Ianna snorted out a laugh. “I’m sure that was a compliment.”

  Kyl grinned. “It was. If people just want to see you as a pretty face, it’s got to be satisfying to knock them back a step for it. I’m not trying to justify what she did. She made her choices. You could have made the same one.” He squeezed her shoulder gently. “You didn’t.”

  She sighed wearily. “You’re not wrong.”

  “Haven’t we been over this before? I’m never wrong.” He sighed dramatically. “It’s a curse.”

  Ianna laughed and swatted his arm playfully. “You always know how to cheer me up.”

  “It’s a gift,” he added sagely, causing Ianna to laugh again.

  “Do you think we can do this? Beat Morfram, I mean?”

  “I think we’re meant to.” At her quizzical look, he continued. “Fal came to Edana. He told her what was happening and what she had to do.”

  “Some gods are tricksters.”

  “Believe it or not, I thought of that. If this is a game, why involve Phelan? I don’t think Fal would risk him if it were all for laughs. Besides, did you see his face on the cliffs? After Phelan was stabbed and after Edana passed out?”

  “No. I was more worried about my sister and my crazy murderous mother.”

  Kyl smiled at her description. “I swear he was pleased. Not that they were hurt but that they were together.”

  “But why? You don’t think he’s planning to bind them together or anything? Edana wouldn’t be happy about that.”

  “Think about it though,” Kyl insisted. “They’re already acting like an old married couple with the way they’re fighting.”

  Ianna chuckled, then raised a hand to her lips. Some of the returning soldiers were beginning to look in their direction.

  “If she makes the decision, fine. But if she finds out she’s being maneuvered--that the decision’s already been made for her--she won’t be much fun to be around.”

  Kyl snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

  They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. The crackling of the fire, the laughter of Tynan's men, and the muted voices of Edana and Phelan filled the air. For a few moments though, Kyl could concentrate on the feel of Ianna next to him, her head leaning on his shoulder. It was a moment, a good moment, that he knew he would stay with him.

  “Kyl?”

  “Hmm?” he turned his head to look down at her.

  “What am I supposed to do when the fighting starts? I don’t think I can just sit back and do nothing.”

  “You can’t fight, Ianna.” Just the thought of her in the middle of a battle turned his blood to ice.

  She shook her head. “I know. I’d be dead in seconds, but I have to do something.”

  “We can talk to Edana about it tomorrow. She probably has something for you already.” He rubbed a hand up and down her arm when he felt her shivering. “Are you cold?”

  Ianna offered a small smile when she met his eyes. “Scared, cold, and actually kind of happy you’re here with me.”

  Kyl was silent for a moment. Ianna never ceased to surprise him. Looking into her beautiful green eyes, he saw what he’d wanted to see for years.

  His gaze flicked down to her lips, then back to her eyes. He saw his own desire reflected there. When he leaned in and touched his lips to hers, she turned her body so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

  Kyl couldn’t say who deepened the kiss only that it did. This, too, was a moment.

  Sadly, the moment was interrupted by whistles and applause. When Kyl pulled away he saw Ianna’s eyes were glazed with passion and excitement.

  They smiled at each other like idiots until someone cleared his throat to get their attention.

  Kyl turned his head to see Edana looking at them. Her brow was lifted and her arms were crossed over her chest. Her hair was in its customary braid that hung over her right shoulder. Her eyes were searching their faces. She looked dangerous.

  Phelan stood behind her with a huge grin plastered across his face. “Nice,” was all he said, earning an elbow jab from Edana.

  Kyl turned back to Ianna and noticed a blush creeping over her cheeks. It only made him want to kiss her more, which wasn’t in his best interest at the moment. “Edana,” he began, stopping when she held her hand up.

  What she did next horrified him more than he could say. Kyl thought she might be going mad--maybe Bidelia’s ailment was hereditary.

  Edana let out a squeal and clapped her hands before bounding over to hug her sister. “Gods! It’s about time!”

