The cool breeze of the evening was hitting her face and lifting her hair. It was bracing, but that was a good thing because it kept her alert even as she thought over the events of the past few days.

She had lived at Tara since she was fourteen, and though most of that time had been spent with the Brehons, she still had been introduced to the ways of King Cormac’s court. It was no surprise to be introduced to the party of the Sidhe King of the North. What was a surprise was to walk away from that meeting wishing for a more personal meeting with one particular man of that party. She had seen him walk into the Rath na Righ carrying a banner bearing a boar and a raven. She knew he was important to the party, perhaps even related to the king himself. When they finally met and had a chance to speak with each other, she was not surprised to find that, in fact, he was the king’s nephew. Though their time together was short, it made a big impression on Igraine and gave her much to think about. Her mother would like nothing more than to see her married off to a Sidhe with royal connections and produce children familiar with three royal courts. But every time she allowed her train of thought to go down that slippery road, the thought of Inver Colpa and her own cottage suddenly splashed ice cold water on her thoughts of romance. Even as they kissed in the moonlight, her loyalty to Inver Colpa kept popping into her head. It had been an irritant in an otherwise wonderful few days, till suddenly she realized that perhaps it wasn’t an irritant at all, but a warning instead!

She had gone to her father, King Cormac, and they had argued about her leaving the Court to go fight with clan Niafer to protect Inver Colpa. She had wrestled with herself and her feelings, and something didn’t feel right. Some how she knew that soon Inver Colpa would need every sword she could gather in her defense and Igraine intended that her Sidhe sword be included. She could feel the sword in its sheath against her leg as she galloped full-speed towards Inver Colpa.

And what of romance? Hmmm…perhaps her new Sidhe beau would follow her. If so, Inver Colpa would have another sword.

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