Nox, King of Annwn.
His lips curved into a smile before he opened his eyes. Hands still tucked behind his head, he turned in my direction, opened one pale gray eye then the other.
“The gown fits you well,” he noted, amused.
I hardened myself against the deep, sensual voice. Hearing it in my mind had mesmerized me and brought about so many new emotions and feelings. Hearing it in the flesh was far more potent. If I didn’t steel myself against him now, I’d never be free from this place.
He studied me, his eyes lingering for a spell before sitting up and patting the grass beside him. “Come, sit, Deira. We have much to discuss, you and I.”
“We have nothing to discuss.” I shoved my hair behind my shoulders and crossed my arms.
Nox’s gaze went to my breasts, my movement causing their swell to become more visible in the gown’s plunging neck line. I dropped my arms, heat stealing into my cheeks. “What have you done with Balen?”
“Nothing. Yet.” He let out a sigh as he pushed to his feet.
I’d seen him once, through the flames of the fire festival. Up close, he was even more striking. And intimidating. He stood as tall as Balen and possessed wide shoulders and strength in his build, but there was something different about Nox, something I’d never noticed with anyone else before. No, I had. When I’d met Drem, the War Raven, with its low hum of energy.
Magic and power clung to Nox like a heady perfume. It altered his voice, his essence, even the air around him.
He’s the grandson of an Ageless One, I reminded myself. He has power unlike anyone you have ever known.
I’d have to tread carefully. He could take whatever he willed of me and be done with it. He hadn’t yet, but sooner or later he would. “Is it true what my father says?” I asked as he straightened his plain white tunic.
“He has promised you to me, aye.”
I stared beyond him, determined to not be drawn in by his looks or by the heavy aura of sensuality clinging to him. “Release Balen and Drem, return the Lia Fail, and I’ll consent.”
He laughed.
The sound echoed through the courtyard and grated on every nerve in my body.
“You have nothing to bargain with. I don’t need your consent.” He scratched his jaw, eyeing me thoughtfully, one corner of his mouth still turned up in amusement. “I’ve waited for you a long time, Deira. I want you to feel welcome here, to be happy and, perhaps, one day, to feel loved.”
“Loved? By you?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I am capable of the emotion. Because I rule the land of the dead, doesn’t mean my heart is dead as well. You, more than anyone, should know what it’s like to be misunderstood, to be betrayed, abandoned...”
He took a step toward me.
I held my ground, lifting my chin to meet his intelligent gaze.
“What have you to lose?” he asked. “Balen has thrown you to the wolves to save his precious house. You have no one back in Murias. No family. No friends. No one here in Éire, except your father. Why not me? Why not share the world with me? You’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted and more.”
Disbelief filled me; his words making a small impact, but an impact just the same. He captured my hands, his power sweeping through me with a wave of sensuality and euphoria. My breath hitched. The color of his eyes captivated me, the palest gray I’d ever seen.
“Think on it. You and I, we are the same. I was abandoned for my differences. I was cast out, driven away from those whose love I sought. Always alone. And now I have the power to regain what was lost to me, to prove my worth, and take my rightful place. I know what it’s like, Deira. No one else can say that.”
Nox seemed to understand my deepest hurts in a way no one else ever had. I swallowed. He confused me, clouded my intentions, and made me feel things I didn’t want to feel.
“Can your Balen say that?” he asked. “He has known nothing but acceptance and love from his family and his house. He will never understand what it means to watch a loving family from afar and wish to be part of it, wish to feel just one moment of it.”
He squeezed my hands as he spoke. Tears pricked my eyes, for he spoke of me when he spoke of himself. I avoided the pain in his eyes. I didn’t want to sympathize with him or relate to him. Nox of Annwn was manipulative and devious, I had to remember that.
Or was he ?
He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. “We belong together. We are the same.”
His eyes burned bright with conviction. I glared back at him, clenching my teeth, and hating that I understood him.
“The way we’ve been treated by others, aye, we have that in common,” I said. “But you, along with my father, have trapped me, just as everyone has my whole life. Anything you want from me, you’ll have to take by force, for I won’t give it freely.”
The muscle in his jaw flexed, and his pale eyes took on a glint of silver. “You sound like a petulant child, Deira. Have your tantrum, but it won’t change your course or mine. Innis Fail will fall under my rule, and Éire will follow suit. It’s up to you whether you live your life as a queen or as a prisoner, for there is no other path for you.”