  Kyl was speechless.

  Phelan laughed.

  And for some reason, Ianna started crying.

  The sound of Ianna crying snapped Kyl out of it. “What’s wrong?”

  Ianna only cried harder.

  “Men are idiots,” Edana scoffed.

  “What? Why?” Kyl wasn’t prepared to deal with tears.

  “She thought I would be mad at her,” Edana explained.

  “I can see why you might be mad at me, but why would you be mad at her?”

  Edana laughed. “She thought we were together.”

  Kyl still wasn’t getting it.

  “You know, together,” Edana said again. Then she grinned.

  Kyl threw his head back and laughed until tears ran down his face. He sat down heavily on the log and held his side. “Why would you think that?” he asked Ianna. “I thought we explained it before.”

  She glared at him. “You were always together, trying to get away alone. And I saw you kiss her,” she accused.

  Kyl smiled at her. She was jealous. Because of him. This was turning out to be a good day. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down beside him. “You know Edana’s my best friend. When your father sent me away for my training, I missed her so much. It was like a part of me was missing. Even though we were only a few day's’ ride apart, I didn’t have time to visit and Cian didn’t want her coming to see me.” Kyl turned his head to smile at Edana. “He must have thought she wanted me too.”

  Edana snorted.

  Kyl winked at her before meeting Ianna’s eyes again.

  “When I came home, we decided to kiss. See if Cian was right. He wasn’t. We laughed ourselves silly. The next day, I saw you and felt like I’d been punched in the gut. You were so beautiful.”

  “He’s getting sloppy now,” Phelan interrupted, earning another elbow. He rolled his eyes. “If anyone else starts crying, I’m gone.”

  Kyl’s eyes never left Ianna. “It was hard being around you when I knew your father wouldn’t approve.”

  “He loved you like a son.”

  “But I’m not. I’m the son of a soldier-”

  “His general. One of his most trusted generals.”

  “A general is still a soldier. I thought if I kept my distance it would go away. Obviously, that didn’t work.”

  Kyl shrugged. “I’m done trying to stay away from you.”

  Ianna smiled and laid her lips on his again.

  “Gods, you people are too emotional for me,” Phelan complained. “Come on.” He grabbed Edana’s hand and pulled her away. “We’ve got more to discuss.”

  “I was tempted to start playing matchmaker if they didn’t hurry things along. They’ve been moon-eyed in love with each other for years,” Kyl heard Edana say.

  Kyl just went right back to kissing Ianna. He had a few years’ worth of kisses to make up for.

  Everything else could wait until morning.

  CHAPTER 34--EDANA

  The group rode into Ulaid the next morning to the sound of cheers. Alain had gone in ahead of them to find out what kind of welcome they should expect.

  Alain reported that Ulaid was full to bursting. All of the barracks were full and refugees from Tara, who had known something was amiss in the citadel, were sleeping in tents on the streets. The people of Ulaid were demoralized, thinking the royal family had been killed. Men fleeing from Tara had carried the stories of Morfram’s coup.

  The sight of Edana and Ianna riding into their city with Phelan, who had his shield out and openly displayed for the first time, must be a welcome sight. Even if people didn’t know his face, they all knew what the wolf’s head on the shield meant. The King’s Champion had arrived.

  They were directed to a central command building in the heart of Ulaid and were met by Alain and what looked to be an older version of the giant blonde man. His light hair was going grey, as was his beard, but his body seemed strong and more than capable of fighting.

  “Highness,” Alain’s deep voice began. “This is my uncle Conn. He serves as a commander here.”

  “Just the man I want to talk to then.” Edana dismounted and handed her reins over to a waiting groom. Phelan did the same.

  “Alain, find the logistics officer and have him report here in half an hour,” Edana continued.

  He saluted and left.

  “Kyl,” Phelan addressed. “Find a dungeon and lock the queen in there. Take Ianna with you in case anyone has any questions.”

  Kyl and Ianna dismounted and led their mounts away.

