Liam looked at his daughter wrapped snuggly in Freyne’s arms and his shoulders dropped, as if some of his resolve had melted away. But not entirely, for he still had his penetrating blue gaze locked on Freyne. “So, you have told her, aye,” he said more as a statement than a question.

  “Aye, Papa. He told me from the very beginning,” Alyson said as she stood up from the bed and grabbed on to Freyne’s hand. “And I care naught. In fact, I am pleased.”

  “Pleased?” Liam boomed, making Alyson take a step backward. The back of her knees collided with Freyne’s legs and she landed in his lap.

  “Aye. Why should I not be?” She shrugged and rested a hand on Freyne’s shoulder. “He understands who I am, who we are, something nobody else could ever truly do.” Then, to Alyson’s surprise, her anger flared as she saw the menacing look her papa was still shooting in Freyne’s direction.

  “You were quite approving of him after his spar!” she spat. “So, that is what makes you approve of a man? How well he fights? How about how well he treats your daughter? How kind, thoughtful, and honorable he is? Why are you so angry?” She was shouting at him now, something she had never done in her entire life. Yet, she could not contain her anger. “I finally found someone I really care about, and you can switch from approval to disapproval simply because of his origins? Did it bother you when you found out mama was a faery? Or that she had powers? NAY!”

  “That is enough, Alyson!” her father shouted back, the vein in his jaw protruding as he clenched his teeth. “You have nay idea what you are saying!”

  “Then tell me!” she shouted back. Taking a deep breath, her voice lowered, along with her eyes. “Please Papa, make me understand.”

  “King Liam,” Freyne cut in as he stood up from the bed and wrapped his arm protectively around Alyson. “I swear to take good care of your daughter. As you saw, I am a well-trained fighter, but I am so much more than that. I am a faery, aye, but that means I can protect her better than any human man could. I love her.”

  “Love her?” Liam asked incredulously. “You only just met!”

  “Nay, I have loved her much longer than you know. We are meant to be. I will be a good husband—”

  “Husband? Nay!” shouted Liam, his face turning an unattractive shade of purple.

  “Tis not your decision, Papa! Tis already done! We have said our handfast vows! He is my husband!” Alyson seethed with anger at her father. How dare he tell her that she cannot marry the man of her choosing? She was almost nine and ten summers, much older than most unmarried lassies in their tuath. “I will not let you do to us what Grandpapa Doran did to you and Mama! I will run away if you try!”

  Before Liam could shoot more venomous words at his daughter, Gwynneth pushed past his formidable form, her petite body sliding between his rock of a leg and the side of the wall. “My love,” she said in an appeasing voice, placing her fingers upon his arm reassuringly. “She is right; you cannot tell her who to marry. It is her right to choose, and for the life of me, I see not why you are so angry.”

  “Oh, nay?” Liam turned his ire onto his wife now, veins popping out of his neck again. “I have nay say, do I? You knew about this?”

  “She told me when she arrived home this evening. It was not my news to tell, Liam. She was too afraid to tell you.” Gwynneth placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot in irritation. Alyson had seen this stance before…her mother was doing her best not to lose her temper, but by the rising color of her cheeks, she was losing her inner battle.

  “Why would she be afraid to tell me?” Liam growled at his wife. Gwynneth’s brows shot up on her forehead and her eyes grew wide. She just stared at him as if he were a lunatic, waiting silently for him to self-reflect on his own behavior. “Aye, well…I wish she were not afraid to tell me. But in truth, she was correct, I would not have approved! They just met!” Then he shot daggers at Freyne with his eyes. “By the cursed horns of Cernunnos! Have you touched my daughter? Have you defiled her?” he roared.

  “PAPA!” Alyson shouted when he took a step closer to Freyne, eyes squinting and finger jabbing into his chest. She stepped in between them frantically, but her father shoved her out of the way.

  Freyne’s demeanor stayed calm and rational, a fact that only seemed to further enflame Liam. “Nay, I have not touched your daughter. And I would appreciate it if you refrained from shoving my wife.” Freyne grabbed her around the waist and guided her to stand behind his formidable form.

