Faerie Fate Read Free Page B

returned,
carrying mugs of rich brown ale. He settled in the other chair, and they sipped
their drinks, silently watching the fire, each lost in his own thoughts. A
troubled expression settled on Niall’s face. Ciaran cocked an eyebrow in
question. When Niall didn’t speak, he broke the silence. “What?”
    The older man stared
into the fire, as if he hoped to find the answer in the flames. A long moment
later, he spoke. “How? You must have left soon after me. How did you know where
to find her?”
    Now it was his turn
to stare into the fire as he sought the words to explain. “I was pulled.”
    “Pulled?”
    He nodded. “Aye. My
heart knew where to find her. My head knew she was in danger. I roused the
troop.” He shrugged. “Who is she, Niall?”
    Neither man had the
answer to that one. The fire slowly burned down to glowing embers. He barely
noticed when Niall eventually left. He bedded down on the floor in front of the
fire. Wrapped up in his mantle, he tried to clear his mind for sleep—not an
easy task with the cailín asleep in his bed upstairs.
    ****
    Ciaran stood
watching from the doorway. Three days had passed since he’d brought her home.
When he’d come to check on the girl earlier that morning, he’d been angry to
find his best wolfhound up on the bed with her, sleeping peacefully. The bloody
thing actually growled at him. Bemused and hating to disturb the girl, he
closed the door and left the dog where it was. His hounds were a
rough-and-tumble lot, used to hunting and life bivouacking with his soldiers.
Now he discovered his beastie had a soft spot and would probably leave fleas in
his bed to boot. He watched the big dog snuggle closer to the girl, and his gut
tightened with jealousy. He wisely refrained from marching into the room to
shove the dog away and take his place. He wanted, nay needed, to make a good
impression on this girl.
    “What a good boy you
are,” the cailín crooned.
    He couldn’t believe
the big dolt actually licked her face. She must be a witch. Bhruic, aptly named
for his badger-like temperament, favored no one and barely tolerated Ciaran,
yet the bloody cur lapped her face like…like… Ciaran was at a complete loss for
words. He suddenly realized the girl was staring at him. A soft growl rumbled
deep in the dog’s chest. “’Tis not her should be afraid of me,” he growled back
at the dog.
    “If I knew no
better, I’d say yee were a wee bit jealous of him,” Siobhan all but purred at
him.
    Ciaran stared at the
girl’s face. What would she look like once the bruises healed? Her dark lashes
were long and thick, but the purple bruises around them overshadowed her
silvery-blue eyes. Her right cheek was swollen and an angry red lump marred her
left jaw. Her hair remained a snarled mess. His fingers curled into his palms,
aching to comb through the blonde tangle. He wanted nothing more than to gather
her into his arms and kiss the bruises until they were gone.
    “How are yee
feelin’?” Surely, he sounded more in control than he felt.
    “Like she’s been
dragged behind a team of wild horses.” Siobhan sniffed as she pushed past him,
a steaming basin in her hands. “Be gone with yee.” She tossed the words over
her shoulder. “An’ take your great brute of a beastie with yee. Dogs in bed
with people,” she groused. “Just ’tisn’t right.”
    He’d lost this
skirmish, so Ciaran retreated backwards only to be met at the door by Niall. He
grabbed the older man’s arm and in a conspirator’s voice asked, “You actually
live with that woman as your wife?” His eyes danced with mischievous lights.
    Niall grinned lewdly
at the question and ducked his head to answer, “Yes.” Niall winked as he leered
appreciatively at his wife’s backside when she bent over the bed.
    She ignored them.
    “She does have some
attributes to make up for her tongue,” he admitted. His wagging eyebrows danced
a jig with his smug smile.
    “You should teach
her to put that