Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) by Melissa Sasina

by the h earth in the main cottage , watching the fire as it danced upon the wood . He grew anxious waiting for his sister’s arrival, many questions and memories tumbled through his mind. After ten years time, he could only wonder what kind of woman she had become. He worried that perhaps there wouldn’t even be the slightest glimmer of the sister he once know , that she would be a stranger to him. And so, when he had learned she was in the village, he found himself unable to leave the main cottage.
    “Stop fretting,” a low voice filled with amusement said to his right.
    Mahon glanced over.
    Ainmire , chieftain of Tara, sat at a low table, cup of mead in han d . The man’s hazel-brown eyes looked into his cup with great interest. His shoulder-length brown hair and beard were streaked heavily with gray. He was getting old and showing every sign of it. Wrinkles distorted the spiral curling by his right eye, marking him as one of the Túath clan. “You fret like a child ab out to be scolded by his mother, ” c huckled Ainmire as he took a long swig of his mead . “Have a drink, i t will calm you.”
    Exhaling, Mahon shook his head. “Nay, I would prefer to face my sister without the influence of mead,” he said with a small laugh of his own .
    Before more could be said, t he wicker door to the cottage burst open and Ceallach Neáll walked in, a cold breeze following him . The Fomorii man’s face clearly bore ill tidings.
    Mahon was quick to notice that not only did the man look a little worse for the wear, but that he had entered the cottage alone. His heart sank as the worst possible thoughts invaded his mind.
    “ Ah, y ou have returned to us , Ceallach Neáll . , ” said Ainmire with a grin. Quirking a brow, h e leaned over to look around the man, and then straightened. “ Where is my wife?”
    When Ceallach remained silent, Ainmire sat his cup down , his lips becoming a firm line .
    “ We must speak, ” Ceallach informed him simply.
    Mahon studied Ceallach’s face closely. In all the years he had know the Fomorii man, he had hardly ever seen any emotion come across the man’s face. Yet now, though Ceallach stood firmly before the chieftain, Mahon could see something in the man’s eyes the betrayed him calm exterior.
    “ Cúlrá id has been attacked. We had no warning. They came in swiftly as we slept, leaving very few survivors and set ting fire to the village. Nothing remains but charred cottages and far too many corpses,” replied Ceallach in an even voice.
    Ainmire maintained a calm composure as he asked, “Who brought up on such a deed?”
    “Aichlinn, servant to Ailill,” replied Ceallach. “He had several warriors of the Milidh clan in his ranks, though I suspect they were hired swords. ”
    Mahon was surprised to hear genuine anger and bitterness in the Fomorii man’s voice. “For what reason was the village attacked ?” he found himself asking.
    “ What other reason than t o send warning ? ” sa id Ceallach coldly. “Blood was spilled that night , all to send a warning to the Túath clan .”
    Mahon looked at him with utter disbelief. “An entire village destroyed just for… ?” H is voice trailed off and h e shook his hea d. The atrocities of war never ceased to baffle him.
    “Ailill has had years to bide his time and plot his vengeance upon the High Chieftains,” Ceallach stated. “And what better way than to slowly destroy the clan from within ? Ainmire, y ou are kin to the High Chieftains . If Ailill cannot strike at you directly, he will do it where it hurts most: your family. ”
    Ainmire’s face went white.
    “Ailill seeks for nothing but the destruction of the Túath clan so that he can have his vengeance . When he learned that your wife and child had left the safety of Tara , he found that very opportunity.” Ceallach paused. “I defended against the attack, but I lost sight of Deirdre in the battle. In the wake of the attack, while the village burned around me and