their belief in him. He shuddered and closed that part of his mind. Not now. He could not think of the others now. Not when everything within him that was honorable and true—everything that was human—wanted to rush to her and tell her that she had filled his dreams and his heart for as long as he could remember.
He took a ragged breath and raked his hand across his face. He couldn’t go to her. Not in the open. Not yet. They would only see him as a Fomorian; they would kill him. He could not fight them all for her. No matter how desperately he ached to.
Remember your promise . His conscience whispered through his memory in his beloved mother’s voice. Remember the Prophecy.It is your destiny to find a way to heal your people and to bring them back to Partholon. It is you who must fulfill Epona’s Prophecy.
Lochlan couldn’t act selfishly. He had to consider the others. He had to end their pain, even if it meant…
Struggling against a crushing sense of loss he wrenched his gaze from her and soundlessly disappeared back into the depths of the forest.
5
“ARE YOU PURPOSEFULLY trying to spoil my fun and sentence me to a life of celibacy?” Cuchulainn grumbled at his sister.
Elphame grinned. “I hardly think that assigning you to oversee the outdoors, mostly male workers, while I interview women for staff positions at the castle will in any way affect your overactive love life.”
“Come, boy. I’ll join you and choose which of this sorry young lot might make passable stonemasons,” Danann said, clapping him good-naturedly on his shoulder. “Then you can take the rest of them and begin clearing away the mounds of rubble within, as your sister directed.” The old centaur winked at Elphame. “Keep this in mind—women will be more likely to grace your bed when the walls around it are sturdy and clean.”
“You mean unlike this wreck,” Cu said.
“That is precisely what I mean,” Danann said.
“Hrumph.” Cu snorted as he and the Stonemaster headed out of the main courtyard to return to the workers.
Elphame shook her head at her brother’s retreating figure. His strong voice drifted back to her through the courtyard as he called to order the group of men and centaurs who were outside the castle walls. After she’d greeted the workers, Cu, Danann and Elphame had made a quick sweep of the castle grounds, and it hadn’t taken long for them to realize that they could do little in the way of restoration before they cleared the debris that had accumulated over the course of the past century. So the first order of business was tedious, but necessary. Cleaning.
Hands on her hips, Elphame looked around her. Now that she was alone she relaxed her expression and narrowed her eyes. What a mess. It was true that the basic walls and structures of the castle were still standing, but everything else was a ruin. What The MacCallan’s funeral pyre had missed, time had destroyed. Elphame felt her shoulders slump. It was so much bigger than she had imagined. The castle grounds, ringed by thick stone walls, took up an enormous area. How many people had once lived here? At least as many as currently populated the sleepy little village of Loth Tor. Could she really do it? Could she really restore all of it?
Feeling decidedly overwhelmed, Elphame’s eyes were drawn back to the fire-scarred central column. She rubbed her hands together, remembering the warm sensation of communing with the stone. Magic…she had never Felt even a hint of it before, and today she had suddenly been bombarded with the knowledge that she had an affinity for the spirits of the stones. What did that really mean?
“Why not stay here and take my place…I have had a long, rich reign. I am ready to retire.”
Her mother’s words drifted out of her memory, causing herstomach to tighten with anxiety. She couldn’t take her mother’s place! Whether she Felt the spirits in the stones or not, she wasn’t ready to lead Partholon; she wasn’t
He took a ragged breath and raked his hand across his face. He couldn’t go to her. Not in the open. Not yet. They would only see him as a Fomorian; they would kill him. He could not fight them all for her. No matter how desperately he ached to.
Remember your promise . His conscience whispered through his memory in his beloved mother’s voice. Remember the Prophecy.It is your destiny to find a way to heal your people and to bring them back to Partholon. It is you who must fulfill Epona’s Prophecy.
Lochlan couldn’t act selfishly. He had to consider the others. He had to end their pain, even if it meant…
Struggling against a crushing sense of loss he wrenched his gaze from her and soundlessly disappeared back into the depths of the forest.
5
“ARE YOU PURPOSEFULLY trying to spoil my fun and sentence me to a life of celibacy?” Cuchulainn grumbled at his sister.
Elphame grinned. “I hardly think that assigning you to oversee the outdoors, mostly male workers, while I interview women for staff positions at the castle will in any way affect your overactive love life.”
“Come, boy. I’ll join you and choose which of this sorry young lot might make passable stonemasons,” Danann said, clapping him good-naturedly on his shoulder. “Then you can take the rest of them and begin clearing away the mounds of rubble within, as your sister directed.” The old centaur winked at Elphame. “Keep this in mind—women will be more likely to grace your bed when the walls around it are sturdy and clean.”
“You mean unlike this wreck,” Cu said.
“That is precisely what I mean,” Danann said.
“Hrumph.” Cu snorted as he and the Stonemaster headed out of the main courtyard to return to the workers.
Elphame shook her head at her brother’s retreating figure. His strong voice drifted back to her through the courtyard as he called to order the group of men and centaurs who were outside the castle walls. After she’d greeted the workers, Cu, Danann and Elphame had made a quick sweep of the castle grounds, and it hadn’t taken long for them to realize that they could do little in the way of restoration before they cleared the debris that had accumulated over the course of the past century. So the first order of business was tedious, but necessary. Cleaning.
Hands on her hips, Elphame looked around her. Now that she was alone she relaxed her expression and narrowed her eyes. What a mess. It was true that the basic walls and structures of the castle were still standing, but everything else was a ruin. What The MacCallan’s funeral pyre had missed, time had destroyed. Elphame felt her shoulders slump. It was so much bigger than she had imagined. The castle grounds, ringed by thick stone walls, took up an enormous area. How many people had once lived here? At least as many as currently populated the sleepy little village of Loth Tor. Could she really do it? Could she really restore all of it?
Feeling decidedly overwhelmed, Elphame’s eyes were drawn back to the fire-scarred central column. She rubbed her hands together, remembering the warm sensation of communing with the stone. Magic…she had never Felt even a hint of it before, and today she had suddenly been bombarded with the knowledge that she had an affinity for the spirits of the stones. What did that really mean?
“Why not stay here and take my place…I have had a long, rich reign. I am ready to retire.”
Her mother’s words drifted out of her memory, causing herstomach to tighten with anxiety. She couldn’t take her mother’s place! Whether she Felt the spirits in the stones or not, she wasn’t ready to lead Partholon; she wasn’t
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