Lyrra looked down at his hand. "You're shaking. Why are you shaking?"
She studied his face closely, the Muse's annoyance with the Bard forgotten.
"The new Huntress wants to see the Bard-and I'm afraid."
Ashk felt her heart leap against her chest. "What haven't you told us yet,
Aiden?" She knelt in front of him, took his other hand. "You went through the Mother's Hills. You met some of the witches there."
Aiden closed his eyes. His fingers curled tightly around Ashk's hand. "Not
like her."
They all waited, no longer impatient for news.
Finally, Ashk asked softly, "What happened to Dianna?"
Aiden made a sound that might have been a bitter laugh. "Oh. Well. Dianna.
She refused to accept a half-breed witch as her successor, despite it being clear that Selena was so much more powerful than Dianna could ever dream of being. Everything was fine until Dianna challenged Selena after Selena ascended and became the Lady of the Moon. It... provoked... the new Huntress into showing the Fae who now rules them." He opened his eyes and looked at Ashk. "She summoned a storm. She summoned fire. And when her horse tried to get through the wall of fire to reach her, she created a bridge out of moonlight for him."
"Mother's mercy," Ashk said, sinking back on her heels.
"Were the other Ladies of the Moon harmed?" Gwynith. Why hadn't she heard from Gwynith?"I don't think so. The bards who were witnesses at the clearing sent out the news as fast as they could, and I don't think they conveyed everything they
knew."
"If she wants to see you, where are you supposed to meet her?" Lyrra asked worriedly.
"I don't know. I know where the Ladies had gathered, but I don't know if
the Huntress remained with the Clan connected to that Old Place."
"Can it wait a few more days?" Ashk asked. "I still have to ride to the southern part of the Mother's Hills to give Padrick's letters to the barons who live near there. I was going to go on to Willowsbrook from there, but if it makes you easier, I'll go with you to meet the new Huntress." Ashk forced herself to smile. "And I admit to being curious about her other form."
"Shadow hound," Aiden whispered. "She's a shadow hound."
Ashk's smile faded. Being one herself, she knew better than the rest of them how dangerous that form could be. "Then let's hope the Lightbringer and the Huntress don't cross paths anytime soon. We can't afford to have Lucian do
something that would turn the Huntress against the Fae." She gently pulled her hand out of Aiden's and stood up. "We should retire now. I want to get an early start in the morning. I'd like to reach Willowsbrook before the full moon, which means we have a lot of traveling to do. Bard, I'll have one of my men inform the bards of your direction. It will make it easier to find you if there are other messages."
Aiden nodded, getting to his feet slowly. Ashk led them into the Clan house and saw them all to their rooms before slipping into Morag's room to check on her. Satisfied that Morag would get a good night's rest, she went to her own room and stared out the window for a long time. A Daughter of the House of Gaian as the Lady of the Moon. A shadow hound as the Huntress.
Great Mother, let me hear from Gwynith soon. She'll tell me more of what I need to know than all the bards put together. Because Selena will either be a very good friend for the battles ahead... or a very dangerous enemy.
Chapter 15.
waxing moon Jenny stood at the bow of the small ship and watched Selkie Island grow larger. Perhaps she was being foolish to come here. Cordell had told her the Lord of the Selkies and his people on the island were keeping a sharp eye on any ships sailing north to the western coast of Sylvalan. But as each day passed without word from Mihail, she became more fearful. Was he waiting at sea somewhere, hoping other ships that belonged to the family made it to open water? Had he tried to go back to Durham for any family members who were unable to find a way out of the city?
What about the ones who were going overland to Willowsbrook? Had they
arrived safely? Were they still safe?
"Not as fine a harbor as we've got at Sealand," the ship's captain said as he came to stand beside her. "But it suits them here."
She heard pride, and a touch of apprehension, in his voice. Being a selkie himself, he didn't want to speak ill of the man who ruled the Fae with his particular gift, but he'd made enough comments on the journey for her to understand he was hoping Lord Murtagh's virility wouldn't sway her into remaining on Selkie Island.
