Twilight's Eternal Embrace (17 page)

"
Fergus came by the shop a few days ago.
" Her father's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She glanced at
him
.
"
I have not seen Fergus since he went to work for his father. How is he doing?
"
Fergus
'
father was the blacksmith. The family made weapons for the Oiche Sith, a prosperous trade.

"
Doing well. He is a fine young man, do you not think?
"

"
Aye. He is always pleasant and he is good with his little brother, who can sometimes be a pest.
He is a
lways patient.
"
The moon cast enough light to see, making it a good night for hunting. Her father
'
s steps were uneven, but he kept up with her strides easily enough.

"
Hmm-mm. He asked about you.
"

"
Me?
"
She couldn
'
t understand why Fergus would. They played together as children, but once she was old enough to help her mother in the kitchen, she hadn
'
t spent any time with him other than at the festivals
,
E
ven then it was a limited conversation.

"
Aye. He wanted my permission to court you.
"

Her gaze riveted to her father
'
s. Panic seized her heart, making it difficult to breath
e
.
"
What did you tell him?
"
Her father had the right to find a suitable male for her
,
now that she wouldn
'
t be chosen to wed an Oiche Sith.

"
I told him he had my blessing.
"

She closed her eyes for a second and swallowed back her words of protest. How could she explain her reasons why she didn
'
t want Fergus as a husband without revealing her feelings for Bram? Shocked at the news, it took a moment for her father
'
s next words to register.

"
Aye, I told him he could court you
,
as long as you agreed.
"

Her father was giving her a choice.
"
Thank you.
"
Her voice came out like a hoarse whisper.

Her father
'
s hand gripped her forearm, bringing her steps to a halt. He placed a finger to his lips then pointed. She followed his line of vision and spotted the brown hare munching on greens. He nodded with a smile and let her take the prize. She raised her bow and reached for an arrow with slow careful moves. Hares were flighty creatures and could be scared off at the slightest noise. She took aim, letting the arrow fly. The hare
'
s gaze shifted and its nose wiggled to pick up a scent, but danger registered a second too late. Her arrow hit its mark and the hare went down without an attempt to flee.

They strode over to the animal. It had not died yet, but she knew the animal
'
s time was near. She knelt beside it.
"
It is all right
,
kind hare. I thank you for the sacrifice you have made so we may have food on our table.
"
The moment she said the words, thoughts of her sister came to mind. The stronger survived and the weaker were sacrificed. It was the way of the world. The hare
'
s eyes glazed and its body stilled. The essence left, leaving behind only the shell. Her sister had done the same. Her sister was sacrifice
d
so the Oiche Sith could live.

She knew the truth, but still she
yearned
to pledge her life to a male who would most likely take her life in the end. She knew Bram would rather die than hurt her, but it was like telling a cat not to take its pleasure with a mouse. Eventually
,
the true nature could not be denied. 

She didn
'
t know she was crying until her father knelt beside her.

He drew her into his embrace.
"
It is all right. Let your grief go.
"

She clung to her father like she
'
d done when she was a little girl, but her father didn
'
t understand. She didn
'
t weep for just her sister, but for selfish reasons
too. She loved Bram despite the danger, despite how she would hurt her family. She could never wed Fergus.

Bram
i
s wrong for
you,
her conscience taunted
.

"
Give Fergal a chance, love,
"
her father encouraged.
"
He will make you happy.
"

She didn
'
t answer him, but buried her face in her father
'
s shirt, taking comfort in the woodsy scent of his clothes. She should run from the threat. It was the sensible thing to do, but all she wanted was to leap into
danger
'
s
arms.

Chapter Twenty-Four

When Bram arrived at the castle, he went straight to his father and told him what happened. With his brother
'
s fanciful story of how
Bram
lost his senses and attacked them, Bram was forced to face the elders and retell the story—well,
his
account of what happened anyway.

Loreto
'
s smug
appearance
slipped as Bram strode into the grand hall to make his case, looking fit and unharmed. Obviously, his brother thought he had perished with the sun
'
s rays when he had not returned last night.

The hall was
crammed full as they awaited
the ruling. If they could not find a seat, they stood huddled in clusters against the wall. Bram almost smirked at how ludicrous the situation had become. Loreto spun an eventful tale of what happened. Of course in Loreto
'
s story, his brother appeared the poor victim. His buddies
,
Fergal and
Niven,
had
backed up the claims, agreeing to every lie Loreto told. 

