Hollow Earth (Hallowed Realms Book 2) Page 4

  “Her parents never found out you were there?”

  Seamus shook his head and then took a sip of his broth.

  “It’s only her da at home. She grew up without her ma. Tris said she never made it back from an assignment the Royals sent her on, so we have that in common—growing up without a mother.” Seamus peered deep into the mug for a moment. He didn’t like talking about his ma. It hurt too much. It was the same reason he didn’t ask me to talk about Alana. Since meeting Tris, he seemed to have recovered from the broken heart he’d suffered through when Alana died. Perhaps he realised they were never meant to be when he met ‘the one.’ Or maybe it hurt him to talk about it. I didn’t want to push the matter.

  “What about her da? How did he not find out you were living under his roof?”

  Seamus shook his head, causing his dark curls to bob around his forehead. It was long overdue for a trim, but neither of us had been in the mood for it. We both were a little worse for wear since that night with Aed.

  “Her da was hardly ever around. When he was home, Tris assured me he wouldn’t enter that room. It was a forgotten part of the house in his mind.”

  I nodded while Seamus spoke, but so far, he had provided nothing helpful in regards to finding the veil.

  “Okay, so you were out of it getting to Netherworld, but tell me again about how you got back.” I thought back to the condition he was in when Aed dropped him off. He was shirtless, with a bandage that had black blood caked in the centre of it. He was weak but upright. Aside from that, nothing was out of the ordinary.

  “I wish I could help, but like I told you before, Aed bound my hands behind my back and put a sack over my head,” he confessed. “I had no idea where we were.” He shook his head as though annoyed he couldn’t be more helpful. “But, come to think of it, I do remember we had to go on the water.”

  This was new information. “Water? What sort of water. Like a river or like on an ocean? Were there waves or was the water calm?”

  Seamus put his mug down and stared off into the distance, thinking hard. “The water was calm, save for a slight rocking when people walked around. At one point, it felt like we were going over a cliff.” My stomach ended up in my throat. Seamus and I looked at each other. “It’s kind of like when we used to jump off that waterfall near your house.”

  The waterfall. We’d jumped off that thing a million times as kids. Could it be that place was where the veil was hidden?

  Seamus looked up at me, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

  Neither one of us had ever searched there. It was at least twenty thousand metres away from where Aed had left us. Surely the veil wouldn’t be that far. Then again, it made perfect sense. He must have known we’d go looking for the veil and it being so far away from where they appeared, it would put me off the scent.

  “Do you think it has been there all along, hiding in plain sight…at a spot we used to go to every summer? Wouldn’t I have seen banshees coming and going, though?” I asked, trying to rationalise the thought. “I mean, I can see Taryn, Tris, and even the stupid prince. If the veil was there, wouldn’t I have seen more of them roaming around? Especially after those other two I saw!”

  “Mate, in the last few months I learnt that banshees are real. Those lorcan beasts are out there, ready to tear us limb from limb. I don’t know why any of this is happening now. Nothing makes sense to me anymore.” He lay back against the couch and closed his eyes. I could tell he was getting feverish. His forehead was sweating.

  He was right. It didn’t matter how this was all happening. It only mattered that it was. What mattered at the moment was that Seamus needed the herbs found in Netherworld, and I needed to make sure Taryn was safe.

  “Tomorrow I’m going to find that veil,” I whispered. One way or another.

  Chapter 3

  Aed

  The sound of church bells tolling the early hour woke me with a jarring start. The hand-stitched golden duvet covering my naked body felt foreign to me as I grappled for a pillow to smother out the sound. Though I’d slept under a great deal of elaborate bedding over the past two months, this was by far the nicest. I wondered if Taryn had found herself in similar accommodations.

  When the feather pillow proved inadequate, I breathed out a sigh and tossed it away. The sunlight stretching across the foot of my bed was muted, dappled by the swaying trees near my window. The scent of the fresh rain reminded me of the events of the previous night. I remembered where I was.

