Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (25 page)

I grinned when I spotted him, admiring the clothes he had picked for the Beltaine celebration.  They weren’t as fine as the ones at the high queen’s court, but then again, those would’ve been too fancy for the Dagda’s party.  Instead he wore soft brown trousers, simple boots and a cream-colored tunic, all topped off with a deep blue vest embroidered with Celtic knot work.

When my eyes finally met his, I found him staring at me with the strangest expression on his face.  I quickly glanced away, a wave of self-awareness making me fidgety.

I patted my hair.  “Something wrong?” I asked.

Cade must’ve shaken himself out of whatever daze he was in because he took a breath and smiled, saying, “No, nothing’s wrong at all.”

He offered his arm so I gladly accepted it, a sense of nervousness flushing over me for some strange reason. 
Calm down Meghan.  This isn’t Danua’s court, but the Dagda’s grand hall
.

Full dark had descended by the time we reached the common area.  Someone had opened the huge door in the side of the hill, and several people came and went as they pleased, talking cheerily and laughing at one another’s jokes.  A roaring bonfire had been lit where the road forked to encircle the house, and someone’s deep baritone voice rolled through the cold night air, retelling the epic story of the Celtic hero Cuchulainn.  I paused at the door for a minute to listen as the man described the demigod’s impressive strength and heroics, especially his ríastrad, the intense fury he would succumb to whenever in the heat of a great battle.

“Oh yes,” Cade whispered cheerfully behind me, “no one could defeat Cuchulainn when his ríastrad took over.”

I smiled up at him and we kept going, leaving the storytellers and captive audience behind.

As we moved through the hall, I realized the Dagda had been right; several young men, my age and maybe a little older, mixed and mingled within the crowd of revelers.  And I noticed that a few of them were pretty cute, but none of them could hold a candle to Cade.  Of course, I might be a little biased.  I checked each of their faces and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t recognize any of them.  Good.  Danua had claimed it wouldn’t take long for all of Eilé to learn about her estranged daughter, but I hoped the news hadn’t spread beyond her court.  There came a certain kind of freedom with anonymity.

Cade went to go fetch us some drinks and I was left standing off to the side, my eyes darting about the crowd like a cornered rabbit.  I shouldn’t be nervous, but I couldn’t help myself.  I might be meeting some of my future friends tonight.

Cade returned with a plate of small sandwiches and two goblets filled with a pale golden liquid.  I took one of the goblets and sniffed at the contents.

I arched a brow and blinked at him.  “What’s this?”

“You mean you’ve never had mead before?”

I gave him another puzzled glance and shook my head.

He smiled, his eyes crinkling.  “Wine made from honey.  Try it, you’ll like it, but don’t drink too fast.”

I’d never had wine before.  Well, Mom let me try champagne once at a New Year’s Eve party, but only a sip.

Shrugging, I lifted the cup to my lips and took a small drink.  My eyes must have grown huge because Cade burst out laughing.  This stuff was delicious!  Way better than champagne.  Soon I finished my goblet and started asking Cade for more.

He laughed again.  “Pace yourself Meghan.  Mead’s sweet but rather potent.”

He took my empty goblet and set it aside.

“Care to dance?” he asked.

I took his offered hand timidly and soon we were skipping and stepping to a fast Celtic tune.  The dance was meant for a large group, so I never found myself in Cade’s company for too long and I felt less awkward since not everyone seemed to know the steps.

After the dance came to an end, we headed back to one of the several alcoves along the wall to observe the revelry for a while.  For some reason I became overly aware of Cade’s closeness and my heart, having rested after the lively dance, started beating faster once again.  Looking at him would be too risky, so I kept my eyes lowered.  We stood close together, in a dark corner of the room, with the music playing and the people shouting out joyously, but I heard nothing else besides my own heartbeat and Cade’s as well.

“Meghan,” he said in a low voice, too close to my ear to be considered innocent.

I took slow, deliberate breath and glanced up.  Something shone in his eyes, something intense and thrilling.  I s
ucked in a sharp breath
as his hand reached out to rest against my hip, the other hand moving towards my cheek.  My heart hammered in my chest and I closed my eyes, but before I felt the brush of his fingers against my skin, a light, intrusive voice asked, “May I have this dance?”

Immediately Cade backed away and turned to face the young woman who had invaded our privacy.  Well, semi-privacy.  We were standing in the middle of a dance hall after all.  She was shorter than me with long, golden-blond hair curling softly down her back.  The blue dress she wore resembled the style I had worn at my mother’s court and the design flattered her well-formed figure perfectly.

She stood in front of us grinning, waiting for Cade to either accept her offer or turn her down.  She glanced at me for a half second, but it was long enough for me to see the change of color in her eyes and the quick expression that flashed across her face.  I sucked in a sharp breath and retreated against the wall, a whole five inches away.  I knew that look, oh did I know that look . . .

Cade glanced back at me, his face revealing disappointment and what I interpreted as an apology.  I smiled and waved him on.  He was far too polite to say no, and besides, it was just a dance.

He turned and heaved a great sigh, smiling easily and offering the blond a hand.  “I would be honored.”

She beamed and grabbed his hand, dragging him off to the middle of the floor where everyone had joined in another group dance.  Before they pushed past the circle of people in front of us, however, she cast me one last scathing glare, her smile more malicious than pleasant.

I tried to recede further into the wall. 
Stop it Meghan, this isn’t high school, Cade’s not your boyfriend, and all she did was ask him to dance
.  But I knew better than that.  After surviving four years of seeing that expression on other girls’ faces, I understood what was going on.  She wanted Cade all to herself, and she would go to any measure to get him.  I hated how that made me feel.  Not only was I helpless against such social battles, but she had every right to try and win Cade over.  He’d made no promises to me.

