Page 71 of Queen of the Shadow

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard. “I agree. She’s something special.”

“She is.” Scáthach moved to his ankles, which were also bloody. “When she was a pup she chewed stones.”

Cuchulainn chuckled. “You’re making that up.”

“Ask Tabiti. She’ll tell you. She used to pull stones from Leannan’s mouth.”

“No wonder Tabiti calls her a terror and—” A knock at the door broke off Cuchulainn’s words and he flinched as if he’d been struck. His wide, panicked gaze found Scáthach. “Don’t let them see me like this.”

“No one will enter this room without your permission,” she said before she went to the door and spoke through it. “Uathach?”

“I have clothes for Cu, as well as a bucket of spring water.”

Scáthach told Cuchulainn. “I’ll step out and get the clothes and the water, speak with Uathach, and be right back in.”

Before she could open the door, he said, “Scáthach, would you bring the clothes and the bucket of water to me first and then speak with Uathach? I’d like to dress.”

“Of course.” Scáthach opened the door only enough for Uathach to pass her the clothes and water. “I’ll be right out,” she told her daughter. Then she brought the things to Cuchulainn. “Are you sure you don’t need help?”

His eyes met hers, and she was glad to see they’d almost returned to normal. “I’m sure.”

She understood his pride and his need for time alone. She nodded. “Will you join me in the hall just outside the room when you’re ready? I have an idea I think you’ll appreciate.”

“I will.”

Scáthach left the clothes and the bucket of water and headed to the door. His voice stopped her before she left the room.

“Thank you.”

She smiled over her shoulder at him. “You are most welcome.”

“How is he?” Uathach asked as soon as the door closed behind her mother.

“Better. The head wounds are nasty. They almost cracked his skull. But he’s thinking clearly now. Whatever she drugged him with is wearing off. What did you do with Aife?”

Uathach jerked her chin toward a room down the hall. “Put her in the chamber she’d locked Kintail’s daughters in.”

“Are they alive?”

“Alive and well.I guessed right. She planned to marry them to the Wolfskins that followed her and set her warriors up to hold this fort, even though only one of the three girls is of marriageable age. Aife was planning to have you and me killed, give your castle away, and hold Skye while she collected enough warriors to take Lethra.” Uathach shook her head. “Aife is definitely a fool. Do you know what you’re going to do with her?”

Scáthach bared her teeth in a fierce smile. “I do.”

Uathach lifted a brow, looking very much like her mother. “I look forward to whatever it is that has made you smile like that.”

“Do you have a count of our casualties from Tabiti?” Scáthach asked.

“We only have a few minor injuries. We lost no Shadow Guard,” said Uathach.

Scáthach sighed in relief. “Excellent. Have a pyre built outside the fort for Aife’s dead.” She hesitated and then added, “Are theyalldead?”

“Every one of them except their queen.”

Scáthach sighed heavily. “Such a waste of lives. Someday Aife will answer for her mistakes. Before the pyre is lit, have the Shadow Guard pour libations over it. Many of those two hundred warriors must have believed they were doing the bidding of their rightful queen. I don’t know if they’ll find their way to Valhalla from here without the aid of Valkyries, but we can at least send their spirits on with libations and fire.”

“That’s compassionate, and I agree,” said her daughter.

Scáthach ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back behind her ears. “I must help Cuchulainn with something. It won’t take long. Would you gather Kintail’s daughters and the others from the fort at the front of the keep? I would speak to them and to the Shadow Guard before we leave this place.”