Chapter Twenty-Eight
How had she let herself fall for him? She knew better than that. Her gut had told her from the moment she met him that he wasn’t to be trusted, and yet she’d continued to throw herself at him. How could she have been so foolish? She always chose the wrong man, and this time was no different.
Except that it was.
This time, she’d fallen even harder, even faster. She’d thought of asking him to stay. She’d even considered whether she would go with him if he asked her. Lord, how foolish she’d been.
She couldn’t go back into the inn in her current state.
Emer would know something was wrong, and she’d just sworn not to tell anyone about the men’s true identities.
Yet another item on her list of foolish decisions, though she didn’t have much choice in it.
Instead of returning to her sister, Alannah headed out of Ath Luain.
Through a forest to the south lay another town, even smaller than Ath Luain. Alannah knew that some of the men in that village had gone north with her brothers as well, though she hadn’t traveled far enough to ask after them there yet. This seemed as good an opportunity as any.
She started walking south from The Hart’s Rest, the distant forest looming across the horizon on the far side of the scattered farms. Drawing closer, she saw the branches sway in a breeze that would normally have captivated her, tugging at her hair and billowing her loose tunic.
But even the pleasantness of the weather could not rid her of the one torturous thought that shot through her mind again and again the entire time she walked: Why had she ever trusted Conan?
As she neared the edge of the forest, Alannah heard movement nearby. She stopped dead, praying it wasn’t a wolf or a boar. She’d brought her sword, but that wasn’t a battle she wanted to fight. Some of the best warriors she knew had been laid low by a wild boar in the chaos of the hunt.
Crouching amidst the brush, she held still, listening.
Those were definitely footsteps—a lot of them.
It couldn’t be just one boar, but it could be a pack of wolves.
Swallowing hard, she waited a few moments longer before deciding on her next move.
Whatever was in there hadn’t noticed her yet.
If she moved carefully, she could sneak back the way she’d come.
The hair at the back of her neck stood on end when she heard a familiar voice.
“Grab that one, too,” Illadan ordered.
More shuffling and the sound of sticks knocking together followed.
Curious, Alannah stood and veered off the path to the right, walking into the canopy of oak and ash and birch.
She’d been trying to sneak, but her foot snapped a fallen branch.
All five of the giant warriors turned toward her, eyes wide, arms full of sticks and branches.
“What are you doing?”
She thought they weren’t going to answer her. They stared, looking from one to another, before Dallan finally spoke.
“We were going to surprise you,” he said sheepishly. “As an apology for misleading you. We noticed you were getting low on fuel for your fire, so we collected some for you.”
Her skin still tingled, her gut warning her against trusting them yet again. It had been a mistake the first time. She had no reason to give them a second chance to deceive her. “Thank you,” she managed, though she knew it didn’t sound as sincere as it ought.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” Conan walked toward her, the other men falling in behind him.
“I was on my way to the next village over to inquire after my brothers,” she explained.
Conan added his sticks to the armful Dallan already carried. “I’ll go with you.”
“Absolutely not.”
There was no way she was going to be trapped on an afternoon’s walk with him. The other men hurried past, politely heading back down the path toward Ath Luain. Conan didn’t move toward her, but he didn’t follow the men, either.
“Alannah, please. Can we talk?”
“I have nothing else to say to you.” She turned, finished with him. Her heart couldn’t take any more abuse today.
His footsteps followed her.
“Alannah, we’ll be leaving soon.”
She stopped almost as soon as she’d reached the path again. “Good.”
“Can you just give me a chance to—”
“A chance?” She headed toward him, her patience gone. “I already gave you a chance. I gave you one every time I asked if you were really bards. I’ve given you plenty of chances. I’m through being lied to.”
“You’re right. And I’m sorry.” His features squeezed into a pained expression. “What can I do to make it up to you?”
In spite of it all, his plea tugged at her heart, threatening her resolve. Would she never learn? As a whole, the men who were interested in her could not be trusted. She needed to end this conversation before she made yet another foolish decision.
“You can leave me the hell alone.”
“No,” he hurried to stand on the path in front of her, “I can’t. I wish it were as simple as that, but—”
“But what? You can’t stop bedding me, but you can’t be bothered to be honest with me?”
“I deserve that.”
“And I deserve to be left alone. It’s the least you could do.”
“Alannah.” His throat worked, his eyes pleading as he took a step closer. “I spent all my life training to fight for Brian. He as good as raised me. He fostered me. I’ve been oathsworn to him since I was a child, and I now serve him as a Fianna.”
“The Fianna?” Alannah had heard of them. Everyone had. The call put out for men to come join the band of warriors had sent several local lads into Mumhain. “That’s who you all are?”
Conan nodded. “I owe Brian my life. In every way. Otherwise I’d not have deceived you.”
She felt her walls cracking, though they were newly built. “I’m still angry with you.”
“You should be. What I did was wrong.” He took her hands. “I know that I’m not family, but I would love another chance with you.”
Alannah wanted to believe him so badly. “No more lies.”
“No more lies,” he agreed.
“Very well,” she allowed, praying she wasn’t making a mistake. “One more chance, but I’m going to town alone.” She needed a little more time and space to think through all that had happened.
Conan pulled her in for a kiss, his lips gentle yet insistent against hers. Then he left her to finish her journey.
The trip into Curraghmore went about as expected but not as she’d hoped.
She managed to visit everyone before dinner time, watching the sun slowly fall toward the western horizon as she walked back to Ath Luain.
No one knew of her brothers. Alannah approached The Hart’s Rest from the south, circling around the property to reach the front door.
On her way around the back of the inn, she glanced at the wood pile, recalling the men’s efforts to restock it.
It wasn’t empty. Their piles of sticks sat atop the logs and tinder that Alannah had collected just before they arrived.
But she had more than enough fuel to feed the fire for another fortnight at least, even without their contribution.
Confused by the seeming contradiction, Alannah continued past, her mind racing.
By the time she reached the kitchen where Emer prepared a rich meal of roast salmon, Alannah put the pieces together.
The confusion when she’d first found them in the woods. The hesitation in answering her question. The unnecessary addition to her woodpile.
They’d clearly not checked her stores.
Which meant Conan had lied to her. Again.