She snatched his cup from his hand and emptied the rest of his brandy down her throat. Handing the empty mug back, she answered, “So that you will understand why I kept my secret from you. Your mother confided in me of your curse, and of her need to save her boys. I also knew that one of the three queens would be a Cavari woman who would spend a century melded with the earth as a mighty oak, after cursing your people. When the Faie sightings increased, I knew she was soon to return, and I spread word of the bounty.”
Maarav nodded. “Yes, so you could have Finn brought to you, and you could decide what to do with her to stop the prophecy from being fulfilled. I still don’t know what that has to do with me.” He raised his empty mug to gain the barmaid’s attention, but she seemed to be busy with their companions.
“Honestly,” Slàine replied tiredly, “I had hoped to use you as a bargaining tool. If she agreed to my terms, I could hand over one of the last members of your clan. She cursed your people once. I thought maybe she’d hate the bloodline still.”
His mouth fell open. “So you raised me up to be slaughtered? Am I nothing more than a tasty pig to you?”
Slàine scowled. “Why do you think I encouraged you to go off to Migris without any of our people? I changed my mind.”
He leaned back against his chair. The room was spinning nicely, softening the blow of learning his adoptive mother had once thought to sacrifice him. At least she had changed her mind.
Slàine’s features softened. He knew she would not apologize, nor would she ask for forgiveness. It was not her way. They were both here, alive, and that was what mattered.
“You like that girl,” she observed with a suddenly smug grin, nodding in the direction of Ealasaid. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you so taken with someone.”
He smirked. “The girl calls lightning from thin air and runs into battle without fear. The girl, is terrifying.”
Slàine laughed, then lifted her hand to successfully catch the barmaid’s attention. She pointed to Maarav’s cup, then held up two fingers. Turning her gaze back to him, she taunted, “I didn’t think you were the type of man to turn his back on danger and . . . terror.”
The barmaid hurried over to them with her tray of fresh drinks in hand. He took two mugs of brandy from her as he stood, placing a few coins on her tray. He turned back to Slàine with a wink. “I’m not.”
He sauntered across the room, then gestured for Tavish to move so he could resume his seat next to Ealasaid. He handed her the fresh brandy, then leaned in close to her ear. “You better drink up,” he whispered. “Tomorrow you begin your leadership of An Solas, with me as your humble advisor.”
She took a swig of the brandy, though she was clearly already a bit drunk. She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why Maarav, I thought you’d never ask.”
Though the whiskey before her soothed Bedelia’s sore body, it did nothing to alleviate the weight on her mind. She watched Finn carefully, laughing with Kai and Sativola. She wished she could be part of the jovial scene, but she still needed to speak with Finn. She’d told Iseult all of her secrets, believing there was no way they’d survive Oighear’s dungeon.
No. That wasn’t right. She would have told him regardless. She had planned to do so in Badenmar, but lacked the courage. It was only with death staring her in the face that she’d been desperate enough to speak out.
Her gaze met Iseult’s across the room. He sat near Finn and the others, but remained somehow separate. He gave her a small nod and she took a quavering breath. He believed Finn would forgive her. After all, she’d forgiven him.
She stood, brushing imaginary dust off her freshly cleaned breeches, then forced her feet to carry her across the room. Finn noticed her before the others and smiled.
“May we speak in private?” Bedelia asked sheepishly upon reaching her.
Kai looked at her questioningly, but did not object as Finn nodded and stood. “Of course.”
The two women made their way across the common room toward the stone fireplace, blazing with a comforting fire, and an empty bench placed before it. Together they sat, and Finn waited patiently for her to speak.
“I have some things I need to tell you,” she sighed, “but I do not know where to begin.”
Finn smiled softly. “Does it have something to do with why you were in the woods the night we met, all alone as if waiting for me? And why you later conveniently waited on the Sand Road at the perfect time, even though I’d been out to sea for weeks?”
“D-did Iseult tell you?” she stammered. “I told him I would tell you myself!”
Finn raised her hands in a calming gesture. “He told me nothing!” she laughed. “Well,” she began more sedately, “nothing except to be careful what I said around you, just in case. He thought it odd how you so conveniently happened upon us.”
Her heart’s nervous patter slowed. So Finn had suspected her all along? She was such a fool to believe she could have so easily deceived everyone. She was a warrior, not a trickster.
She took a shaky breath, then met Finn’s earnest gaze. “I was sent by Keiren Deasmhumhain, daughter of àed Deasmhumhain, to gain your trust.”
Finn gasped. All humor suddenly drained from her face. “àed? Do you know where he is?”
She nodded. “I will get to that soon. Keiren sent me to meet you in the woods that first night. I did not know her plans, nor do I now. All I knew was my quest, to gain your trust, and eventually lead you to Keiren. There was something or someone protecting you from her sight. I was there the night the Archtree burned. Well,” she hesitated, feeling overwhelmingly guilty, “I burned it, upon Keiren’s orders.”
Finn was shaking her head over and over again. “I do not understand. Why would you burn the Archtree?”
“Keiren had hoped to stop you from finding answers,” she explained. “Now that I’ve heard Slàine’s prophecy, I believe it has something to do with that. She wanted to manipulate you in some way. After you left the Island, she sent me to wait for you on the Sand Road.”
“Were you truly never my friend?” Finn interrupted, heartbreak clear in her voice.
“I always was!” she quickly corrected. “Or at least, for the most part. After you saved me from the wolves, and didn’t care if I told you why I wore armor or traveled through the woods alone, and especially after I learned you were the one who left the potion for me, my thoughts changed. I began to hope there was some way I could save you from Keiren, and she knew it. She knew my heart had changed, and I would never lead you to harm.”
Finn took a deep, shaky breath, and was quiet for several seconds.
Bedelia was so overwhelmed with waiting for a reply, she had to resist the urge to reach out and shake her friend.
“And what of àed?” Finn asked finally, not meeting her waiting gaze.
Bedelia closed her eyes for a moment. This was the hard part. The part Finn would never forgive. “Keiren turned him into a tree,” she breathed. “He now stands where the Archtree once took root.”
Finn blinked at her in shock. “So he’s not dead?” she gasped.
“N-no, but-” she stammered, unable to interpret Finn’s attitude.
“Well this is wonderful!” Finn exclaimed. “When he did not come to find me, I knew something terrible had happened. I couldn’t help but fear the worst, that he’d been in Migris when it was attacked. But if he has simply been turned into a tree, there is still hope of saving him. I was a tree for a hundred years, after all, and it did not do me any harm.” She frowned. “Well except for the loss of my memories, but those came back.”
“But,” Bedelia began again, totally taken aback.
Finn took both her hands in hers and eyed her intently. “àed told me about his daughter, Keiren. That she was powerful, and cruel. Now I know it must be true if she would turn her own father into a tree. I will forgive you fully, if you promise to help me get him back.”
Bedelia thought her heart might burst. She would forgive her, after everything she’d done? “I will give my life if that’s what it takes. I swear it.”
Finn released one of her hands to pat the other one. “Now now, if that’s what it takes, we will find another way. Thank you for telling me.”