Read Online Beyond the Pale: A Thin Veil Novella (The Thin Veil Book 3) by Jodi McIsaac - Free Book Online Page A

“I need you to trust me.”
    “I do trust you, but it’s too risky.” Brogan turned to Felix, who had rejoined them. “You know of her plan?” Felix nodded. “Then surely you agree—it cannot be done without harm to her.”
    Felix looked between the two of them, as though trying to find the correct words to use. “It is too risky,” he said slowly. “But not because I believe it would harm her… Kier, you are pregnant.”

 
     
     
CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    Seven months later
     
    Kier paced the floor of her bedroom, her hands wrapped around her protruding stomach. “Shhhh,” she whispered. “It will all be okay.” The baby was a feisty one, constantly kicking and moving. But today she seemed more agitated than usual. Kier tried to keep herself calm, but she knew the baby could sense her anxiety. Danann mothers were often able to communicate with their children in the womb, not in words, but in images and bursts of emotion. “Your father is off fighting,” she told her child. “But he’ll come home. He always does.” She forced herself to stop pacing, and sat down in a chair near the window. She looked out over the land she loved. At least a quarter of it had turned a dull, sickly color, as though a thick layer of dust lay over it. Like ashes, she thought, thinking of the prophecy. Softly, she started to sing, a song her mother had often sung to her, a tribute to the beauty of Tír na nÓg, the most beautiful land in all the worlds, made by the Tuatha Dé Danann, for the Tuatha Dé Danann. Except now the Elders had gone to the Four Cities, and so many others seemed to think Ériu held more appeal than their home. “This is where we belong,” she cooed to the life inside her. She closed her eyes and focused on the surge of happiness the baby was feeling, hoping that she would feel that way herself someday soon.
    The war had started sooner than expected. Somehow, Lorcan had amassed enough followers to make an attack on the Hall, demanding that King step down and join the humans he so loved. Brogan’s forces had easily repelled them, but Lorcan had escaped, and more attacks had followed. The rebels did not assault the Hall again, but instead started claiming sections of Tír na nÓg for Lorcan. When Brogan would send his warriors to reclaim his territory, they would meet Lorcan’s forces in open battle. Sometimes the king’s warriors won. Sometimes they lost. But as the deaths piled up, it soon became apparent who the real winner was.
    A knock on the door startled Kier out of her reverie. With effort, she rose from the chair and called out, “Who is it?”
    “I have a message for you, my lady,” came the voice of one of her maidservants. Kier opened the door, and the servant handed her a folded piece of parchment, sealed with gold wax. Once she was alone again, Kier sat back down and opened it. Her heart stopped when she recognized the curved, slanted handwriting.
     
    My dearest Kier,
    It is time. We belong together, you and I, and now I have the power to give you everything you deserve. I know you think you are doing what is best by standing with Brogan, but you are wrong. If you truly want to do what is best for our people, then you must stop this senseless war. I do not relish the killing of our own blood, but I will do whatever I must in order to renew the pride and glory of our great race. You know that your husband’s feeble attempts to side with the humans will fail, and will result in the destruction of his own people. I do not wish this.
    I know you long for peace, my dove. And it can come. You have the power to stop this madness, to stop the killing. You only have to persuade your husband to step down as king and re-open the sidhe to Ériu. If he does this, I will let him live. If he does not, then I will have no choice but to challenge him face to face. You know what I am capable of, Kier. You know that I will win.
    But it doesn’t have to come to this. You can bring us peace, my heart.