Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) (16 page)

Odhrán
nodded
curtly
. “Aye,” he
said, “a
nd I will not sit idle while you risk bringing the
hunters
not only up
on yourself, but upon Tara.”

She studied him for a moment
, not willing to look away lest he turn on her
.
“Why have you been following me
?”
Shiovra
queried
, wanting to hear the words from his own mouth
.

“I have been charged with the duty of protecting you until you fulfill the vows of betrothal
,” he
told her. “You have been named the High Priestess of this village
.
There are hunters seeking you, charged with your capture
. My purpose is to make sure they do not succeed.”

Shiovra
crossed her arms, watching his with guarded eyes. “And I am to simply trust you, one of the very Milidh clan who
killed my mother
?” she questioned, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.
Because of Odhrán’s clan, she’d lost her mother and that memory fueled her anger at him.
“How am I to know what your true intentions are
?”

“It is your choice to t
rust me or not,” Odhrán said. “Though I may be Milidh, I am sworn to
protect you
.” He
exhaled
. “That blade you found,” he continued, making a swift gesture
towards the water
, “was upon a man I found lurking about. What you were about to do
would bring
a
risk far too great to attempt, e
ven if it was meant to locate the ene
my. Forgive me
, but I had to stop you.”

Shiovra
made no response
.

“You were named High Priestess for a reason. You have a duty to protect your people, like I have my duty to pr
otect you. Ailill’s hold is growing, his ranks strengthening
,
” Odhrán
stated
coldly.
“
What s
hall you do to defend against him
?” He paused, watching her intently
.

She hesitated.

When she did not respond,
Odhrán closed the distance between them. Grabbing her left arm, he studied her honor marks, then her face. Releasing her arm, he gently took hold of
Shiovra
’s chin and tilted her face so that their eyes met once more.
“What shall you do to defend your village against Ailill,
or the Milidh,
Shiovra
Ní Coughlin
?”

Her heart too
k a sudden jump at his actions, her body frozen with an odd mingling of fear and anger
.
Fear of what his intentions may be, and anger that she could not seem to gain control of her body. When Odhrán leaned closer,
Shiovra
’
s breath caught in her throat. She held his gaze, refusing to look away.

Odhrá
n
frowned as a gust of wind surrounded them
, his hand falling from her chin
.
He looked around them with a hard gaze. “There is a storm coming
,” he mu
rmured. “The hunters search for you, priestess, and w
ith the crimson haze of dawn
, the battle will be upon us.” He met her eyes once more
. “
Return to Tara immediately, I will remain here and scout the woods.
Should anything happen, I will come.” Turning, he left her to stand alone, disappearing through the trees.

Shiovra
stood in stunned silence, her heart pounding
hard within her chest.
Closing her eyes, she forced her heart to calm and her breathing to even
.
The wind whispered to her, urging her to heed the Milidh man’s words.
The energies surrounding her felt cold and
forewarning.
And so, when a bird cried out in the distance, her eyes snapped open and her feet took flight, carrying her back to the safety of the village.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Daire
walked through the dimly lit
village, looking for
Shiovra
. It was not long before he found her. The priestess sat
near a larg
e fire which had been built at
the coming of nightfall. He watched his cousin as she looked at the heavy clouds ga
thering, her arms wrapped around
her
drawn up knees
.
Daire
studied the clouds himself. A storm was approaching
.

“
Shiovra
?”
Daire
asked as he quietly approached.

Shiovra
glanc
ed over her shoulder at him
. “Aye?” she queried, turning
away from the oncoming storm and to the fire.

Daire
sat down beside her, watching her in silence for a while
.
The light of the fire made her red-gold hair gleam beautifully and added a warm glow to her blue eyes.
“Where did you disappear to?” he questioned
, relaxing his elbows on her knees. “Mahon has been
fre
tting about you. You vanished from the festival and he worried that something may have happened…”

Shiovra
glanced at him
with a brow raised
. “It seems to me, cousin
,
that you were the one
doing the fretting,” she bantered
.

He gave a small, guilty laugh. “Perhaps.”

She turned back to the fire. “I was in the woods,” she admitted. “It was the
re that I found a dagger that was similar to the one Árdal had
.”

Daire
started
. “More Fomorii weapons
?”

Shiovra
nodded. “Aye,” she continued. “
The blade was stronger, but there was no doubt in my mind it was Fomorii
.
I wanted to scry on the blade to see if
whoever
dropped it lingered close to Tara…”

His eyes narrowed on the woman.
Daire
was not unfamiliar with scrying. And he knew the dangers that came with it. “
Shiovra
…” he began.

