Around his neck he wore a large silver pendant shaped like a sun with a fat jewel—a glinting red eye—in its center. And this was new, she thought, and sensed its black power.
“My lady,” he said, and bowed to her.
“You have no welcome here.”
“I walk where I will. And what do I see but a woman and her small, pretty child alone. Treats for brigands and wolves. You have no man to see you safe, Sorcha the Dark. I will escort you.”
“I see myself safe. Begone, Cabhan. You waste your time and powers here. I will never submit to such as you.”
“But you will submit. Joining with me is your destiny. I’ve seen it in the glass.”
“You see lies and desires, not truth or destiny.”
He only smiled, and like his voice, his smile held seduction. “Together we’ll rule this land, and any others we wish. You will wear fine cloth in bright colors and drape your skin in jewels.”
He swirled his hands. Teagan gasped when she saw her mother wearing the rich red of royalty, the sparkle of jewels, and a gold crown studded with them.
Just as quickly, Sorcha flicked a wrist and was once again draped in her simple black wool. “I have no need, no wish for your colors and shine. Leave me and mine, or you will feel my wrath.”
But he laughed, the sound rolling from him in smooth and terrible delight. “Is it a wonder, my heart, that I want none but you? Your fire, your beauty, your power, all meant to be mine.”
“I am Daithi’s woman, and will ever be.”
With a grunt of disgust, Cabhan flicked his fingers. “Daithi cares more for his raids, his games, his petty little wars than for you or the whelps you bore him. How many times has the moon waxed and waned since he last shared your bed? You grow cold in the night, Sorcha. I feel it. I will show you pleasures you’ve never known. And I will make you more than you are. I will make you a goddess.”
Fear tried to crawl into her like the fog crawled over the ground. “I would die by my own hand before being bedded by you. You only crave more power.”
“And you’re a fool not to. Together we will crush all who stand against us, live as gods, be as gods. And for this I will give you what your heart most desires.”
“You don’t know my heart.”
“A babe in your belly to replace the loss. My son, born of you. More powerful than any has known before or will again.”
Grief for the loss struck, and fear, a terrible fear for the tiny seed of want in her for what he offered. A life growing in her, strong and real.
Sensing that fear, Cabhan stepped closer. “A son,” he murmured. “Bright in your womb. Thriving there, born strong and glorious, like no other. Give me your hand, Sorcha, and I will give you your heart’s desire.”
She trembled for a moment, a moment only, as oh, by all the gods, she craved that life.
And as she trembled, Teagan leaped out from behind her skirts. She hurled a rock, striking Cabhan on the temple. A thin line of blood, dark, dark red, trickled down his pale skin.
His eyes went fierce as he swung out. Before the blow could land, Sorcha shoved him back with sheer force of will.
She pulled Teagan up, into her arms.
Wind whipped around her now, one born of her own fury. “I will kill you a thousand times, I will give you agony for ten thousand years if you lay hands on my child. I swear this on all I am.”
“You threaten me? You and your runt?” He fixed his eyes on Teagan’s face, and his smile spread like death. “Pretty little runt. Bright as a fish in the water. Shall I catch and eat you?”
Though she clung to Sorcha, though she shivered, Teagan didn’t cower. “Go away!”
In fury and fear, her young, untried power slapped out, struck as true as the stone. Now blood ran from Cabhan’s mouth, and his smile became a snarl.
“First you, then your brother. Your sister... a bit of ripening first for she, too, will bear me sons.” With a fingertip, he smeared the blood on his face, crossed it over the amulet. “I would have spared them for you,” he told Sorcha. “Now you will see their deaths.”
Sorcha pressed her lips to Teagan’s ear. “He can’t hurt you,” she began in a whisper, then watched in horror as Cabhan changed.
His body shifted, twisted like the fog. The amulet glowed, the gem spun until his eyes sparked as red as the stone.
