House of the Dead by Elizabeth Wilson

Author:Elizabeth Wilson [Wilson, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2017-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

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When Prince Nuallán awoke, he was in the castle’s infirmary, leg bound in linens. Slumped in a crudely carved oak chair by his bedside was Brennus, king of Connacht and Breena’s uncle. His face was hard and lined, and his eyes had aged a hundred years since last Nuallán saw him. Still, he summoned a wan smile as the prince of Ulster got his elbows beneath him and propped himself up.

“What happened?” Prince Nuallán asked, throat prickling with disuse.

“We have been wondering much the same. You have been asleep for three whole days. You were found on the outskirts of the forest, bleeding heavily from your leg, and you barely made it through the physician’s treatment. But why did you run from the castle? Some of my men were ready to take it as a sign of your guilt. They wanted to attack the citadel immediately.”

“And you stopped them?”

“I did. Tell me, was I right to do so?”

Nuallán paused, studying his hands. “Someone had taken out the distractions for the Cat Sidhe in Breena’s chamber.”

The hurt was deeply imbedded in Brennus’s voice when he confirmed this. “Yes. We found the fireplace doused and the dancers unconscious. But why did you run?”

“The Cat Sidhe,” the prince said bluntly.

“By the Triple Goddess,” exhaled the king. “You saw it?”

“Yes. I believe that it let me, for some reason.”

“And you were chasing it, yes? Trying to reclaim my niece’s soul?”

Nuallán nodded.

“And did you succeed?”

There was a short pause in which the tension between the two men was palpable. “I did. She waits in the Otherworld with her sister.”

King Brennus deflated where he sat. His face fell into his hands, and Nuallán heard a muffled prayer of thanks. The king looked up and beamed at the prince. “Thank you.” His voice shook with the weight of the emotion.

A brief companionable silence pervaded the room while Nuallán mustered up the courage to ask his next question. “King Brennus? My father… he is dead, is he not?”

The king’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m sorry,” he said, clasping Nuallán’s arm in sympathy. “Much has been lost this day. But how did you know?”

“I saw him,” Nuallán struggled to speak without betraying his grief, but his voice wavered unsteadily. “He was in the Otherworld. He was with Breena.”

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