  Liam snarled and pointed at Freyne again. “Then your marriage is unconsummated!” he growled, “you are not her husband, and shall never be! Leave now. You will never see her again.”

  “NAY! Nay, Papa!” Alyson screamed as tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. “You cannot do this! You have nay right!” Alyson clung onto Freyne’s powerful arms with all her strength, digging her claws in as her father tried to remove her.

  “Liam!” Gwynneth shouted as she tried to pry his hands off Alyson. “What has gotten into you?” Freyne’s mother was crying in the corner with her head down, and Liam was grabbing at Alyson, who was clawing into Freyne while Gwynn was yanking on Liam.

  “Enough!” Freyne shouted. The room fell silent. He turned to Alyson and put his hands on her cheeks to steady her. “I can see I am not welcome, and this is not my home. I must leave as requested of me—”

  “Nay, Freyne! Do not leave me! I love you!” Alyson threw herself onto her bed and cried into the soft furs.

  “I love you, too, mo chroí. This is not the end. I will be back for you.” He looked at Liam with confidence and quirked a brow. “And nobody will stop me, for you are my wife.” With a nod of his head, he ducked out of the room, but not before squeezing his mother in a tight embrace and wiping away her tears. “Good night, Mother.” As Freyne left the house, the rest of the family looked regretfully at his retreating figure. Alyson’s family all stared at one another in silence.

  Her loud scream traveled down the corridor from her chamber, shattering into a million pieces in the air, surrounding them all with the anguish within Alyson’s soul. “I hate you, Father. I will never speak to you again.” She threw a wash basin at the wall and the sounds of clay crashing to the ground filled her ears, and then sobs rang out that could only be caused by her heart ripping out of her chest. Gwynneth and Katriona came out of the chamber, holding hands and sobbing as they looked down at their feet. A moment later Liam stormed out, punching the white, lime-washed walls in his anger. A piece of thatch came down from the roof, but he did not turn back, nor did he speak with anyone else that night. He retreated into his chamber and stayed in there until dawn.

  Chapter 10

  As if leaving for a long journey was not a stressful enough event, the tensions surrounding the family were high, causing silence to preside over them while last minute items like combs and lye soap were hastily thrown into leather satchels. The men were out in the stable readying the horses while the women sorted the rations and double checked their supplies.

  Gwynneth had slept in Alyson’s room the night before, both too worried about her daughter’s welfare and far too infuriated by her husband’s behavior. She could not figure out what had overcome Liam, but she could not help feeling offended herself. After all, was she not part faery? How could he be married to a descendant of Dana, yet be so cruel when his daughter fell in love with one of her own? Poor Alyson sobbed herself to sleep, formed into a quivering ball with her head buried into Gwynneth’s chest. It broke Gwynneth’s heart and no amount of reassurance could make Alyson cease.

  Not only did her heart ache for her daughter, but she was leaving behind two of her children for an unknown period of time. Little Duncan was to stay with his foster father and name-sake, Liam’s best mate and second in command, so that he could continue his warrior training and stay out of danger. He was simply not ready to fight and if a battle should ensue, she did not want any of her children in harm’s way, naturally, but the others were ready for this journey and could be of great help to the group.

  Though it still made her heart cry out to leave her daughter for the first time ever, leaving Treasa was not so hard because she knew Treasa would be in the best of care with Eoin. They would stay here, maintain the home and start their new life together as a married couple. By the sounds coming from their chamber the night before, it did not seem like Treasa was nearly as sad to be left alone with Eoin as Gwynneth was to leave her.

  Thank the gods for Leannan and Aislin. They were doing their very best to console Alyson and finish her packing while Gwynneth stepped away to handle her own tasks. When she walked into the living area, she could see the sympathetic eyes of Ceara and Una upon her. They squeezed her hands supportively and flashed her reassuring smiles, but they said nothing of the night’s events. They gathered up the many bags of rations they had packed and put them next to the door, along with the woolen blankets and linen towels for the men to pack into their cart.

