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Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

“Eithne was so full of life,” he said at last, his voice not much more than a sigh. “I could barely believe it when I learnt of her death. That they should accuse me of her murder…” He gripped the oak of the top strake so tightly that his scarred knuckles showed white. “That they should accuse me, who only wanted her to be happy.” He fell silent, staring into the distance, through time and into the past. I thought of the great whale and wondered what other horrors dwelt out of sight beneath us, the way bad memories lurk hidden in a man’s mind.

“We had been friends since childhood, Eithne and I,” Drosten said, a wistful smile in his tone as he remembered his youthful friendship. “I had known she would be married to one more important than I, for she came from the line of Queen Aoibheann. But we played together as children and later, as we grew, we often rode across the land, hunting boar and stag.” Now that Drosten had finally opened the door to his dark past, the words tumbled out of him, as if he couldn’t stop them coming out into the light. “As I grew strong and joined the warriors on raids, Eithne’s mother was frightened that her daughter would allow herself to be sullied by one as lowly as me, from a family of no worth.” He sniffed, and shook his head. “But Eithne and I were never more than friends. We each knew what was expected of us, but that didn’t change that we loved each other in our way. In the way of brothers and sisters, I suppose. And like a brother, I hated to see her sad. Maelchon is a brute, and it was soon after they were wed, that I noticed the change in her.”

Drosten let out a breath, and rubbed a hand over his face as if he could rid himself of his memories. But he had gone too far down this path to turn back now.

“I am no fool. I know that not all women warm to the man with whom they are forced to share their bed, but this was more than that. Eithne became withdrawn. The light went out of her. She never laughed any more. It saddened me to see my friend vanish over those weeks and months.”

He hawked and spat. In the distance, another plume rose above the water where the whale breached the surface once again. The men whistled and shouted, and my eye was drawn to the movement. I still marvelled at the size of the creature, but my fear had gone now. Drosten didn’t seem to notice the commotion of the massive monster of the deep. His thoughts were far away.