  “Padriag.” I rubbed my hands over my face. “Bugger.”

  I’d happily pay my weight in gold if I could linger in bed for one single day. But my duties called. Rolling from the bed, I moved to the basin and splashed water on my face. The cold water sent ripples of chills down my spine, but it was effective in waking me up. After a quick wash, I donned the clothes already laid out for me.

  The feel of the heavy jacket against my skin was suffocating. I missed my leathers and the familiar weight of my swords at my back. I could only imagine how Taryn felt wearing those god-awful dresses.

  A small smile tugged at my lips at the thought of her. Yesterday’s hideous ensemble had been the height of my mother’s cruelty. And yet, even drowning in a giant puddle of pink, she’d looked lovely. Well, about as lovely as a rabid caged lion could look.

  My smile faltered as I ran my hands through my hair. I knew Taryn was miserable. As was I, but at least I’d been born to this life. I knew how to put on a brave face, but she wasn’t prepared for any of this. Though I knew if given the chance to save her in the same manner, I’d do it all over again. I was man enough to admit that my interference had caused her a great deal of discomfort, and for that I was sorry. Turning to glance at her closed bedroom door, I vowed to make more time to be with her. If there was any chance of this marriage working, I needed to make her a priority.

  Especially with the son of the manor, Nolan, sniffing around Taryn.

  Connor, Lord of the River Lands, had kept us standing in the foyer for the better part of an hour when we arrived the previous night. The lavish welcome had been both stifling and annoying. His daughter, Hadley, was my mother’s most prized choice in suitable ladies for my hand. Her brother, Nolan, had been present, blatantly ogling Taryn.

  Though Hadley was the sort that would have turned my head years ago, I barely noticed her. One glance between Nolan and Taryn was all the distraction I needed. I didn’t like the gleam in his eye when he took in her figure beneath her rain-soaked dress. Even with its many layers, it left little to the imagination to what lay beneath. Taryn had appealing curves thanks to her training. Nolan proved he was more than happy to appreciate them in public.

  I gritted my teeth at the memory of how that sleazy leer of his made me feel. Taryn didn’t ask for my protection, nor would she require it, but I felt the need to give it all the same. No matter what happened, I would make sure Nolan was put in his place before I left.

  Nolan’s roaming eye paired with the expansive crowds waiting for us when we arrived left Taryn on the brink of mental exhaustion. Taryn’s grip on my hand could have rivaled any vice as she clung to me. The guards had to dismount and use their horses as a living barrier to keep the crowds at bay. All too aware of her rampant anxiety about making a fool of herself in public, I’d tucked Taryn into my side and hurried her into the manor house. Too bad she’d had Nolan waiting for her instead of peace and quiet.

  I hated that she had to endure this, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I felt better having a friendly face beside me. At least Connor’s estate sprawled through endless forestland. It afforded us a bit of privacy from the prying eyes of the townspeople. Trees as tall as five men towered outside my window. I had no doubt Taryn had already checked to see if they were a viable escape route, but the bark was too smooth. Without lower branches to slow her descent, the drop would most definitely cause bodily harm.

  Knowing her, she would decide it was worth the risk.

  The red roof of Conn
or’s millwork peeked through the tree line in the distance when I glanced out the window. I didn’t care about different types of wood or whatever the hell Connor had droned on about the night before. I stopped listening two seconds after he crushed my hand in welcome and dismissed Taryn without a second thought. His rude demeanor towards my betrothed had left a foul taste in my mouth that I wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon.

  Lord Connor wasn’t the sort of man you could forget. He had a full head of red hair, big bushy beard that was borderline unkempt, and a hearty laugh that rumbled in my chest anytime I was in his vicinity. He was also madly in love with himself. Or rather his wife’s wealth. Royals wedded for money and land. Not love. They were no different than my own parents in that regard. Not to say that Lord Connor’s logging business hadn’t done well for the realm, but anyone who took the time to sniff the gold-wrapped rose stems around here could tell whose money kept things running.