It was no wonder the villagers stared at him in wonder. Loreto told them of his demise, but here he was, striding in as if the sun
'
s rays had no effect on him. He was an Oiche Sith who had yet to make his transition, but was able to take down one blooded male and subdue two others. He was looked upon with admiration
,
and maybe feared a little too.

Fergal glared at him as he passed by. He obviously had not forgiven him for breaking his neck. He deserved what he got. It wasn
'
t his fault the break didn
'
t heal properly. It would need to be broken and reset again. As far as he was concerned, Fergal was lucky he didn
'
t leave him to
fry
in the sun.

His father and mother sat at the front of the grand hall with the other elders. His gaze took in the wood carved chairs they sat upon. They were new in comparison to other furnishings and he wondered if Adryanna
'
s father was the carpenter.

Once he reached the front
, h
e gave a courtly bow of respect.
"
Good evening, elders.
"

None of the elders returned the gesture. So be it. They wanted to get down to business. The sooner this was over the better.

"
Your brother claims your attack was unprovoked.
"
His father raised an eyebrow. His father was a fair man and would demand all parties make their claims, but Bram had three males against him, claiming another story as the truth.

"
I will not deny my part in the fight, but I believe there has been a few details left out to shade the truth.
"

Loreto strode forward.
"
Father, do not listen to him.
"

"
Sit down, Loreto,
"
his father ordered.
"
You had your chance to speak. It is Bram
'
s right to defend himself against your allegations.
"

His brother moved to the sidelines, but he didn
'
t take a seat. He always had to defy authority.

"
Continue.
"
His father
gestured
toward Bram.

Bram told his side of the story, but kept Adryanna
'
s identity to himself. He had to remain indifferent to protect her.
"
The Lathe Sith was an innocent, but Loreto did not seem to care. The three had feasted on deer and were drunk on blood. I could see they would not let the female go. I stepped in to stop them from making a terrible mistake they would regret.
"

"
Who was this female?
"
his father questioned.

Bram lifted a shoulder.
"
I do not know. Everything happened so fast. I never thought to ask her name.
"

"
I am told one of the Lathe Sith
'
s shot Loreto with an arrow,
"
The elder Seamus spoke up. His hair was white, nearly the color of the moon. His eyes were pale blue and they had a way of pinning a person down and making them squirm, even if they had nothing to hide.

"
Aye, but only to defend the female Loreto held captive. It was I who drove the arrow into his heart. He would not let the female go to her kin.
"

Elder Seamus shifted his gaze to Loreto. His brother flinched and took a step back. Elder Seamus
addressed
Bram again.
"
I believe we have a clearer picture now of last night
'
s events. I say your fight with Loreto was unavoidable.
"

Loreto cursed and slammed his fist into the wall.
"
Bram shoved an arrow into my heart. He should be punished.
"

"
Silence!
"
Elder Seamus turned toward his brother, his voice like ice.
"
You are blooded now. Your behavior was unacceptable. If you had killed the female, the clan would want your head
,
and I for one
,
would let them have it. Be glad your brother stopped you.
"

"
You believe his story over mine?
"
Loreto pointed a finger at Bram.

"
Aye,
"
the elder Seamus said with certainty.
"
I knew you lied the moment the explanation left your lips. Truly, you expected us to believe your brother disabled all three of you in a fit of anger? For your lies, you will be confined to the castle grounds for two full moon cycles so you may reflect on your sins.
"

His brother took a step forward, but Fergal held him back. Smart move. No one confronted elder Seamus and lived to tell the tale.

Fergal and Niven received a lesser sentence since they had yet to be blooded. They were confined to the castle grounds for one full moon cycle. Elder Seamus leveled his gaze on Bram then.
"
I am most curious. How did you avoid the sun
'
s rays?
"
The hall fell quiet as a tomb as they waited for his reply.

His gut clenched tight. Even though the elder
'
s expression appeared carefully neutral as he kept his gaze on him, Bram knew there was nothing innocent about the question.
"
Once I subdued Fergal, I knew I could not make it back to Dungannon in time. After I covered Fergal with leaves, I also took cover.
"
He did not lie
,
exactly. Hopefully, his explanation would be enough to suffice.

After a long uncomfortable moment, the elder finally nodded.
"
Quick thinking on your part.
"
H
is eyes narrowed on
Fergal.
"
It seems you owe Bram your life.
"

"
My life? Look what he did to me?
"
He pointed to his neck that sat upon his shoulders in a skewed fashion.