“Exactly my point,” I shot back.
Two hounds appeared silently from the direction of the gallery. I stepped back, away from Nox. Anger rolled off him, surrounding him in a controlled, lethal force. “Take her to her room.”
“No, wait—” Nox held up his hand. The hounds waited. “Let me see Balen. Please. Please, give me your word you won’t harm him, and… And I will take my place by your side. I will . . . try.” To love you. My heart thumped hard. It was the only thing I had to bargain. The only thing Nox seemed to want from me.
His eyes narrowed as he studied me intently. Not wanting him to see the uncertainty on my face, I fell to my knees in front of him and clutched his calf, pressing my forehead against the leather of his boots. “Please let me see him.”
Nox remained rigid before laying a gentle hand on my head. He stroked my hair, slipped his hand around the base of my skull, and prodded me to look at him. When I did tears slipped down my cheeks.
He pulled me to my feet. His thumb wiped at my tears. He shook his head as he tucked my hair behind my ear, searching my face, seeming confounded. “Why do you matter so?” His hand cupped my cheek, his wet thumb trailing along my bottom lip. “I will indulge you on this,” he said softly. “And I will give you a geás, a binding oath. I’ll not harm Balen. You may see him now and then you’ll return to me.”
“Truly?” I asked, unable to hide the hope in my voice.
“Truly.”
The fact that he’d yielded, stunned me. “But… Why would you do this for me?”
His hand dropped from my face. “Because, Deira,” he answered, his voice tired and honest. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
CHAPTER 21
I was supposed to hate Nox. He was the enemy; the enemy to everyone in my land. And yet his words . . . they made me sympathize. His smile was bleak and cynical. I looked away, drew in a deep breath, and tried to bring some clarity back to the situation.
“You’ll give your geás, then?”
“As I’ve promised, aye.”
It was more than I’d hoped for. A geás, once given, could not be broken. It might be the only way to save Balen’s life. I searched for signs of untruth in the steady pale gray eyes, but all I saw was frost, cold, and unfathomable depths.
He motioned to the hounds. “They’ll take you to Balen.”
He left, disappearing into the darkness of the gallery.
I rubbed at my chest again, watching him go, knowing how he felt, his words echoing in my head. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
One hound went behind me and the other stepped in front of me. It glanced over its furry white shoulder and began moving beyond the golden tree. Woodenly, I followed, forcing Nox from my thoughts and turning them to the problem at hand. I had no idea what to do next, but I knew, somehow, I must free Balen from Cathair Crofin.
We went deep into the palace, into the hillside where the smell of the earth was thick and pungent, so much so that the air became humid and difficult to breathe. The gray stone palace walls were replaced by crude rock, reminding me of the cavern where the Void had deposited me and Balen.
Torches burned at long intervals, lighting our way, yet creating dark shadows in between. There were small caves, chambers, and narrow corridors. Pools of hot water bubbled from the ground in some of the larger chambers. The hem of my gown became wet and dirty, and my bare feet were caked in dirt and scratched from the rough floor.
Occasionally, the echo of voices traveled through the underground labyrinth, but I didn’t strain to hear the words or the sounds. There was nothing good there. No hope. No light.
Up ahead, a tall archway was lit with the remnants of daylight. The air had thinned and cooled, and as we left behind the massive hill, mist gathered around us outside, seeming to pull us into a vast field ringed by the dark forest of Cathair Crofin.
The hounds disappeared into the white fog, leaving me alone. I scanned the area, unsure of where to go. Balen was nowhere in sight. I turned in a circle. The mist was so thick it hid the archway that led back into the hill. This place, the forest, the palace in the hill, the courtyard, the field . . . it was a confusing labyrinth of indoor and outdoor places. One could lose themselves forever.
“Balen?” I called, keeping my voice low, unsure of what lurked in the mist.
Pain, hot and quick, lanced my foot. I bent down, inspecting a small cut on my heel and finding the culprit in an old sword poking through the wet ground.
The sword was held by a bony hand.
I went still, fear sliding icy-cold down my spine as my mind went back to the first attack at the encampment and the bony arms that had held me... Hesitantly, I scanned my surroundings, the mist thinning just enough for me to see and panic making my breathing fast and erratic. I was in the middle of a battle field.