  I suspected my father had arranged some sort of compensation on the back end for the potential hand in marriage to Connor’s daughter. The king had seemed far too jovial the night before. The most I’d seen him during this tour.

  When I glanced at Taryn’s door again, there were no sounds coming from her room. If there was one thing I’d learnt about her since we started this parade across the kingdom, it was that she was not a morning person.

  “Taryn?” I knocked before testing the door handle. It was unlocked. An oversight by my mother’s maid for sure. “May I come in?”

  I smothered a smile at the loud groan from the other side of the wooden door.

  “Ya ’ave got to be jokin’ right now. It’s not even time for breakfast.”

  “Aye. I know. I thought we could spend some time together.”

  “Now is when ya decide to do that? Unbelievable!” There was a sound of rustling. I pressed my ear to the door, only to leap back when something hit it a moment later.

  “Did you just throw a shoe at me?”

  “I would never!” Her laugh sounded muffled, like she’d said it into a pillow. “I only aimed for the door. No harm in that.”

  The door creaked when I opened it.

  “Aed!” In a blur of movement, Taryn yelped and yanked the covers over her head. “They make doors to keep people out, ya know?”

  “Aye. And to walk through as well.”

  Her feather mattress and bedding felt far less luxurious than my own when I sank beside Taryn. I felt around for her. When my hand landed on her backside, she squealed and almost tumbled off the bed in a heap of blankets.

  “Ya are an evil man, Aed. Groping a girl like that first thing in the morning is uncivil.”

  I did a terrible job hiding my chuckle, which made her look like she wanted to kick me right out of the bed. There was zero doubt in my mind if I gave her further cause I’d be looking up at her from the floor. “It was hard to know which end was up, what with you rooting around under there like a wee piglet.”

  She sat bolt upright. Her hair was a mass of tangles around her face. “Are ya callin’ me a pig now?”

  “No. I said you looked like one. There’s a difference.”

  “Fine.” Taryn yanked the covers up to her neck. “But ya canna see me like this. I’m not decent.”

  I laughed and yanked on the quilt hard, exposing her in all her nightgown glory. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s not as if you’re naked.”

  Her eyes widened at my words, and I realised how awkward this encounter would have been if she did sleep like me. I pushed my hair back out of my eyes and then ran my hands down the thick growth of stubble lining my chin. “You don’t have to say it. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

  “Aye, ya big oaf. What if I hadn’t been dressed? You would’ve been seein’ more of me than you’ve got a right to. I would’ve had to kick your arse. Then what would your ma have said about that?”

  I laughed a deep and full-bodied laugh that warmed my soul. It wasn’t until that moment that I realised how lonely I’d been. Even when surrounded by dozens of people at all times of the day. Leave it to Taryn to be the one to remind me there’s more to life than meetings and being a prince.

  When she smiled, I knew I was forgiven. All the same, she wiggled into a seated position, putting distance between us as I released my hold on the sheets. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one ill at ease over this new development between us. It was familiar, personal to a level we’d never broached before.

  If someone asked me three months ago if I’d be nervous sitting on my betrothed’s bed, I would’ve laughed until the moon rose over the sea. Me? Nervous in a bed? Hardly. And yet with Taryn, things were different. She wasn’t just some girl. I cared about her.

  Clearing my throat, I turned and rested my knee on the covers. “I’m afraid we need to talk first. And the matter can’t wait any longer.”

  She sighed and tried to smooth her hair out, but there was no helping that mess. “And here I thought spending time together was going to be fun.”

  I shot her a weak smile.

  “Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if needing to ward off whatever business matter I was about to present to her. “Hit me with it.”

  “There will be repercussions you will face if my mother fails to find a suitable girl to take your place at my side. They think they can tempt me with beauty. The man I was before would have been swayed easily. But no longer.”

  “Of course there will repercussions, but it changes nothin’.” She tied her hair into a knot to tame it. “I made a vow to go through this with ya, Aed, and I stand by it. No matter what your ma throws my way.”

