Chapter Three
Rockbrook Castle, South of Dublin
Demesne of the de Courcy Family
“You cannot go back to retrieve anything. We must go. Now.”
The woman who had raised her was yanking her along a dark corridor.
She was in a sleeping shift and robe, heavy against the cold night air, and someone was trying to put a cloak on her shoulders.
She could hear others running behind her, down a narrow corridor that was dark and smelled of the damp, with the only light being the lamp in the hand of the woman who was pulling on her and urging her to run.
And she did.
Truthfully, she wasn’t entirely oblivious to what was going on.
There had been rumors of it for months, enemies of her grandfather who had wanted a marriage between her and a man of their choosing.
They wanted to breed her into a rival line and meld his bloodlines with theirs, hoping to breed out his entire lineage.
She was the last of her kind.
Andromeda Ní Murda de Courcy was running for her life.
“My mother?” she asked, trying to keep the terror from her voice. “What of my mother? Have they gone for her as well?”
The woman with the lamp in her hand was focused and businesslike.
“I do not know, lass,” she said. “I’ve not heard of her fate, but it’s you they want, not her.
Everyone knows who Brigid’s father is, and they know you are the daughter of two kingdoms. They want you and they do not want her. There is no time to waste.”
Andromeda was trying very hard not to break into tears.
She was worried about her mother, someone she’d been kept from her entire life over safety concerns, but someone she loved very much.
Her entire life had been one of hiding and secrets, of pretending to be someone she wasn’t.
Even the name Andromeda wasn’t the name she’d been given at birth.
When she’d come to Lord and Lady de Courcy as a toddler, they changed her name from Morrigan, after the Irish war goddess, to Andromeda, after the most beautiful woman in the ancient world.
Andromeda was all she’d ever known. But Morrigan was who they wanted.
They were coming for her.
“They do not only want me for a marriage,” she muttered after a moment, following the woman down a slippery stairwell that was as dark as the night outside.
“They want to use me as an example. They want to shame me and my bloodline. Hiding me from them and changing my name… it was futile. The truth has found me.”
The woman pulling her along didn’t reply immediately. She kept the lamp up, held high, so they could see where they were going and focused on the path ahead. As a practical woman, there was no time for regrets.
“It will be futile if we do not get you to safety,” she said steadily. “We knew this day might come, and we have planned for it.”
She sounded so… cold. No emotion, only duty.
Andromeda couldn’t help it—the tears began to come.
She was rushing through the ground floor of the home she grew up in and knew exactly where she was—in the kitchens.
The chambers were small, so there were several rooms used by the kitchens.
She could smell the smoke from the great cooking hearth and the yeast for the morning’s bread.
It was, in fact, close to morning, and the woman pulling her along was none other than the lady of the castle herself, Lady de Courcy.
Andromeda had little doubt that the people behind her were trusted servants, including the woman who had been a nurse to all of the de Courcy children.
She could hear old Breeda sniffling and huffing as they ran.
But Andromeda had no idea where, exactly, they were running to.
“But why must I leave?” she wanted to know. “Can you tell me why I must go? I have lived here much of my life. My sisters and I have…”
“You mean my daughters,” Lady de Courcy corrected her softly. “They are my daughters, Andie. I know you were raised together, but they are my daughters, and I must protect them.”
“But—!”
“You do not wish for Ceara and Alecia to be in danger, do you?”
She didn’t. Of course she didn’t. But Andromeda still didn’t understand why she was being forced to flee in the middle of the night.
“How are they in danger?” she said, suddenly digging in her heels and forcing everyone to come to a halt.
“I do not understand why I cannot stay. Will these old walls no longer keep out those who wish to do me harm? Can you please explain? Rockbrook is the sturdiest castle in Ireland. Are you telling me that it cannot withstand whatever we are running from?”
Lady de Courcy wasn’t trying to be cruel. But she did have a task to complete and a family to protect, so she faced Andromeda with as much patience as she could.