  Travel would be slow, but it could not be helped. With so many travelers and unknown days to prepare for, they must be ready to set up camp, have plenty of food, drink, clothing, and personal supplies. To load up each horse would be too strenuous and carts were slow moving.

  Brennain and Flynn were in a corner laughing with Eoin, saying their goodbyes in the manliest way they could, of course, with back slaps and firm forearm clasps. When Gwynneth added another bag of rations to the stack by the entrance, Liam entered, bumping his shoulder into hers. He stopped and looked down at her, a look of regret flashing in his eyes, but until an apology came forthwith, she would be speaking to him no more than Alyson. She turned her back away from him and went back to the food prep area. There was a deep pain in his features. Being shunned by his wife was not something he was used to, and it was clear he ached inside, but Gwynneth was far too angry to care.

  With nothing left to prepare, it was time to, once again, leave the comforts of their home and set out to do what the gods had requested of them. Their first stop would be Coraindt, fortunately only a day’s ride away if they traveled well. They may need to camp out one night before they arrive, but it was comforting to know they would soon be back at Ceara and Garreth’s tuath and be supplied with the same comforts they were used to. Hopefully, Aislin would be able to strike a bargain with Sir that he deemed worth the loss of his prized treasure.

  Alyson’s eyes were red and swollen as she mounted her black mare. Liam looked at his daughter and quickly looked away. His gut knotted up and he felt the need to empty his stomach contents when he saw what his harshness had done to his daughter. He could not understand why he had reacted so powerfully to the news of Freyne being a faery. It started with a deep fear of him taking Alyson with him to the Otherworld, below ground where the faeries lived.

  Freyne and Alyson would live a thousand summers, while her entire family aged away, never seeing her again. That was his greatest fear. There was no way Freyne meant to stay in the human world with Alyson, after all. Why would he give up the long lifespan and the many powerful benefits faeries enjoyed within their own world? Nay, he would not, Liam was sure of it, and it caused him the most distress to think of losing Alyson forever.

  Then there was the shock of their marriage. How could they become handfast within a day of meeting and then tell only her mother, intentionally leaving him in the dark? His hurt pride was almost more than he could bear, but the look on Alyson’s face was much, much worse. He had caused that pain. Every puffed-up crease under her eyes, the permanent frown on her lips and the consistent trail of tears leaking down her cheeks…he was the cause of it all. How was he ever going to concentrate on the task ahead, knowing that his heartbroken daughter trailed in his wake?

  Any number of profanities were running through his head and he struggled to keep them under the surface. No matter how much he regretted causing her pain, he could not be sorry for tearing them apart. Freyne could not take his daughter away forever. Alyson was innocent, clueless. She had no idea what it would mean to marry a faery and end up in his world. He had heard of humans going below ground to live, but they were rarely ever seen again, considering one summer in the faery world was nearly sixteen human summers. Even if Alyson decided to visit occasionally, several years would have passed in the human world. It was too much to endure…he could not allow it.

  Liam had to block her out of his mind…and his angry wife. By all the gods! How was he going to survive this journey if both his wife and daughter ignored him? Well, he would play their game. If they were stubborn, he was far more. If they wished to keep their silence, the better it was for his aching ears. He would let them wallow, for all he cared. He was tired of allowing his many women to control his every move. He was King Liam of Iverni! Descendant of the last High Kings of the Danann! He would not allow these women to sway him with their tears. With a resolved grunt, he kicked the side of his large black steed, urging him ahead. The more distance he put between himself and his sulking family, the better. He would ride ahead with Brocc, Garreth and his nephews. Perhaps they would keep his mind on more important topics.

  “Mother, I told you that I would make her my wife one day, and I meant it. Did you think it was all some childish fancy?” Freyne sat by the central hearth with his booted feet kicked up on the table, watching the wood blaze within the fire. It almost blazed as hot as his anger, but not quite. Nothing could even begin to measure up to the rage boiling within him.

