I do at Winterfalls, thatching and carting and so on. Then I take him and Ripple to meet some of the princeâs guards, the ones Iâm friendly with. We share some ale and tell a few stories. And later on, by the time he goes to see Blackthorn again, heâs in a better mood and so is she. If sheâs happier, Iâm happier. Job well-done.
The two of them have got things to talk about, private things. Thatâs plain enough. So I keep out of their way and let them talk. That stuff, itâs none of my business. One thing worries me, though. Flannanâs come from the south. Heâs from Blackthornâs past, and the pastâsdangerous. Hope he understands why we donât want anyone knowing where we are.
I ask her about this, one night when weâre in bed but still awake. She snaps at me across the chamber.
âOf course he understands! Heâs in the same position as I am. Flannan was part of the whole thing, the letter denouncing Mathuin, the plan to confront him. But he was away a lot; his work often took him across the border. He was in Mide at the time; thatâs why he wasnât taken in when the rest of them were. Thatâs how he escaped torture and execution. And afterward he just never went back.â
âNot as brave as the others, then.â
âWhat was he supposed to do, walk straight into Mathuinâs clutches saying,
Oh, you forgot me
? Not a sensible idea unless you believe in heroic sacrifice, which I donât.â
Iâm thinking thatâs exactly what she was planning to do last autumn when she started off for Laois all by herself. But I donât say so. She was sensible enough to stop when I caught up with her. Something Iâll be glad of until the day I die.
âIâm going to sleep,â Blackthorn says. âNo more talk about this. Itâll only give me nightmares.â
The next morning sheâs cast off her bad feelings, and sheâs walking around with a smile in her eyes and a spring in her step again. Makes me wonder what I was worrying about. Seeing her this wayâs like magic, not spells and curses but a good kind of magic. Like spring flowers and sunshine and children laughing. I do miss sitting with her, just the two of us chatting the way we did before Flannan came. I used to drop in when she was free, bring her a brew, pass the time of day until she started work again. Makes me sad that we donât do that now. If anyone drops in to see her, itâs him, not me. But how can I want things any different, with her so happy?
Tempted to ask Domnall if I can do some shifts on guard, just to keep me busy. But I donât ask him. Lady Geiléis is still here waiting for the druid. I see her pacing around the place, wound up tight as abowstring. Something tells me,
Donât get too busy. Blackthorn might need you.
But a lot of the time I feel out of place, like an extra finger or toe thatâs not wanted.
At night, when weâre back in our quarters, sheâs not so keen to talk as she was. Her mindâs away, off somewhere else. In the past, most likely. Know that feeling. Know it better than I want to, the dark things that never go away, the sunny, precious things that go all too soon. With him here, thereâs talk of Christian houses of prayer heâs visited, scholarly monks heâs learned from. When I hear that, Iâm straight back to that day Iâd like to wipe away forever. The day of blood and death. The day when I wasnât strong enough. Thatâs one story Iâll be keeping all to myself.
9
Blackthorn
A fter our argument, Flannan stopped talking about Laois and Mathuin and the failed plot. We spoke instead about the distant past: our shared childhood. Or we chatted about this and thatâthe court musicians, the passing season. He told me about his work and the discoveries he was making in the royal collection of books and manuscripts. The prince and Lady Flidais
Tarah Scott
Sandra Love
Alida Winternheimer
Sherie Keys
Kristina Royer
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle
Marie Coulson
Lisa McMann
Jeffrey Thomas
Keren Hughes