  “Conn,” Edana said. “What do you say we get some food and get started. We’ve got a lot of work to do and only a few days to do it.”

  “Right this way.” Conn led them into the gray, stone building and into a room with a map of Eire on its center table. There were three men already gathered there. They looked up as they entered.

  “Princess Edana and the Wolf,” Conn introduced.

  Phelan sighed, “You can just call me Phelan.”

  Conn nodded. “We’ll resume this later,” he dismissed his officers. When they left, he took a seat at one of the tables and motioned for them to join him. “I apologize for my rudeness, your highness. My knees aren’t what they used to be.”

  Edana smiled at the man. “Call me Edana. We don’t really have time for the niceties of rank right now. I assume Alain told you what we’ve been dealing with.”

  Conn nodded. “He did, but I find some of it a little hard to believe.” He eyed Phelan skeptically. “Alain tells me you’re the Wolf. I thought you would be older.” He rubbed a hand over his bearded cheek. “How old are you, by the way?”

  Phelan’s answering grin was sharp. “Old enough to know when old men should keep their mouths shut or risk a beating.”

  Conn’s deep laugh rumbled out. “Alain said you don’t like being questioned about your age. The boy’s enjoyed traveling with you these past years.”

  “The boy’s bigger than the two of you combined,” Edana said dryly.

  “But he’s slow,” Phelan said earning another laugh from Conn.

  “Can we get down to business please? We’ve got a war to win.”

  “She gets cranky when she’s hungry.”

  Conn nodded. “Give me a moment. I’ll send for food.” He walked out to track down a servant.

  “What do you know about him?” Edana asked.

  “Only what Alain’s told me. He’s had command of the Northern troops for the last ten years. He’s conservative in the field which won’t be very effective against the type of men Morfram has. He’s fought skirmishes, but never anything on this scale.”

  “That’s going to be a problem. Things have been relatively peaceful here for the last thirty or forty years. We don’t have a lot of experience with something like this. You said so yourself,” she pointed out. “Training is different than an actual battle.”

  “Between the three of us and Kyl, I think we’ll be fine. Conn’s got the battle experience. I’ve enough fighting experience to handle a loose group of warriors. You’ve studied enough with your father. He trained you to be ready in case Eire ever needed you. You can handle strategy. Ianna can help with that.”

  “And what is Kyl doing?”

  “Protecting you.”

  “Like hell he is. I can protect myself.”

  Phelan ran his hands through his hair, the only outward sign of his agitation. “It’s his job. Once we get a solid strategy lined out, you and Ianna can sit back and stay safe.”

  “In case you’re forgetting, Morfram is coming after me. I have the sword.” When he took a step toward her, Edana shoved him back. “We talked about this. I’m in command here. You agreed. Until you’re crowned, you follow my orders.”

  “I agreed you would control the army, not that I would follow your orders, and not that I would let you fight. Besides, we talked about that before we found out Morfram was insane and targeting you. Even with your new toy there,” he pointed to Nuada’s sword on her hip, “you’re outmatched.”

  “You think so?” she hissed.

  “Why take chances? You said Morfram wants you and the sword. If you go out there, you might as well hand it over to him and slice your own throat.”

  Edana gritted her teeth. “I told you I can take care of myself.”

  “I don’t care. If I have to lock you up with your mother, then I will. You won’t be fighting. That’s final,” he yelled.

  “Okay. No fighting,” Edana murmured reasonably.

  Her fist flashed out and connected with his face. She followed it with a kick to his upper abdomen, knocking him back.

  Phelan lifted a hand to his mouth. His fingers came away smeared with blood.

  Edana held her own stomach. Fal had been right again. She could feel when Phelan was hurt. Her lip throbbed and she lifted a hand to make sure there wasn’t any blood on her own.

  Before she could see the movement, Phelan grabbed the front of her tunic and pulled her forward so that their faces were only inches apart.

