A few of the lords laughed. The ones who sat on the left. But all the rest were staring right at Mariel. They’d heard her story true. She’d done her part. Now, she just needed to wait for the rest.
It came only an hour into the feast. The bard had been playing a jolly old song, but scarcely anyone had been dancing. When the song ended, Lord Neil from Faladrast stood and motioned for the lad. The lord murmured something into his ear, and the bard rushed back to the center of the hall.
“Our good lord here has requested I play The Heart of Tairngire. A bloody good song.” The bard dove toward his harp, and the music began in earnest. Smiling, Mariel stood and joined the bard in the middle of the hall. She picked up her silver skirts and danced, letting the music fill the empty parts of her heart. She whirled this way and that, feet stomping, arms flailing like windmills.
The music filled the hall, and soon, more fae had joined her in the dance. It had been years since she had heard the song, and yet she danced it as if she had only danced it yesterday. Bodies whirled through the hall. Laughter filled the air. And Mariel’s hardened heart felt full enough to burst.
Lord Neil suddenly appeared before her, grabbed her hand, and spun her round and round. As their bodies pressed together, he leaned forward with rowan berry wine on his breath and whispered the one word she longed to hear. “Dalais.”
She gasped as the blood filled her face. And then he was gone again, a new lord dancing before her. Lord Malcom leaned in and whispered the same. Lady Regan was next, followed soon by Lord Finnbar and then Lady Keely. Every single one who Aengus had called to court whispered her that word.
Her name.
Her legacy.
Her court.
When the song ended, Mariel was left breathless. She tiptoed back over to the head table and perched on her chair, her heart a drumbeat in her ears. Aengus leaned over and grinned. “I daresay you are making yourself very useful indeed. You got them all dancing, and they look thrilled to be here. I’ll get this entire court on my side even if it kills me.”
He hadn’t seen them whispering amongst themselves. She’d gotten away with it all.
Mariel smiled.
25
Eislyn
She stared up at the turquoise sky, her head spinning as the boat tipped beneath her bruised and aching body. Vreis stood over her, a hand outstretched, a grin on his devilish face. With a growl, she swatted his hand aside.
“I am capable of standing up by myself, thank you very much,” she snapped.
The truth was, she could stand up, but she wished she could lie on the wooden deck for the rest of her days. A week into training with Vreis, and Eislyn had never been more tired in her life. Was this what Reyna had felt like during her Shieldmaiden training? It was a wonder she had never given it up.
Eislyn was not improving in the least, of course. At times, she had a flicker of hope. It would seem that she might actually get the better of Vreis, and then he would quickly prove that she had learned nothing. And she would end up in yet another heap on the deck to her extreme embarrassment.
Vreis just grinned as she rose unsteadily to her feet, brushing off her dirty hoarfrost trousers. If only her father could see her now, he would be mortified. Another daughter, lost to the wild ways of swordplay. Not that she had even touched a sword since they began. They’d only been battling with wooden mop handles.
“That was better,” Vreis said.
“Better?” She glared. “Honestly Vreis, sometimes I truly do think you must be a shadow fae for how many lies spill from that mouth of yours.”
“Not a lie,” he replied easily, draping his arm across the ship’s railing. The breeze ruffled the hair that framed his chiseled face. “It’s true. You were on your feet a full minute longer than the last time.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re mocking me.”
“I’m not mocking you.”
“You are.”
“It’s merely good-natured ribbing, Eislyn.” He still smiled at her, his mismatched eyes twinkling.
“See.” She lifted the mop handle and pointed the end at his chest. “That’s mocking.”
“No. Mocking is something I only do to fae I don’t like. This is…” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “Shall we try again?”
Eislyn reached up and felt her cheeks. They were impossibly warm. The sun had climbed high in the sky while they’d been training on the deck, and even this far north, Eislyn could feel the heat of it on her skin. The hours had flown by. They always did when she trained with Vreis. It must have been the physical exertion. It made her forget the rest of the world. Her troubles. The darkness. Her fear.
She felt alive.
But now that they had stopped, reality came creeping in like the mists. She’d once felt alive like this before. When Thane had taken her into Tairngire. They had drank and they had danced. It had been a whirlwind of innocent pleasure. At the time, she had been scared of everything. She had not known how easy she’d had it then.
Before she’d been abducted by Sloane. Before Aengus had taken the throne. And before Thane had vanished into nowhere.
She sighed. “I think that will be all for today, Vreis.”
His smile vanished. “You’re thinking of him again. Our king.”
“I’m so worried about him.” With a frustrated sigh, she dropped the mop to the floor and pressed herself up against the railing to stare out at the churning waves. The sea was a bright, clear blue today, a match to the crystalline sky. The color of home.
“Thane is strong.”
Eislyn pushed off the railing, her hands fisted. “But where is he, Vreis? Despite what you think, he wouldn’t have just left. Something must have happened to him. He got attacked, taken, or even…” Killed. She closed her eyes.
“If he didn’t leave, then Lorcan and Reyna will find him,” Vreis insisted. “He might be trapped somewhere. He isn’t dead. He can’t be.”
Eislyn glanced up at her warrior, searching his eyes. She saw now what he refused to say aloud. He was just as scared as she was. He refused to consider the idea that Thane might be dead because it was too painful for him to think. So, he had to believe that Thane was out there somewhere, hidden in the grasslands, waiting to be found. Or even with the sea fae.
“Oy! Princess!” A small, bright-eyed fae named Maeli rushed across the deck, the wood creaking beneath his thick leather boots. His golden hair was tied up into a tight bun on the top of his head, bouncing as he bustled toward her. “You must get below decks immediately.”
“What?” Alarmed, she glanced at Vreis. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“There’s another ship approaching, passing close enough to see you on board,” he said quickly. “It looks like a merchant ship, but merchants can be known for being cut-throat. Anything for a bit of money. We’re taking down our Sea Court sigil just in case.”
Vreis narrowed his eyes. “This is a merchant ship. You are merchants.”
Maeli flicked up his eyes, smiling devilishly. “Yes, so you see, we understand how merchants think. They will size us up, hoping to find something amiss.”
Eislyn wrung her hands. “Can we not adjust course? Sail far out of their line of sight?”