42
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I tried not to think about why the cages of stone and clay were so empty. It seemed odd to have so many of them and not a single body occupying the space. Allowing myself to be naive, I decided that it was because crime, as a whole in Saoghal, was low. That made me feel better.
The positive to there being next to no one in the dungeons was that there was a corresponding amount of guards.
And by that, I mean there was none. Which was great, because as I started to creep down the cold, wet aisle-way between the cells, I realized I did not have a good excuse as to why I was sneaking around down there.
The downside to there being next to no one in the dungeons was that there was a corresponding amount of light.
One sconce, hardly alive at all, the flame whistling and dying with every passing seconds.
Fireflies hated the coldness of the dungeon, as well as the lack of natural light and the overall feeling of dread, so I, for once, was left without them buzzing around my head.
But I managed to find who I was looking for with ease, the Prince of Uisge housed in the biggest and nicest of all of the cells.
I continued my sleuth towards him, pausing at where the clay of the sidewalls turned into the brambled sticks-and-mud of the aisle-facing wall that allowed me to see him, and his space, in it’s entirety.
It honestly wasn’t that bad. A flat just like it back home would cost a hefty portion of the average salary, and if someone offered me a permanent stay in Saoghal on the terms that I had to stay in it, I would have shrugged and accepted.
Though, for a Prince of Saoghal, it likely was less than up to par.
“Tadgh?” I whispered.
A shadow in the back corner, curled up with their head pressed into a pillow, moved at the sound of my voice. I watched the blob of darkness as it pushed off of the bed, strode towards the bars, and at last stopped and revealed his blue skin and lavender eyes.
“Olivia?” The Prince shook his head several times before rubbing at both of his eyes. “Is that you? Or is this a dream?”
I couldn’t help but to laugh. “You dream of humans saving you in dungeons often, Tadgh?”
“Certainly enough to believe this could be one.” The corner of his lips curled upwards and his natural charm started to shine, brightening up the otherwise dreary space we were in. “You came for me?”
Tadgh looked familiar as he watched me through the bars. Far too familiar. A reminder of another Prince that had once looked at me the same way, broken and weighed down by the heaviness of their role, no matter how wide their smirk was or how sharp they made their eyes.
That’s why I sighed and moved closer.
“I’m going to get you out,” I promised, casting my gaze down the long stretch of dark dungeon, taking note of the rebuilt walls that Urram had blasted through. “I just need to figure out the locks.”
“Don’t bother,” he said before hanging his head. “It is better that I am in here.”
I frowned as I looked at him, daring another step towards his bars. Placing my hands on two, I watched him carefully as his shoulder sagged.
“What am I to do?” he whispered. I wasn’t sure that he was truly speaking to me and not the gods, not until he looked up at me with watery eyes. “If you let me out of here, Olivia, then I must do it. I must become it. And I do not want it.”
My heart cracked as his words found me, a mirrored conversation to another, with a Prince of another kingdom.
“What?”
“I do not want this role,” he admitted. “I do not want to be King. But if you free me, then I will need to be. Not only that, but I will need to protect my kingdom.” He straightened, slowly and cautiously, before moving closer.
I didn’t flinch away from him, only held the sad gaze he offered.
“I will come for Raegan, if you let me out.”
My body ached, splitting itself into two.
The side of me that would never allow harm to come to Raegan, that would threaten all that dared to suggest it.
Then there was the side that felt pity for Tadgh, who would have felt the same way if my parents had been killed, inadvertently, at Raegan’s hand.
“He is not a bad king,” I said.
Tadgh’s smile was small. “You might be the only being in all of Saoghal who believes that.” I stared at him for a long while, the two of us sinking into that truth.
“But I was inclined to believe it, too. What he did with Choilltean and Cluaineach, how do the others not see it? It was the lesser of two evils.”
There was a strange sort of relief at hearing someone not drag Raegan’s name through the mud.
“But my mother is dead.”
“I know. I am sorry. Truly, I did not know. I did not know any of this would happen.”
“I believe you,” he whispered, moving even closer to the bars until I was sure we shared the same air. “But it changes nothing.”
“I know that, too.”
“So don’t let me out.”
I shook my head several times, unsure of what to say in response.
How twisted had the ways of Saoghal become that Princes begged to be locked up before they had to take to their thrones?
Would Raegan have begged another, just as Tadgh did now, if it meant he could have avoided taking Choilltean and Cluaineach?
