“Both are here.”
Eva took a step backward, absorbing the queen’s words. They both lived. They both came back. Her eyes stung with tears, pinpricks threatening to unleash a storm at any moment. Lord, she couldn’t be happier.
Dunla gave her a supportive smile. “Why don’t you go ready yourself?” she suggested, giving Eva a small push toward her quarters. “We’ll expect you in an hour for the ceremony.”
One hour felt like ten as Eva donned her cream-colored gown and let her hair down, taming it into loose waves that reached her hips. She only hoped Finn would meet with her after dinner, so she could beg him to reconsider marriage.
She’d figure out how to get Dallan to agree later. Right now, she needed to get Finn back.
Eva entered thehall, trepidation in every step. Torches flickered along the edge of the walls. A hearth roared in the center before the dais, its flames fighting their confines, licking excitedly at the stone rim. A boar roasted on a spit over the hearth, its succulent, rich scent filling the room and making Eva’s stomach grumble.
Rows of trestle tables held a hundred or more folk from the village. Upon the dais, Brian stood in the center with Dunla to his right. Cormac and Broccan stood to his left. When Eva looked beside Broccan, she finally lost the battle for her composure.
“Sitric!” she cried, hurrying to the dais to embrace her beloved cousin. “What are you doing here?”
Sitric grinned down at her, his eyes glinting in the firelight. “Brian and I have some business to attend to following the battle,” he told her. “And I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit my favorite cousin.” He winked at her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, before she returned to her table.
Taking her seat at the base of the dais, her heart fuller than she had thought possible, she could hardly wait to speak with Sitric. To hear news of Astrid, of Aunt Gormla. To relax into the familiar.
The doors opened then, and five men entered, all wearing green cloaks and brown léine. All looking battle-worn. Cormac’s younger brothers, Conan and Diarmid, entered first, followed by a man she knew as Ardál. Finn and Dallan came through last, closing the doors behind them.
Dallan grinned at her merrily, his smile telling her he was alright in spite of his limp. Finn didn’t look at her, focusing entirely on Brian.
Eva’s heart wrenched. Perhaps he wouldn’t forgive her so easily for her cold dismissal.
The men lined up before Brian, stepping forward one by one and swearing their oaths. Finn was at the end of the line.
When it was Dallan’s turn, Eva couldn’t help but be proud of her brother’s achievement. Over fifty men had begun the trials. He was among the five who had finished them.
“I hereby swear my sword to the service of the King of Mumhain, Brian son of Mahon, lord of the Nine Kingdoms and rightful heir to the seat of Caiseal. I will do as he commands. I give him my life in service of the crown. I will help any in need. I will not base a man’s treatment on his wealth or status. I will marry for love. I live to serve the people.” Her brother’s words were the only sound in the hall.
“I accept your oath and your sword, Dallan son of Conn. Welcome to the Fianna.”
Finally, Finn stepped forward. He gave Dallan a sideways glance. Dallan nodded, an odd look passing between them. Finn took a deep breath, as though steeling himself.
“My King,” he began, clearly not reciting the same oath as the others. “I must beg your forgiveness, for I will not swear an oath I cannot fulfill.”
What was he doing?
“And what of my oath gives you such difficulty?” Brian asked, seemingly unperturbed by the odd turn of events.
“I cannot marry for love,” he explained, his voice rough. “I’ve given my heart to a woman who will not marry. I can give it to no other. Therefore, I cannot fulfill that oath.”
Eva nearly fell out of her chair, tipping sideways as the blood rushed from her head. Had he truly refused to join the Fianna because of her? Was this not the key to saving his sister, to helping his family? Yet here he stood, giving it all up because he loved her.
“Unless,” Finn added, “she could be persuaded to reconsider.”
“By Odin, man, just ask her!” Sitric shouted from the dais behind her.
Eva felt a hot blush rise to her cheeks. They were all in on it. Finn, Dallan, Brian, Sitric.
Which meant they all approved of the match.
Which meant all she had to do was say yes.
Finn walked over to her, kneeling before her chair and taking both her hands in his own. “Eva,” his voice filled with emotion, “you have stolen my heart. I cannot conceive of a life lived without you, sharing joys and burdens together. Please, will you be my wife?”
The entire hall awaited her response. But Eva only saw Finn.
