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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

“One day, she came to me,” he said, speaking so softly now that I had to lean in close to hear him over the noise of the crew. “She was distraught. I had never seen her like that before. She was always quiet, but I knew that thoughts were running far beneath that still surface. Like a deep lake.” He frowned. “Not that day. She wept openly. When she finally calmed down, she told me what had upset her so.” He paused, staring out at the sea. Taking a deep breath, he said, “She had overheard her husband planning to have me murdered.”

“He was jealous?”

“Aye.” Drosten nodded. “The bastard was jealous of the friendship I had with Eithne. But more than that, he planned something worse than my death.”

“He meant to hurt her too?” I asked, enthralled by Drosten’s tale and at the same time wishing he would stop talking, for I knew no good would come at the end of this story.

“You are getting ahead of events,” Drosten said, with a scowl. “Maelchon was plotting to slay the king and then, after killing me, he would name me the king’s murderer. Thus, he would be free from suspicion and he would be rid of me at the same time.”

“What happened?”

“I was but a warrior, with little of worth. Eithne gave me a precious necklace that her husband had given to her as part of her morning gift. She wanted me to have it, that I would be able to pay my way during my exile.” He peered back at the haze beyond our wake, as if the images from his past were there, just out of sight. “She told me to flee, far away, where Maelchon could not find me. And like a fool and a coward, I listened to her. By Christ’s blood, I did not know I would never see her again.”

“But you lived. That was what she wanted.”

He turned to me then, his face twisted in anger and his eyes ablaze.

“Don’t you see?” he said, his voice suddenly loud enough for all to hear. “If Eithne had not come to me, if she had not overheard her husband and sought to protect me, I would be dead and…” He hammered his fist down onto the sheer strake. “And she would live.” He took a deep breath, calming himself. “Oftentimes,” he went on, his anger under control once more, “I have wished that were so. Death would have been a better fate than the life I have lived these past years.”