The moon is nearing her apex as we ride away from the inn. I feel warm, sleepy and safe with Sean behind me on the mare. Her smooth lope is like a gentle wave, even more so as his voice fills my ears with a lusty vibration. He tells me where we’re going, but not exactly why, but mixed with love talk. The sweet words swirl in my head. I close my eyes and lean back against him. We rock in unison down the roads bathed in the moonlight. My sleepiness is replaced with a warm tingling creeping up my legs.

It’s simple forget the rest of the party. I open my eyes as Sean places little kisses on my exposed neck. Baine’s on my other mare, her hair is wild and free. Her pale legs seem to glow with the moonlight against the bay. Her eyes are afire with something. Mischief. How well I know that look. She surprises all but me when she drops her reins and a sharp crackle of laughter is sacrificed towards the moon. Her arms and face are raised upwards, while her legs stay clamped on the mare to guide her. I giggle as this startles Sean. His grip on me tightens.

Baine looks back and gives me a naughty wink. How much I wish at the moment I was riding single. My body tenses at Baine’s silent challenge. A breakneck race under the moon and down the road would release the pent up energies Sean has aroused. I won’t ruin my horse for that. Besides we all seem to bring our mounts back down to a lazy walk. Labraid catches up to us and is greeted by a most foul face via Hadaig. I chuckle under my breath. Maybe men are too affected by her silvery fullness. Baine has a drunken smirk on her face. Keu for whatever reasons has remained awfully quiet.

Nion and Huath continue to chatter away, the language of thieves is still in use betwixt them. It doesn’t seem to take overly long before we get where we’re going. There’s another party of riders reveling and none too quietly as we ride through to get to them. I tense with a sense of foreboding, so much so when we dismount Sean asks about it while he tries to gain back his land legs. The ale and the altitude change was not so kind on him, but he manages to still be honorable as I dismount.

Labraid dismounts close by and can’t stop his staring. My skin reflects the moonlight with a silvery glimmer. This causes a small jealous, posturing lunge from Sean towards Labraid. Unfortunately it’s not so graceful and I’m pulled down with his fall. The stranger is gone to answer the call of his name. A roll this way and that leaves me lying on top of my husband. My giggling soothes away the angry lines on his face. I smile down at him as I trace my fingers lightly over his purpled eye, then down to his split lip. I leave a feather soft kiss on his misplaced anger before we’re being called away.

I know I won’t sleep this night. The feeling of the camp is like a not natural. There’s an affront to nature here, an abomination in it’s midst. The night will be mine. I will be the night eyes of my husband’s kin…