“Because you are the last of your kind, my dear,” she said softly, putting a hand on Andromeda’s cheek.
“My husband and William Marshal had a plan for you when you were born. You are of royal Irish blood on both sides, with your mother being the last King of Dublin’s only daughter and your father of the royal Uí Faelaín house.
Your grandfather was murdered by his rival, and now, that rival faction is coming for you.
They have always known of your existence.
When they discovered we had taken you in, the marriage offers began.
We have refused them for years, but no longer.
They are at the gate, demanding you be given over to them, and my husband is refusing them entry.
But they will not accept that. They will bring more men.
Unless we want the castle razed, we must open the gates and let them in to search for you. But you must not be here.”
Andromeda understood all of that. She’d come to live with Lord and Lady de Courcy at an extremely young age, and ever since her thirteenth birthday, when they revealed her true identity to her, she’d known of her unique bloodlines.
The woman she thought was a cousin was actually her mother.
Her own father had gone to England to serve William Marshal because the Earl of Pembroke had lands in Ireland and a treaty with her father’s family, but more than that, King John had plans for the granddaughter of mac Ragnaill, plans that died out when it did.
It was all quite complex and confusing, but that moment she never hoped would come was here.
“Where am I going?” she asked, sounding scared.
Lady de Courcy began to walk again, pulling her along behind. “Lord de Courcy has trusted men to take you to Wales,” she said. “You must go to your father at Pembroke Castle. Only he will be able to protect you from those who wish to force you into a hellish marriage.”
Andromeda was once again trying not to panic. “How long must I stay?”
They had reached the kitchen door, the one that opened out into the kitchen yard with the postern gate beyond.
Rockbrook Castle was so fortified that even the postern gate had a portcullis built into a small gatehouse that was low and squat, dug deep into the ground.
As soon as Lady de Courcy opened the gates, there were four heavily armed soldiers waiting.
Andromeda was startled by the sight, coming to an unsteady halt in the doorway.
“My lady?” she said fearfully, eyeing the man. “Must I—?”
“You must.” Lady de Courcy had to yank her out of the doorway and into the yard.
She faced the soldiers that were laden with weapons and bags, clearly meant for travel.
“You will take the lady and follow the plan laid out by his lordship. There is a boat waiting at the river to take you to the coast, where one of Lord de Courcy’s ships is waiting for you. Hurry, now; there is no time to waste.”
Old Breeda had managed to fasten the cloak around Andromeda, pulling the hood over her head as another servant tied sturdy leather shoes to her feet.
Lady de Courcy turned to her, kissing her on the cheek and embracing her, fighting off her own tears now that she and Andromeda were soon to be parted.
“I am sorry it must be this way, my dear,” she whispered in Andromeda’s ear. “The kingdoms in Ireland are many, and the hatred between them is great. But know that we love you and we shall pray for you. Go!”
Andromeda wept softly as one of the soldiers reached out and took her by the arm, pulling her toward the postern gate where several de Courcy men were standing, protecting the entry from the angry Irish clan of mac Lochlainn, who were at the main gatehouse.
As Lady de Courcy said, they hadn’t brought their army yet, but they would when they realized that Liam de Courcy, Earl of Kilternan, wasn’t going to let them in.
When they realized they were being denied Ascall’s granddaughter for the last time.
Right now, Liam was trying to buy Andromeda time to leave.
Time to get clear of the Irish who wanted to take her.
And Andromeda knew it. She knew all about her grandfather, Ascall mac Ragnaill, and how he’d been murdered. Now, another kinsman ruled in his stead, but there were so many factions vying for the throne of Dublin that it was difficult to know who was friend and who was foe.
It was better to get Andromeda out of Ireland altogether.
For good.
Out into the dark night Andromeda and her soldiers went, down to the River Dodder, to a small cog that took them out toward the sea. Beyond that, only uncertainty and fear awaited.
And a new, unexpected life that Andromeda was terrified to face.
Alone.