Stone of Destiny(32)

The front door opened and a tall, dark-haired figure stepped out. Diarmuid was Niamh’s adviser. He assisted her in decision-making and guarded the portal in her absence. Trailing behind him was his mate, Eithne. She was a slight girl with fair skin and long cinnamon waves down her back.

Too fast for my eyes to pick up, they were in front of us. Eithne gave me a tentative smile before greeting Niamh and Liam. But when she looked at Niamh, her expression fell. I knew Niamh was telling her who Samantha was. Eithne had been the one to give me the first inkling that Aoife had a big secret she was keeping from Liam. I still didn’t know exactly how or why, but I knew somehow Aoife had forced Eithne to hide Samantha in the human realm. And Eithne was terribly afraid of Aoife.

“Samantha, this is my adviser Diarmuid and his mate Eithne,” Niamh said, her voice smooth.

Samantha gave a little finger wave, but didn’t say anything. But Eithne stared at Samantha, her lips parted in wonder. As Eithne gaped, Samantha’s expression was marked with confusion.

“What? Is something wrong?” Samantha asked, glancing at Ciarán with wide eyes.

Niamh sighed. “Nothing’s wrong. Come on. We can talk inside before we go.”

Samantha gave Ciarán another perplexed look before they took off toward the front door of the house.

“Did I tell you Eithne was the one who had to find a place for Samantha after she was born?” I whispered to Ethan while we walked a few paces behind everyone else.

He laughed. “No, but I probably wouldn’t have remembered who you were talking about anyway. These people have some weird names.”

“True,” I said, grinning at him. “I wish I had a cheat sheet most of the time, and I’ve met a lot of them already.”

“Do you think Samantha and Ciarán are coming?” he asked, keeping his voice to a whisper.

I shrugged. “Beats me. I guess we just have to go along with whatever.”

Eithne held the door open for us and I thanked her and asked if she remembered Ethan. She nodded and tilted her head in confusion when he held out a hand to her.

“I guess shaking hands is kind of a human thing,” I said and Ethan quickly pulled his hand back.

“Oh, sorry. It’s nice to meet you,” he said, flashing her a sheepish grin.

“So nice to meet you, too, Ethan,” she said and we all walked inside.

We joined everyone around the enormous round table that took up the entire dining room. There were just enough chairs for all eight of us.

Niamh stood. “Before we make further plans, I want to clear up some confusion,” she said, glancing around the table.

“When you were born Samantha, Eithne was Aoife’s handmaiden. Liam and Eithne were friends, allies even.” She looked at Eithne, who had gone paler than usual.

“When Aoife found out she was carrying Liam’s child, she became irrationally jealous. She wanted Liam all to herself and was afraid a baby would steal all of his attention. So she hid in this realm during her pregnancy, keeping it a secret from all of us.”

“That’s just plain crazy,” Samantha said. “Who gets jealous of a tiny baby?”

“That is the nature of her feelings for Liam,” Niamh said, frowning.

Liam stared at his folded hands resting on the table top, jaw clenched.

“Anyway, Eithne was forced to find you someplace to live. She dropped you off at a hospital in Thunder Bay. The same hospital where your adoptive father works, Samantha.”

Samantha’s mouth dropped open. She glanced at Eithne and back to Niamh.

Eithne sucked in her lips. “I am so sorry. I didn’t want to. But I had no choice.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She looked at Liam, chewing on her lip again. But he didn’t look at her.

Of all the Danaan I’d met, Eithne was the most like a human. She reminded me of a newborn foal, skittish and shy. It must have been horrible being Aoife’s handmaiden, it was no wonder she was so nervous.

Diarmuid placed his hand on her shoulder. “Liam, Eithne tells the truth. Aoife forced her hand in this, both in commanding her to take Samantha away and keeping it a secret all this time.”

“Samantha met Aoife in Thunder Bay after she escaped the fey globe. That’s how Samantha found out about Allison and Liam,” Niamh said to Eithne and Diarmuid as she sat down again.

Eithne’s eyebrows rose and she turned to Samantha. “She told you about Liam?”

Samantha let out a breath. “She told me my father had another family and didn’t want anything to do with either of us.”

Liam’s hands came down hard on the table, but Niamh cut him off. “That is just not true, Samantha.”