She laughed again. “At night?”
“The moon is full,” he said, gesturing up at the cloudless sky with his free hand. It wasn’t really the moon that cast the light around them, though, he was certain. It was her; she practically glowed from within, and each delighted laugh made her shine all the brighter.
The moment Shadowbane saw Ciaran, he let out an excited whinny and stomped his foot; even though the mount had been cared for by several doting hands over the past week while Ciaran recovered, he’d been neglected by his master. As Ciaran offered whispered apologies to Shadow, Eilidh crossed directly to a stallion with a pale coat, who gleamed nearly as brightly as his mistress.
“This is Grian,” she said proudly, stroking the horse’s nose. “He’s the most spoiled horse in these stables, but he’s never once let me down.”
They each saddled their horse, quiet as thieves, which Ciaran supposed was fitting; he was stealing this time with her. God knew he hadn’t earned it. They made quick work of it, and it was mere moments before they each led their mounts to the yard. Eilidh looked so happy, so beautiful as she stroked Grian’s nose that Ciaran briefly wondered if maybe she didn’t need this just as much as he did.
“Allow me,” he said, stepping close, ready to lift her into the saddle.
Eilidh glanced at his extended hands, then burst into laughter, tossing her long braid over her shoulder. God, the crimes Ciaran would commit to feel that rope of hair between his palms.
“Ye forget,” she said saucily. “I am a Donaghey.”
And then, with so little effort that it looked as though she floated from the ground, she mounted on her own, in one swift motion. She grinned down at him from the saddle, fierce and radiant, a warrior princess atop her steed.
“My mistake,” he managed through the catch in his throat. He pulled himself into his own saddle, grateful for the twinges from his unused muscles. He needed some kind of distraction.
She was too lovely, too strong, too bright. It almost hurt just to look at her, and yet he couldn’t make himself look away, not for more than a moment.
“Let’s go,” she urged, kicking her mount into a trot with expert grace.
He followed instantly. She was too good for the likes of him, not that he hadn’t known that already. She waseverything…
And he was going to soak in every moment of their scant time together, for all too soon, they would reach the time when the regard in her eyes would turn to hate, and he would lose her forever.
11
Eilidh nudged Grian’s nose to the side just before they reached the big puddle in the path, the one that never dried and would splash everything with sticky, stinking mud if you rode through it. She didn’t think twice about the gesture, but when Ciaran, a few paces behind her, swore as he guided Shadowbanethroughthe hard-to-see spot, she grinned.
“Apologies,” she said, shooting a grin over her shoulder at him. “I should have warned ye about that.”
He frowned at her, but even with the serious expression, she could tell that riding had taken some of the burden off his shoulders. She was grateful for it; she hadn’t liked seeing him so clearly lost in painful thoughts.
She also couldn’t help a little frisson of pleasure at the fact that they both turned to the same activity when they needed to clear their heads.
“Ye seem to ken these trails too well,” he said, his eyes narrowed, even as a grin threatened. “I’d wager that ye have sneaked out to ride more times than ye ought.”
She tossed her braid over her shoulder as the path widened enough that Ciaran could come up to ride next to her, making conversation easier.
“Perhaps I have,” she said airily. “And then again, perhaps not.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shake his head.
“Come on, now,” he chided. “I told ye my tales. Now it’s yer turn.”
She was faintly surprised that he mentioned his stories from earlier; she would have suspected that he wished to speak about anything but the memories that so clearly weighed upon him. But she could not deny that he made a fair point, so she relented.
“Och, very well,” she said. “I will admit thatmaybeI have climbed out the battlement that overlooks my bedchamber and snuck down to the stables. AndmaybeI ken when the stable lads switch shifts for the evening, so I can slip in and out undetected.”
He shook his head again, but she could hear him chuckling. It felt unbelievably good to make him laugh, she discovered. Far better than she could have imagined.
“Ye are a tricksy wee sprite,” he told her. “How is it that ye haven’t been caught?”
“I have been nearly caught so very many times,” she admitted. “Vaila knows that I am up to something, she just hasnaeyetcaught me out. But och, there have been so many close calls.”
“People likely underestimate ye,” he observed. “Ye look like an angel, but there’s a minx underneath, is there no’?”
