“What would you like to do, my lord?” Illernan asked. He was beginning to get a suspicious look in his eye, and he’d noted the blood staining Lorcan’s shirt. But Illernan was Molt’s man. Nothing about Lorcan’s state should have surprised him, unless he wasn’t as loyal as Lorcan had thought.
“You seem shocked by the blood.” Lorcan palmed the pommel of his sword, ready to wield his blade against the lord if he insisted on taking up arms against his High King.
“Ulaid rarely let us see him when he was like this,” Illernan said easily. “He shared blood with us a few times over the years. He must have gotten like this those nights, but we never noticed it. We were far too intoxicated to see clearly.”
“I can see clearly enough,” Lorcan snapped.
“The iron in the blood, it does poison your mind.” Illernan shook his head. “But you didn’t know that, did you?”
“Poison?” Lorcan grabbed the lord by his tunic and hissed into his face. Spittle landed on his cheeks and neck. “If you had truly tasted the blood, you would never speak such lies. It isn’t poison. It’s life.”
“I am only trying to help you, my lord,” Illernan said, his neck bobbing. “You’ve taken to the blood too quickly. You have to slow down. How long has it been since you’ve had some?”
“Days,” Lorcan said, grinning. “See, it isn’t what you think.”
“And you feel a little unsteady, don’t you? Lightheaded. Perhaps you’re even cold.”
Lorcan blinked and released the lord.
Illernan brushed down the front of his tunic, sighing. “You need to drink one small glass each day. No less, no more. If you overindulge, it will poison your mind until you can’t even remember your own name.”
“I see.” Lorcan smiled. “You’re very wise, Lord Illernan. Ulaid Molt did well to choose such a loyal subject.”
Illernan frowned, and Lorcan had heard enough. He grabbed the lord’s head and snapped it to the side. A crunch resounded in his ears, as sweet as a harp’s music at dawn. Lorcan lifted the lord’s body into his arms and ripped into his neck.
The blood was hot and electric on his tongue. Tremors of delicious pleasure stormed through his gut, awakening all his senses. The chirping of birds shouted into his ears, and the dull scent of dirt and leaves crawled its way up his flared nostrils.
He sighed as he ripped his mouth away. Blood dripped down his chin, droplets splattering onto his boots. Tossing the body away, he turned in the direction of the Urisks’ hidden caves.
Now that he had revived himself with the blood of his enemy, nothing could stop him. He knew exactly where Reyna was, and for once, she was not running wild and free. She was caught in a trap like prey. And he was the hunter.
With a grin, he took off through the trees. He wouldn’t let her get away from him again. This time, when he faced his dearly beloved, he would rip her limb from limb.
36
Reyna
“You’re really going to have to stop poisoning us if you want us to help you,” Reyna said as she shook off the last remaining effects of the poison. While they’d slept, the Urisks had moved them from one platform to the next. They now sat facing Thane, Nollaig, and Rhain. Tension punctuated the silence.
The iron around her wrists burned once more.
“We couldn’t risk you trying to fight us,” the Urisk king said. “The floor of the cavern is a long way down. If you fell, you’d die. And then we wouldn’t have any way to bargain with Lorcan Rothach.”
Glencora rolled her eyes. “You’re assuming we’d be the ones to fall.”
The Urisk chuckled. “We’ve lived in these caves all our lives. Urisks don’t fall.”
“Well, you’re going to do bloodysomething,” she muttered. “By the time we’re done with you.”
“You’re feeling very feisty today, dear sister,” Reyna said with a warning in her voice. They needed to stay calm if they wanted to control this situation.Ha!She could barely believe the words tumbling through her mind. Once, she would have been the one snarking and hurling insults. Stubborn, headstrong Reyna Darragh who always ran into danger without thinking.
At some point over the past year, she’d transformed. She hoped that was a good thing, because she was going to try to use her newfound caution to get them the hell out of this place alive.
“What’s this all about?” Nollaig said, cutting through the noise. “I am getting really sick and tired of sitting here tied up. And now there’s a lot of prattling on about nothing. Reyna, I—”
Both Glencora and Reyna coughed simultaneously. Nollaig fell silent.
Quickly, the two sisters explained what was going on, taking turns to share their tale. For once, it was as if they were of one mind, working in harmony. When they were finished, Thane’s frown was so deep that it pulled down the branches of his Hawthorne tree tattoo.
