The Sword and the Song Read Online Free

forward and claim the kingship.
    Men’s most foolish decisions are made from fear.
    I am not afraid.
    Are you not? Then you are foolish.
    What do You want from me, Comdiu? Do You want me to be afraid, or do You want me to be courageous? Even in his mind, Eoghan’s voice took on a petulant tone that made him cringe.
    Comdiu’s next words came with a tinge of amusement. You are afraid because you believe you are alone. Do I not walk with you? Do I not speak to you? Why do you think you have been chosen? My leaders must be of My heart, My mind. Why do you rely on your own strength when you have Me?
    The chastisement, kind as it was, filled him with shame. Eoghan bowed his head.
    Which do you think better achieves My glory: your pride or My strength?
    The shame only intensified, raising a lump in his throat. He had been focusing on his own shortcomings, his own desires. Did he think Comdiu wasn’t aware of his weaknesses?
    I have not given this gift since Daimhin’s time. I have given it to you for a purpose. Will you obey?
    What choice did he have? There was no way to outrun Comdiu’s plans, even if he wanted to. And hadn’t he learned long ago that he was far better off within Comdiu’s will than outside it?
    Yet the fear grew in his chest, squeezing out the kernel of assurance that Comdiu’s words had placed in him. Tell me what I must do. Give me a sign.
    Eoghan expected Comdiu to chastise him for his lack of faith. Instead, He merely said, Return to Carraigmór.
    “Carraigmór? I had planned on   —” He cut himself off. One would think that a lifetime of discipline and service would have left him more prepared to obey.
    Instead of turning toward the practice yard where he had been spending his days, he turned toward Carraigmór. “Very well, Lord. Direct all my steps. I will obey.”
    He climbed the long flight of slick steps to Carraigmór, nodded to the brother on guard as he passed, and entered the great hall. Even having been raised here, the technology that had managed to carve an entire fortress from a granite cliff still awed him. Each room was like a cavern, the corridors that connected them rounded like tunnels and smoothed and polished by hundreds of years of feet and hands. What kind of knowledge must Daimhin have possessed to accomplish such a thing in an age where hardened steel had just been discovered?
    Eoghan turned into an intersecting corridor that led to his chamber on the south side of the fortress, his mind fixed so firmly on the past that he nearly collided with a figure coming from the opposite direction. He reached out to steady his victim before he realized it was Aine.
    Abruptly, he dropped his hands from her shoulders, his face burning. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”
    “Clearly.” Her wry tone set an uncomfortable squirming in his gut. He swallowed and struggled for something noncommittal to say but only managed an awkward silence.
    Aine’s smile faded, making him think she was all too aware of his thoughts. But that only made him focus on the concern tracing her pretty face, the way her braided hair fell over her shoulder and tangled in the chain of her ivory charm. His hand was on its way to pull the braid free before he realized what he was doing and jerked his hand back.
    Her gray gaze collided with his, and her eyes widened. Then her shock gave way to determination. “Eoghan, we need to talk.”
    “Not necessary, my lady.” If he could melt into the stone wall behind him and save them this embarrassment, he would. He had tried to suppress his feelings for her to no avail. Each time he managed to convince himself it was just a passing infatuation, one look at her would make him feel like pledging his undyingdevotion. Even more humiliating, both Conor and Aine were fully aware of it.
    Truly, he was the worst sort of man.
    “You are not the worst sort of man,” she said softly.
    Their eyes snapped together once more, and this time she flushed at being caught using