I knew the answer was yes. That’s why I let pity alter my decision.
“Why did you come, Olivia?” Tadgh asked, his head cocked to the side.
“Well… Because…” I trailed off, my brows pressed tight as I contemplated that. “Because it—”
His smile was small and knowing as he nodded. “Because it is who you are.”
My eyes were overly round as I stared at him.
“Why? Why are you so… kind?”
Swallowing, I at last had some sort of parting wisdom for the Prince of Uisge. “I am kind because the world has tried to make me cruel.”
A small collection of moisture in his eye, Tadgh smiled at me. His mouth opened, some horror likely on the end of it, only for him to be silenced by an echoing voice down the length of the dungeon.
“Olivia?”
Liam.
I glanced back at Tadgh, nervous and panicked, only to see him smiling at me. He leaned closer, his lips nearly touching the bars. “Thank you, dearest human, for your kindness.”
And then he retreated back into his cell, finding himself a comfortable position on the chair within that he sat down in and turned away from me, as if we had not spoken a word to one another.
“What are you doing down here?” Liam called, his voice too familiar and too innocent that I lost the ability to lie. My mind raked through thought after thought, trying my best to come up with something to say, even if it wasn’t completely believable.
“I was… Looking for Killian,” I spat out, too quickly and too nervously, as I finally looked away from Tadgh and glanced down the length of the dungeons. Liam, illuminated by a swarm of fireflies that had offered their assistance and followed him into the damp place, continued towards me.
“Killian? You thought he would be down here?”
Stop asking questions.
“Well he dropped me off in my room and then left, I couldn’t think of where else he would be but guarding the Prince of Uisge.”
Liam flinched at mention of Tadgh, nodding slowly. “Though I suppose he is the Heir of Uisge, now.”
It was my turn to flinch, nodding slowly as I tried to let that thought pass. “What are you doing down here?”
He looked humoured as a smile crept through, before he motioned to his body. “I am a member of the ceadan, if you have forgotten?”
“Oh,” I said through a shy laugh. “Of course. Sorry, Liam – the events of this night have been…”
“I know.”
He finally reached me and dipped his chin as if I was someone worthy of receiving such a respectful movement. I matched it, smiling as I rose.
“You should not be down here alone,” he said, offering me the bend of his elbow.
I stared at it for a long while, trying to decide whether to take it or not.
It was as I drew a long breath, intending to use it to ground me and blow it out just as slowly, that I smelled Liam.
Truly smelled him, for the first time, taking note of small indicators that were what differentiated one person from the next.
I recognized it.
“Aisling,” I whispered, my eyes wide as I regretted saying it and not thinking it.
Liam’s face blushed a horrendous shade of red as he retracted his offered arm. “What?”
“You… Wow! That venom must be really strong if even I am capable of putting two and two together."
I didn’t think it was possible for his cheeks to blush even more, but they did, until all of his features were overshadowed by that rich sheen.
I wasn’t sure if I was insulted or impressed when Liam decided to completely change topics by saying, full of accusation, “You weren’t really down here looking for Killian, were you?”
Yet again I had no idea what to say or do, finding myself incapable of lying to Walking-Happiness, so I sighed.
“No, I was looking for Raegan.”
That shut Liam up, his mouth slamming closed as he stared at me. “Oh. R-right. I suppose it’s getting to that time of day, isn’t it?”
While I was glad he had taken the bait, I was far too confused and curious to let that slide. “That time of day? What do you mean?”
“For your drink.” Liam shrugged as if it was obvious before he motioned for me to follow him out of the dungeons. Begrudgingly, I obeyed. “You always have that tonic around this time. Though I suppose with the Ball tonight you probably missed a serving.”
The tonic… Oh!
The disgusting cherry-looking stuff that Rory had packed into bottles for me. The stuff that I would rather dehydrate than drink, but it kept me small without having to rely on someone else.
“Oh, right,” I laughed. “Yeah, I guess I do normally drink it around this hour.”
Liam nodded as we reached the stairs, pausing to allow me to walk ahead of him. “I’ve heard it’s important to drink it at the same hour everyday, Olivia. Or else it won’t work.”
Frowning, I cautiously paused at his side and looked up at him.
“My mother used to take it. After me, she was struggling to conceive another with my father. That fertility tonic was the only thing she could think of to help.”
I didn’t care that Liam saw – my mouth fell open.
Fertility tonic.
Rory had me drinking fertility tonic.