At another time, she might have been amused by the verbal tug-of-war the captain was engaged in-approving of the way Murtagh ruled the selkies and dealt with the human gentry in one breath and in the next giving warning hints that many a young lady had been lured into a lover's arms by moonlight and the sea, and while a lover could stir the blood, his appeal could fade with the turning of the moon while love rooted in family was forever.
Since she doubted anything she said would reassure the man, she just smiled
and turned her attention to the sea.
As they got closer to the island, she saw six small fishing boats-and she saw a man from each boat dive into the water.
When she heard the captain order the mainsail lowered, she stared at him in
surprise.
He shrugged. "Best to go easy in these waters. Take a look." He pointed down.
Jenny caught the flash of a sleek brown head before it disappeared under the
water again.
Two selkies surfaced near the bow of the ship. Four others surfaced a little farther out.
"Merry meet!" the captain called. "I'm bringing Lady Jennyfer to the island
to meet with Lord Murtagh!"
The selkies bobbed their heads, then raced away. Jenny watched two of them head for the harbor while the other four swam back to the fishing boats.
"You can bet a bag of gold coins that there's an archer in each of those boats," the captain said quietly. "Now that they know why we're coming to the island, they won't fire on us."
"I thought they were out fishing." Jenny narrowed her eyes a little to study
the boats more carefully."Oh, they are. But the Fae have always been protective of these waters, and these days ... well." He pointed at the sky. "There's plenty of them who aren't looking for fish."
"Sea hawks?" The captain didn't answer, and Jenny didn't wonder why. This wasn't a harbor for the inexperienced or unwary. But an enemy trying to land wouldn't know which channels through the sentinel stones were deep enough to give safe passage into the harbor itself and which had unseen rocks that would rip the bottom out of a ship. No, an enemy wouldn't know, but neither would a merchant who was being pursued and needed a safe harbor. She wouldn't think of that. She wouldn't.
Safe harbor. Oh, Mihail, come back to safe harbor.
They were expected. As the last sails were lowered and the anchor dropped to bring the ship gently to the long dock, Jenny saw the men on the stony beach. Many held crossbows. Others held the hooks used to gaff big fish.
She waited in the bow while the lines were secured and the gangplank lowered, studying the men. Studying the man. He didn't look that different from the other men on the beach, but there was something about Lord Murtagh that made him stand out. An arrogance in his stance perhaps. Or just a sense of power.
She wasn't sure. She'd never met any Fae until coming to Sealand, and she'd never met one of the Fae who ruled a gift.
Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea after all.Breanna wouldn't falter, Jenny thought. Breanna wouldn't back away from meeting a Fae Lord if that's what it took to get what she needed. Mother's tits. Breanna would yell at the Lightbringer himself if she got riled enough.
Thinking about Breanna produced an ache around her heart, but she felt calmer when the ship's captain carefully escorted her down the gangplank to the dock where the Lord of the Selkies now waited for her.
After the ship's captain introduced them, Murtagh smiled at her. "What brings Sealand's water witch to Selkie Island?"
"I have a favor to ask," Jenny replied.
Murtagh looked down at her feet. "You're wearing sensible boots. Good.
Let's take a walk." He held out his hand.
She hesitated for a moment before taking his hand.
He seemed amused by that, which annoyed her enough to match his stride as he led her off the dock to a set of steps carved into the cliff. The steps were wide enough for two people, and only the first few steps put a person at risk
of taking a fall onto the beach. At the first landing, the steps angled away from the beach and were protected by the cliff on both sides. Another landing and another flight of steps brought them to the top of the cliff.
After leading her a little ways away from the edge, Murtagh released her hand.
Jenny looked around. A footpath followed the cliff. Another, wider path led to the stone cottages. Bright splashes of color indicated flower beds. She guessed the low stone walls she could see behind some cottages were the kitchen gardens. Not so different from Sealand, but a much, much smaller village.
"This is your Clan?" Jenny asked hesitantly.
"Some of it," Murtagh replied. Then he laughed. "There are little villages scattered all over the island. All together, they make up the Clan here at
Selkie Island. Why crowd everyone into one place? And while everyone here chooses to live on the island, not everyone's heart belongs to the sea."
"Oh. I-I don't know much about the Fae yet." Did that sound lame? That