  “What if going through it with me isn’t enough?” I leaned closer. “What if it takes more than being together for people to see why we are right for each other?”

  “I’m not followin’ ya.”

  I clasped my hands together as my nerves sent my stomach into a tumble spin. “If we do nothing, my mother will see to it that a girl is selected for me instead of you. One I will neither care for nor wish to be bound to. We both know the queen does not want us to be together.”

  “Aye. She’s made that fact painfully clear,” Taryn said, her expression darkening. “Was there not one among the first four girls that struck your fancy?”

  “Hardly.” I snorted. “You saw the state of that first girl. What was her name?”

  “Rowan.”

  Our first stop in Geralt, the realm’s largest mining town, had been laughable. Within seconds of entering the weapon’s forge, it was obvious that our formal attire was less than appropriate for the city’s conditions. A fact that should have been obvious by the thick layer of soot that coated everything in the town as we approached. My mother had been nothing if not a showman.

  The ripples of heat escaping natural vents in the ground weren’t conducive to our fancy dress. One little burn on my father’s ankle had sent him fleeing to his royal carriage. That was the first embarrassment on the tour. One among many.

  “Aye. That’s the one,” I said. “She was a bit…hardy, wouldn’t you say?”

  A thick crust of dirt coated Rowan’s broken nails when she’d presented her hands to us. It was hard to tell if she had an actual uni-brow or if the shading of the soot had given her the unfortunate appearance.

  “That girl was no lady.” Taryn shook her head. “How could your ma not know that Rowan worked in the mines? Or that she had no clue how to curtsey to ya? Even I learnt how to do that.”

  The look of horror on my mother’s face as she ushered us out of the mines had been priceless. No more so than Taryn’s silent laughs behind her back.

  “I’ve been asking myself that same thing.” I shook my head at the memory of my mother’s disastrous misinformation.

  “The second girl, Keira, seemed sweet,” Taryn said.

  “Aye. She was a wee bit too meek for my liking.” I glanced Taryn’s way with a rueful smile. “She didn’t have your fire.”

  A fai
nt blush touched her cheeks and she looked away. I took the time to think back to our second stop. It had come a week later in the fertile farmlands of Lithgen. The rolling hills, endless fields of grazing cattle, and fresh air had made the arduous trip through the jagged Conmara Mountains worth it.

  Keira had been lovely but frail. The dress that draped over her bony shoulders was several years behind the fashion of Eimear. Not that this had bothered me. The fabric had been beautifully stitched, though it was rather plain. I’d watched my mother hide a sniff of indignation behind her hand and prayed that Keira hadn’t noticed.

  In one of our brief moments together, I’d revealed a little-known secret to Taryn about why my father was drawn to the place. It reminded him of his childhood. A fact that few knew. Mostly because my father didn’t want people remembering he was not noble by birth.

  “You know that a petite frame does not mean she canna make a good wife.” Taryn broke through my thoughts.

  “Tell that to my mother. All she could blather on about were Keira’s lack of child-bearing hips.”

  “What about the third girl? Ya took a liking to Imogen from the start, didn’t ya?”

  It had taken just under a week to reach the market town of Alameda. Upon our arrival, our lodgings were in the modest home of Gael, son of Dominik. He was a third generation businessman with aspirations of improving his station through his daughter’s marriage to me.

  One look at Imogen had told me she had a good heart. Her smile was warm and inviting. Her eagerness to invite us into her home had touched me. For a moment, I thought she might be an adequate contender in my mother’s game, but that fell apart the instant I’d realised the girl was mute.

  “She would have never made my mother happy,” I said with a sigh.

  “I’m startin’ to doubt any girl will be worthy of your hand in marriage,” Taryn muttered.

  I pursed my lips and said nothing. She wasn’t wrong on that account. I’d at least felt a connection with Imogen, even if only as a friend. Right about now those were few and far between in my life.