After I managed to work myself up into a nice depressed sort of mood, I returned to the refreshment table and got some more mead, then came back to my spot on the wall to watch Cade and his new partner enjoy a slow dance.

I finished the goblet of mead faster than the last one.  I was contemplating getting a third when one of the boys I had spotted earlier came strolling over.  At first I thought he only meant to join a group of friends a few feet away, but he stepped between them and stopped in front of me instead.  He grinned rakishly and crossed his arms over his chest.  I eyed him warily, taking note of his high cheekbones and straight nose.  He wasn’t as attractive as Cade, but he would surely turn some heads at Black Lake High School.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing standing back here all alone without a dance partner?”

I actually peeked over my shoulder, almost bumping my nose into the stone wall.

“Me?” I said when I realized who he was talking to.

“No, the candelabra above you.  Yes you.”  He smiled and held out his hand.  “Care to dance, my lady?”

Oh, he was teasing me.  Duh.

I cleared my throat and gestured towards the middle of the room.  “Well, my friend-”

“Has abandoned you for another woman,” he finished for me.  “A rogue for sure.  Let us put his memory behind you by taking part in the next dance.”

Something about his manner, about the way he so arrogantly made presumptions, encouraged me not to trust him.  However, a dance was just a dance, and perhaps it would help me forget that the blond girl had convinced Cade to be her partner for the last five songs.

“Sure,” I said, smiling.

“Excellent!”

I offered him my hand and he took it, pulling me with more force than necessary onto the dance floor.

“What’s your name?” he whispered close to my ear as we started in on a slower dance.

“M-Meghan,” I managed, feeling a little flustered being suddenly so close to him.

He chuckled, his breath tickling my skin.

“Pleased to meet you Meghan, I’m Drustan.”

Drustan and I danced for what seemed like hours.  Every time one song ended, a new one began.  I tried a few times to say I was tired, but he only ignored me and pulled me back into the next dance, often times pressing a little too close for comfort.  After a while, I forgot about my misery, about going back to the alcove so I could find Cade, about the girl and her unspoken challenge.

I swirled and spun to the music, letting my partner lead me.  I felt dizzy, carefree, alive.  I was having a marvelous time, until I caught sight of Cade standing in the corner, smiling and talking with the pretty girl.

The mead in my stomach curdled into cold irritation.  It wasn’t because she talked to him, or that he seemed to be fully engaged in their conversation.  It was the
way
she talked to him.  Her hand rested on Cade’s forearm and she leaned into him, a hair’s width away from pressing her body against his.  I gritted my teeth and focused entirely on them, stopping in the middle of the dance floor.

Drustan noticed my lack of movement and glanced in the direction I happened to be glaring.  I’d always thought myself the sensible, non-jealous type.  In fact, I prided myself on that.  Apparently, I’d been wrong.  I guess I never had a reason to be jealous before.  Not until now, at least.

Drustan grabbed my arm in an attempt to lead me back into the dance, but paused when he followed my gaze again.

“Oh, there’s another one,” he chuckled.

Which only made my stomach burn more.  So was this a habit of Cade’s?  Coming to the Dagda’s parties and letting the girls fight over him?  The memory of what he said to me the day I asked him to prom flared in my mind:
You don’t really know me . . .  Oh Meghan
, my inner voice whispered,
have you let Cade’s charms blind you completely
?

“Come on Meghan, who cares about the young twit and Caedehn MacRoich.  It’s sad, really,” he sighed.

For some reason, that caught my attention.  I turned away from Cade and the girl flirting with him for the moment.

“Why is it sad?”

Drustan shrugged. “She’s only showing an interest because no one’s told her what he is yet.”

A wicked gleam lit the boy’s dark blue eyes.  “The fun part is when someone finally does tell them.  Maybe I can talk Niall into breaking the news so we can watch.  Their reactions are always so comical.  Meghan?  Meghan, what’s wrong?”

I forgot about my jealousy and a new anger grew in the pit of my stomach.

“And what exactly is he?” I demanded, crossing my arms and giving Drustan a hard glare.

“Oh come on!  You must know.  That’s why I rescued you earlier!”  He paused and shot me a befuddled expression.  “Has no one told you?”

“No, no one’s told me.  But perhaps no one has told you who I am either,” I countered.

What was I doing?  Hadn’t I been so thrilled earlier not to see any of Danua’s nobles here tonight so I could be just Meghan and not the half-Fomore daughter of the high queen?

For a moment Drustan paled, but then he led us off the dance floor.  We had caused enough of a scene by standing around while others tried to dance.

“Fine,” he sniffed once we found another alcove, “Who are you then?”

I’d accepted Drustan’s offer to dance only because I wanted to stop obsessing over Cade and the blond girl.  I’d been selfish and wanted to make Cade jealous too.  I know my actions had been stupid and immature, but that hadn’t kept me from following through.  Now the young Faelorehn was annoying me, the way he spoke about Cade.  His sneering comments made me think of my mother and how she also tried to convince me to stay away from him.  And if I was being completely honest with myself, what Drustan said scared me to death.  Cade had kept things from me, yes, and I had always assumed he did so in order to protect me or himself.  Might this secret be worse than any of the others?  Had I foolishly placed my trust in someone who had no qualms in lying to me?  Was I merely another rube on Cade’s list?

I sighed and peered back at Drustan.  His eyes shone dark silver now and I wondered what color mine might be.  I let my lip curl back and reveled in the numbing qualities of the mead that hadn’t quite worn off before saying with a great deal of bravado, “I’m the long lost Fomorian bastard child of Danua.”

Now
that
shocked him.  He jerked his head back and his eyes grew wide and paled even further.  Then they narrowed.

“You’re as bad as him,” he hissed, stabbing his finger in Cade’s direction.