  His eyes were blazing and his chest was heaving. She’d never seen him look so angry, but she refused to back down. If he wanted to lock her up, he would have to knock her unconscious to do it.

  “I heard that,” he growled before his lips crushed down on hers.

  His mouth was hard and demanding. Edana swore she could taste his anger.

  It didn’t stop her from returning the kiss. She gripped her fingers in his hair as he grabbed her braid and tipped her head back to get a better angle.

  “Ah. Phelan the Wolf,” a voice interrupted.

  Edana and Phelan broke apart.

  Standing in the doorway, looking at them in shock, were Kyl, Ianna, Alain, Conn, and a man she’d never seen before.

  His golden hair and pale blue eyes highlighted his dark skin and strong features. His clothing was of a simple style, but the material was of good quality. His only adornment was a pendant hanging from his neck with a raven in flight depicted on it.

  Edana had a moment to think he was a very good looking man, but the directness of his gaze unnerved her. His next words had her moving between unnerved to baffled.

  “Care to tell me why you’re kissing my betrothed?” his deep, melodic voice asked.

  Edana’s brows drew together in confusion. Betrothed? The man must be mistaken. “And you are?”

  “Prince Arwin of Wales.” He bowed. “Your future husband.”

  “You must have me confused with someone else.”

  “Not at all. You’re the Princess Edana. You’re much more beautiful than I’d anticipated.”

  Edana frowned, ignoring his compliment. “I’m not betrothed. I think I would know.”

  Arwin gestured at Phelan. “Your father had Sir Phelan arrange the marriage six months ago. I was on my way to collect you when we got word of your father’s death. We would have been here sooner but we were set upon by pirates.

  “We’d only just managed to repair our ship near Tauplin when we received word that Tara was overrun with mercenaries while there was an army gathering here. We were fortunate to meet a man named Aral. He led us here. Now, I want to know what’s going on.”

  Edana nodded along through his explanation, but her ears rang with one thing--Phelan had arranged it. She looked at him and saw the truth in his eyes. She refused to acknowledge the apology she saw there.

  Her arm swung out once more, but he stepped out of the way.

  “Don’t,” he said shortly. “You’ll just hurt yourself.”

  She considered striking out again, but he was right. She would just be hurting herself as well. She’d been hurt enough.

  Edana suddenly felt drained. Her father and Phelan had gone behind her back and taken away her freedom. More importantly, neither had bothered to tell her the truth.

  “You said no more lies,” she accused.

  “Edana. I--”

  She held up a hand to forestall him. “No. Don’t bother.” Edana looked away. “I don’t have time for this. Conn, assemble the officers. We need to discuss what comes next.”

  “Edana, listen to me,” Phelan said.

  “You’ve had weeks to tell me the truth. You chose not to. I’m choosing not to listen. We have a war to fight. When it’s over, we’ll talk. Until then, stay out of my way.”

  She turned to Arwin. “As you can see, I don’t have time for pleasantries. If you want to go back to Wales, I’ll meet you there when I can.”

  She kept her head up and her back straight as she walked from the room. No one would know that this was one betrayal too many. First Morfram, then her mother. Now, her father who swore he would never force her to marry. Worse, she wasn’t able to tell him how mad she really was.

  Then there was Phelan. She’d trusted him. At first because Fal told her to, but then because she’d been able to be herself with him. She didn’t worry that he wanted something from her. He didn’t need anything. He’d been her first true friend aside from Ianna and Kyl.

  They were connected by some strange bond Fal had forced on them, and there was no escaping it. When this was all over, she could always sail across the channel and forget she’d been stupid enough to trust him in the first place.

  When tears began to cloud her eyes, Edana swore she’d cut her own eyes out before she let a single one fall.

  CHAPTER 35--PHELAN

  Phelan watched her as she walked away. He should have known how she’d react. He did know. If he was being honest with himself, he knew. He just hadn’t wanted to tell her.

  Over the short time he’d known her, she’d gone from a potential obstacle and pain in the ass to his friend and ally--his partner even.

 

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