Lady Airell's Choice by Rachel Skatvold

Author:Rachel Skatvold [Skatvold, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

An icy chill tingled up Tiernay’s spine as one of his servants steered the rowboat down the watery passageway. At a sudden splash, he held his torch higher to see further down the cavern. Groups of bats hung from the craggy ceiling above and jagged stalactite pillars dripped with moisture. He relaxed—reasoning one of the pillars had broken off and landed in the water. Tiernay had never liked navigating the dark caverns beneath the fortress. The stale air and eternal darkness sent a foreboding feeling through him, but his uncle had spent an exorbitant amount of time counting his treasure the past few weeks. It had become the only place to speak with him.

Instead of dwelling on the darkness, the prince’s thoughts turned back to the afternoon he’d spent with Airell. He saw her golden hair covered in white powder and the way she smiled at him right before they almost shared a kiss. A smile tingled on his lips, encouraged by the direction their relationship was heading. Did he dare to dream she might decide to stay with him after their escape?

When they arrived at the entrance to the king’s secret chambers and stepped out of the boat, Tiernay grew uneasy again. However, after using his torch to travel down a series of narrow passages, he finally emerged into the large treasure chamber. There, he found his uncle dressed in his finest floor-length fur robe and golden jeweled crown, walking among his hoard of gold coins and chests full of rare jewels.

When King Malcolm looked up, the prince shuddered at the covetous gleam in his dark brooding eyes. Tiernay knew the haunting look well. After weeks of calm—content in his victories, the king was now hungry again—hungry for more death, destruction and the treasure that followed.

The prince swallowed his nerves and bowed. “You requested my presence, Uncle?”

For a moment, the king’s eyes cleared and he fiddled with the golden rings on his fingers. “Nephew, it pleases me to see you. We must begin planning for the spring.”

Tiernay furrowed his brow. “The spring, Your Majesty?”

“Aye,” the king replied with a flourish of his robe and approached him, placing two large hands on Tiernay’s shoulders. “Our kingdom is growing in strength. Soon we will be the greatest empire in the history of Ardena.” His eyes flashed with a strange combination of pride and madness. “We will unite all the kingdoms into one and in the future it will all be yours. Órlaith and Daireann have bended in submission and now North and South Rhona are the only remaining obstacles standing in our way. Lord Caerul has sent messengers saying they have treasure in North and South Rhona—more gold than you can imagine.”

Tiernay shook his head and motioned toward the rolling mounds of gold surrounding them. “Uncle, do we not have enough already?”

His uncle gritted his teeth and glanced to the side, surveying his hoard with hungry eyes. “‘Tis never enough!” He let go of Tiernay and staggered back to the piles of gold, pausing to bend down and sift some through is fingers.

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