  Katriona came closer and swiped at his legs, causing his heavy leather boots to fall to the floor. “Get your dirty feet off the table lad. I taught you better than that. I also taught you better than to steal your bride.” Freyne scrutinized his mother. The human world had certainly aged her quickly and it made him only that much angrier. How could Liam be alright with Katriona being a faery, leaving her home, losing years of her own life just to serve him and his family? Yet, he could not accept the same from Freyne. After all, it was the same. He was willing to give up all his years, his home, his whole world, just so he could create a new world with Alyson, to take care of her, protect her. What was so cursed dishonorable about that?

  “You saw how he reacted to just the very notion of his daughter courting a faery. He would have said nay to marriage, and I would not have accepted his answer, nor would Alyson. We do not need anyone’s permission, and I, for one, find it ridiculous that he is married to a descendant of Dana yet scoffs at his daughter being with me!”

  “You may not need his permission, but your life will be difficult if you cannot gain his acceptance.” Katriona plopped down next to him on the furs and slumped back with a sigh, her soft gray ringlets fluttering with her breath. “Listen, Freyne, I know of your visions and I support you; she is your true mate. But Liam does not know that yet. It will take him some time to accept that. But I have known him many summers, and though I have seen him raging mad in the past, I have never seen him this angry. You will need to think of something to—”

  “Nay,” Freyne said with a solemn shake of his head. “If the man cannot accept me for all the love and happiness I offer his daughter, then I will not go out of my way to impress him. All I care about is making Alyson happy.” He leaned back on one elbow as he stared deeper into the fire.

  “Aye, but do you not see? Alyson will not be truly happy if her father never accepts you. She will stay with you, even run off if she must, but she loves her father. He is a kind man, a good man. He only needs to get used to you.” Katriona scanned her son’s appearance. His shoulder length jet black hair was tied back into a queue and he had on brown leather trousers, a white tunic and a matching leather vest. His boots were tied up to the middle of his shin with crisscrossed leather bands and he had placed his cross bow, quiver, and sword next to the entrance earlier.

  “I must be off, mother. I do not want them to get too far ahead of me.” Freyne stood up quickly and stretched his tall body, hands up high over his head while he yawned.

  “You really plan on trailing them, then?” Katriona asked as she looked up at her son, towering over her, preparing to go off for battle.

  “Aye. I do not plan on leaving Alyson’s side. If her father thinks he can keep me away, he is mistaken. Besides, the faeries have all been called upon by the gods to aid Tuathal Techtmar in reclaiming the High Seat. It matters not if I fight alongside my people or the Sisters of Danu, as long as I am there. And, I would rather keep an eye on her entire family. The men are all strong warriors and the women have their own abilities, but I would feel better if I helped, even from a distance. You and I know what the future holds, but they do not.”

  “Very well,” Katriona said with a sigh. She twisted her hands nervously in her linen apron and he smiled down at her.

  “All will be well, mother, I promise. And when I come back, I will have my wife. I nay longer plan on waiting for her to arrive home to claim her back. Of that, I assure you.” He winked at his mother and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Mother.” He strode over to the entrance, swung his bow and quiver over his shoulder, and slid his sword back into its scabbard. With a wink over his shoulder, he disappeared into the cool spring night.

  Chapter 11

  Treasa rolled over in her bed, quivering from exhaustion as a thin sheen of perspiration covered her naked body. She ached everywhere, but in the most wondrous way. She could feel Eoin on every inch of her, as if his touch could brand her permanently. She sighed and stretched out like a cat. “Do you think we shall ever tire of this?” She looked over at her husband and melted when she saw a small smile spread across his lips. His arms were tucked under his head, muscles gleaming in the light of the hearth. A small patch of dark blonde hair was sprinkled across his chest, a trail leading down toward his groin. Treasa looked at him through a dreamy daze, eyelids half-mast, but still not at all done with him for the night.

 

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