Chapter Thirteen
Finn woke tothe sound of Dallan shouting at him, and for one horrifying moment he thought that Dallan knew he’d kissed Eva.
“It was an accident!” he shouted, half asleep, his mind a fog-covered field.
Dallan shook Finn’s shoulder until he opened his eyes. “Get up!” he hollered, likely loud enough for every warrior in Cenn Cora to hear. “You’ll miss the trial!”
That got his attention. Finn shot out of bed, pulling on his clothes and running out of the tent without a word to Dallan. He’d have to thank him later.
And not just because he felt guilty about kissing his best friend’s sister. He doubted he’d ever stop feeling guilty about that.
All the warriorsassembled in the courtyard outside the great hall. Illadan, Cormac, and Broccan stood in front of the towering double doors in nearly identical stances—arms crossed and faces serious. Finn searched the crowd for Eva, eventually spotting her face peeking out one of the windows of the great hall. She met his gaze, her rose-petal pink lips propelling his thoughts to kissing her. And to how horribly wrong that had gone. He looked away to spare her the trouble.
Illadan briefly addressed the men, explaining that he thought it a greater challenge to perform outdoors, where your voice could easily be carried away by a mischievous wind.
As Illadan’s speech drew to a close, he signaled for the men to begin forming a half-circle around a stool nearby. Illadan, Cormac, and Broccan stood at the outermost edge of the ring of men.
As Finn and Dallan sat on the damp, dew-covered grass, Ardál made his way to join them. A lean warrior from a house of lesser kings, Ardál had been the only one other than Finn who knew all twelve books well enough to help teach them. He was a skilled poet and bard, capable and well-versed. Finn had set twenty of the men under his tutelage over the past two weeks. Both he and Ardál would be judged on the overall performance of the men they’d taught.
They hadn’t a moment to speak before Illadan called the first of the men to perform. Finn’s mind raced as he watched. They wouldn’t be able to get through all the men in one day. Illadan had said on their first day at Cenn Cora that the trials would run for a fortnight, but he doubted they needed quite that long.
The first performance went adequately. The lad forgot several lines, but overall he had the verses well in hand. Illadan sounded distracted as he called up the next man. Out of the corner of his eye, Finn noticed that Illadan had slightly shifted his positioning. Instead of facing the man performing, he now had a clear view of the tree line on the near side of the fortress, where the path began that led down to Loch Derg.
As the first poem started up again, an uneasiness gripped Finn. Something felt off. He looked again at Illadan, which only unsettled him further.
The prince appeared utterly unaware of the trial going on before him. His stone-cold stare remained fixed on the forest. If looks could kill, those trees would be up in flame. Every so often, Illadan took a calculated step further around the circle of men, closer to the tree line.
Dallan nudged him, nodding toward Broccan.
Finn looked away from Illadan only to find that Broccan, too, had noticed Illadan’s odd behavior.
As the performance neared its midpoint, Illadan casually walked over to Broccan, whispered something, then disappeared behind the great hall. Finn hardly heard the rest of the poems. One more man performed before Broccan called everyone to a midday meal in the hall and a brief reprieve from the increasingly repetitive trial.
The central hearth glowed in welcome, the tables already laden with crusty bread, smoked salmon, and buttered greens. A pleasant breeze poured in through the open windows. And Eva stood waiting, hands folded, worrying her lips.
Finn sucked in an anxious breath, fighting every urge to walk up to her and apologize yet again. He reminded himself she very well may have stolen his harp, and that he should absolutely not still be thinking about kissing her.
Ifone could even call that a kiss. He was fairly certain that when the lady shoved you aside quicker than you could draw breath it likely didn’t count.
“What’s wrong with Eva?” Dallan asked Finn under his breath as they took seats opposite one another. “First, she misses a meal, now she looks wracked with nerves. Did she say anything to you? Did you find her last night?”
Gods, he hadn’t told Dallan anything yet. He’d gone to bed and come straight to the trials without uttering a word to his friend.
Finn cleared his throat, taking a swig of ale. What could he possibly say?
Your sister thought I had a lover, skipped dinner out of jealousy, put herself in danger by running down to the lake alone, and possibly stole my harp. Also, I kissed her and she hated it. Sorry.
“Finn?”
“I think she was anxious over your performance today,” he lied. What an awful friend he was.
Dallan snorted. “Anxious I’ll pass onto the next trial, more like.”
Finn shrugged. He decided to keep his mouth shut before he made more a mess of things.
“So you found her then? Last night?” Dallan pressed. “Or is this pure conjecture?”
A timely commotion at the door came to Finn’s unlikely rescue. Illadan burst in, looking less composed than Finn had ever seen, reminding Finn of an angry bear.
