moon banished the hiding places the hunted usually found in the night shadows?
Fool, Ari thought as she closed the door and locked it. The Huntress wasn’t the only one who would be roaming the land tonight. And in truth, if she had to choose between Royce and the Wild Hunt, she’d rather take her chances with the hounds. At least with them it would end quickly.
She pressed her hand against the door in farewell and headed toward the sea.
A quick walk turned into a run until the stitch in her side forced her to stop. By then the cottage was out of sight.
Royce wouldn’t look for her on this beach. Surely not. Even if he remembered it existed.
She’d thought this out very carefully. Had thought of little else in the past two days. If the Gwynn women had any gift for magic, it was centered in their ability to brew love potions, so she couldn’t dismiss Granny Gwynn’s warning about the magic turning back on a person if it wasn’t properly released. Which meant she couldn’t just hide in the cottage. If Royce came to the door, she’d have to offer him the fancy
—and herself, since she was sure he would accept it. But if she saw no one tonight, she wouldn’t be refusing the spell in the fancy, and since the offer had to be made on this particular night, the magic should fade harmlessly.
She hoped.
Another half a mile and she’d reach the rough path that led to the beach and the shallow cave in the cliff wall. Her mother had loved to come here, alone, on summer nights. Tonight it would provide shelter from the wind and, even more important, hide her from anyone who might look down from the cliff.
Clouds drifted across the moon, cutting the light, at the same moment Ari sensed that she was no longer alone.
Her heart raced as she spun around, straining to see down the road. Great Mother, had Royce been to the cottage already? Had he guessed her intention? Was he riding after her?
The road remained empty, but something came closer. She could feel it, even though she heard nothing.
The clouds drifted past.
The moon returned, bright enough to cast a shadow.
An forgot to breathe when she saw the black horse racing over the land. This was grace married to strength, an animal so beautiful it made Royce’s finest hunter look like a plow horse.
It wasn’t running away from anything, she decided as she watched it turn toward the old sea road that followed the coast. Just running for the sheer joy of it, as a celebration of life.
She stood there until it was out of sight.
Where had it come from? she wondered as she continued toward the sea. Old Ahern’s farm? He did raise magnificent horses, but even he didn’t have anything in his stables that could compare with this one.
Unless this was one of his “special” horses that she hadn’t seen before.
Or perhaps it had slipped away from Tir Alainn itself. She could imagine the Huntress mounted on such a fine animal.
Remembering that she could well be the hunted one spurred her forward until she reached the cliffs that overlooked the sea. Even knowing what to look for, it took her several minutes to find the break in the cliff. She clattered down the rough path as quickly as she could, slipping a couple of times in her haste, until she reached the empty beach.
Over the years, her mother had gathered small boulders and pieces of driftwood that she’d used to build two low walls, using the cliff itself to form the third side of an open-air room. A few times, as a special treat, Meredith had invited An to stay with her overnight, but, for the most part, this had been her mother
’s private place.
She had never been on this beach without her mother, hadn’t been here at all since Meredith’s death.
Because of that, she could almost pretend that Meredith had simply gone for a walk along the beach and would be back soon. Then, as her hand brushed against the pocket that held the fancy, even that much pretense faded, giving loneliness a keener edge and
Fool, Ari thought as she closed the door and locked it. The Huntress wasn’t the only one who would be roaming the land tonight. And in truth, if she had to choose between Royce and the Wild Hunt, she’d rather take her chances with the hounds. At least with them it would end quickly.
She pressed her hand against the door in farewell and headed toward the sea.
A quick walk turned into a run until the stitch in her side forced her to stop. By then the cottage was out of sight.
Royce wouldn’t look for her on this beach. Surely not. Even if he remembered it existed.
She’d thought this out very carefully. Had thought of little else in the past two days. If the Gwynn women had any gift for magic, it was centered in their ability to brew love potions, so she couldn’t dismiss Granny Gwynn’s warning about the magic turning back on a person if it wasn’t properly released. Which meant she couldn’t just hide in the cottage. If Royce came to the door, she’d have to offer him the fancy
—and herself, since she was sure he would accept it. But if she saw no one tonight, she wouldn’t be refusing the spell in the fancy, and since the offer had to be made on this particular night, the magic should fade harmlessly.
She hoped.
Another half a mile and she’d reach the rough path that led to the beach and the shallow cave in the cliff wall. Her mother had loved to come here, alone, on summer nights. Tonight it would provide shelter from the wind and, even more important, hide her from anyone who might look down from the cliff.
Clouds drifted across the moon, cutting the light, at the same moment Ari sensed that she was no longer alone.
Her heart raced as she spun around, straining to see down the road. Great Mother, had Royce been to the cottage already? Had he guessed her intention? Was he riding after her?
The road remained empty, but something came closer. She could feel it, even though she heard nothing.
The clouds drifted past.
The moon returned, bright enough to cast a shadow.
An forgot to breathe when she saw the black horse racing over the land. This was grace married to strength, an animal so beautiful it made Royce’s finest hunter look like a plow horse.
It wasn’t running away from anything, she decided as she watched it turn toward the old sea road that followed the coast. Just running for the sheer joy of it, as a celebration of life.
She stood there until it was out of sight.
Where had it come from? she wondered as she continued toward the sea. Old Ahern’s farm? He did raise magnificent horses, but even he didn’t have anything in his stables that could compare with this one.
Unless this was one of his “special” horses that she hadn’t seen before.
Or perhaps it had slipped away from Tir Alainn itself. She could imagine the Huntress mounted on such a fine animal.
Remembering that she could well be the hunted one spurred her forward until she reached the cliffs that overlooked the sea. Even knowing what to look for, it took her several minutes to find the break in the cliff. She clattered down the rough path as quickly as she could, slipping a couple of times in her haste, until she reached the empty beach.
Over the years, her mother had gathered small boulders and pieces of driftwood that she’d used to build two low walls, using the cliff itself to form the third side of an open-air room. A few times, as a special treat, Meredith had invited An to stay with her overnight, but, for the most part, this had been her mother
’s private place.
She had never been on this beach without her mother, hadn’t been here at all since Meredith’s death.
Because of that, she could almost pretend that Meredith had simply gone for a walk along the beach and would be back soon. Then, as her hand brushed against the pocket that held the fancy, even that much pretense faded, giving loneliness a keener edge and
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