Shiovra
sighed under his stern gaze. “No need to lecture me
,
Daire
, I know very well what could have happened. I made my decision with this village in mind
.
” She hesitated, anger flickering across her lovely face. “That is when Odhrán came upon
me, knocking that dagger from my hand.”

Daire
stiffened at the mention of the Milidh man, his anger growing. He didn’t trust the man in the least and to hear that he had been alone with
Shiovra
did not sit well with him.
Daire
could care less that Odhrán had been sent to protect
Shiovra
. Alliance or no, he would not trust the Milidh man.

A soft touch on his arm pulled him from his thoughts. Turning to
Shiovra
, he found her looking at him with calm eyes.
Daire
muttered curses and
grabbed her
by the shoulders, bringing
his face closer to hers. His eyes bore into hers. “
Odhrán was there
?” he demanded. “Did he hurt you?! Did he touch you? Did he do anything to you?!”

Shiovra
shook her head, pulling out of his grasp quickly. “Nay,” she reassured him in an even tone
. “He knew the dangers of the ritual and
warned
me not
to risk it.” She looked away from him
. “He reminded me that it is his duty to watch over me till the betrothal is fulfilled
.”

“For the sake of alliance…”
Daire
muttered resentfully.
“How are
we to know that the blade was not his
?
That he did not prevent you from scrying upon it so you would not discover it was his?
”

The priestess sighed. “I
may
not trust him, but I do not believe the dagger was his,”
she admitted.
“Though the warning he g
ave before leaving
concerns me.”

Daire
frowned. “What warning?” he questioned a bit more anxiously than he wanted.

“The hunters search for you and with the crimson haze of dawn, the battle will be upon us,”
Shiovra
reiterated. “Those were his words.”

His frown deepened. Her words did not sit well with him. “Does he know the movements of our enemy which we do not?”
Daire
muttered under his breath, glaring at the fire as it danced wildly on the wood. “I should speak of this with Ainmire.”

Shiovra
sighed and
when
Daire
glanced over, he found her eye
s
closed
, a slight smile touching her lips.

He watched his cousin, allowing his thoughts to drift away from the threat of the enemy to the woman sitting beside him
. The years had been kind to her, even if she had spent her youth secluded on an island training. The mirthful girl he once knew had grown, in his eyes, into a beautiful woman. Though, it was unfortunate that her stubbornness stayed with her.

Shiovra
opened her eyes and glanced at
Daire
.
“I wish Tara could always remain this quiet and peaceful,” she said with a sad smile.

Daire
watched as her smile faded away
.

“Yet that can never be, can it
?”
s
h
e queried.
The priestess
sighed heavily and
rose to her feet
.
She looked into the fire for a long while,
and then
told him firmly, “I
may have accepted that, but I refuse to give it up without a fight
. I am the High Priestess and I will
protect
this village till I am not longer able to.
I will not turn my back on these people
.”

Daire
found himself smiling as he moved to stand beside her. “You shall not stand alone
,
Shiovra
,” he said comfortingly. “Remember, you shall have my bow at your side.” Yawning,
Daire
stretched
. “Come, it has been a long day. Why not retire for the evening? There has been a cottage prep
ared for you near the
High fort
. Ainmire thought you would like some space to yourself.
”

Shiovra
nodded
.
“Aye.”

“Good.” He grinned widely and walked wit
h her towards the
main cottage
.
Daire
stopped a
cottage which stood
near
the
chieftain’
s, though not too terribly close
.
O
ne of the smallest
cottage
s in the village, the
walls were thick, good for keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The
thatch roof appeared to be
in good condition
.

Daire
pushed aside the door and beckoned to her, gesturing for her to enter. Stepping inside,
Shiovra
looked around. Sitting in the center of the circular cottage
,
a warm fire burned in the
stone-lined
hearth
while a low table sat off to the side.
A small bench adorned the wall
near
the table, covered in clay jars, bowls, and cups. Herbs hung around the bench. There were two wooden platforms with thick mattresses that bore heavy throws and coverlets
upon them and a large
wooden chest stood
between
the beds.

What had caught the woman’s attention more, though, was the
loom
which
rested a
gainst a support post near the door
.

Shiovra
stepped up to it
. “Mother’s loom…” she
breathed.

Daire
nodded
, watching her lovingly caress the wood with a smile on her face
. “
Ainmire thought you would like to have it
here
with you
,
”
he
told her
, grinning
.
“You may stay here till you are ready to return to the main cottage.”