Three hundred years ago, the Earth split and the sky trembled. And then the monsters came.
The island of Lowynn is cursed. The Veil between worlds has torn, and now, monsters come with vengeance. They can only be placated by the blood of sorcerers...
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The days wore on, and the forest only grew thicker around them. Sometimes there would be ancient ruins, and other times the suggestion of a town in the mist. But whenever they neared a road, Lugh directed her deeper into the heart of the forest.
Lugh had grown to tired for his usual conversation, but the silence soon began to suffocate Ciara. She wondered if Lugh was exhausted enough to begin speaking openly. He had always had a generosity to his laughter and charm, but Ciara had learned that he was cautious with his past. "You still have secrets, Lugh Banfield. I am certain of that."
"So do you, Ciara Byrne."
She shook her head. "Never could keep anything from you. You kept your maiden secret ten years. You've teased me about every boy I've so much as looked at for years."
"Like that handsome stablehand?" Lugh said, grinning. "He touched your hand once, and the way you spoke of it, I was sure you'd be married the next morning. What was his name again? Earid? Eirinne?"
Earan. "Can't remember," Ciara said. She did not mind his teasing, but she shuddered at the memory. She had always been a sickly child, prone to lovesickness as well. Ciara remembered how she would bury herself in the pages of romances, falling in love with each servant boy she saw, in the space between heartbeats. Unable to leave the manor, Ciara would imagine herself as one of the fair maidens trapped in a tower, just waiting for the handsome Knight's arrival.
When first she met Reid, Ciara was sure that it was him. He was one of the most powerful men on the island, surrounded by the Fionian warriors. Their strength shone onto him, making him a child of magnificent power. Watch out for that boy, Lugh had warned. Twelve years old, and more arrogant than men three times his age. Cruel too, I hear.
Ciara had turned away and ran. Lugh had mocked her little loves before, but this was the first time she could ever remember being angry at him. Of course he's arrogant, she thought. He has every right to be. He's handsome, and powerful, and Father says we'd make an excellent match, and he has the greatest army on the island....
Ciara realized that she had spent her entire childhood coveting that army, as if it was a bauble on a necklace. She did not truly know what it meant, nor why her Father, already blessed with so much power, would need to add men into his service. But she clutched the concept as a talisman and accepted it as her truest ambition, because she heard the reverence in her Father's voice when he spoke of it.
A heavy feeling settled into Ciara's stomach as she realized. The General had been preparing her for war since she was a child, sending her on missions across the ballroom to make alliances and armies. Each time he whispered the word to her, it had meant war.
To wide-eyed Ciara, it had meant making her father happy.
Her love for Reid flickered out quickly, as it became clear that Lugh had been right. She tried to ignore the barbs in his voice, or the glittering cruelty in his eyes. Ciara tried to will herself to love him, irregardless. But when that failed, she retreated once again to the romances of her storybooks.
