surrounded by looks of confusion until Isabel threw back her head and laughed.

"It was a ruse! The swoon was a ruse," Isabel said gleefully, nudging the two women nearest her. "You should have seen our princess. Like a delicate flower folding, she crumpled into my arms." Isabel did a rough imitation of CC's faint and the women cackled happily.

"Probably not as believable as my swoon," Lynelle grumbled before winking at CC and refilling her wine.

CC drank the last of the wine, grateful for the warm buzz in her stomach that helped offset the ache within her that seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. Now that work or talk wasn't distracting her, desire for the sea rolled through her and coupled with the longing she felt for Dylan, almost caused her to wince with the pain. Tomorrow night, she reminded herself. Then maybe she would never have to leave the water or Dylan again.

"You are tired, Undine. Come, let me take you to your chamber." Isabel said gently.

"Thank you, ladies. I appreciate all of you. Dinner was delicious—almost as good as the company. And thank you for trusting me."

A medley of "Sleep well, Princess" followed CC and Isabel from the room.

In the middle of the dining room, CC paused. "I don't want to walk back through the courtyard. Can we go the other way?"

"Certainly," Isabel said, changing direction for the doorway at the far end of the room through which CC had entered that morning.

"The creature's spirit comes from the well, doesn't it?" Isabel asked in a low voice.

CC glanced at the old woman. Then she nodded. "He is using the well to enter the monastery."

Isabel looked sharply at CC. "Can this thing harm you?"