I rejoined Alanna, pulled the robe over my head and walked down the stone stairs into the warm pool to give myself a quick morning bath.

“So, you’re telling me lots of people are here?”

“People and centaurs,” she said with a stressed-out undertone to her voice. “I gave the order for the men to set up the Great Tents that Rhiannon kept for our yearly Gathering, and for the cooks to get extra provisions from our stockpiles. I hope that does not make you angry.”

“Angry?” I asked as she handed me a towel. “Of course not—do what you think is best. You know better than I do what needs to be opened and closed and whatever.”

She looked relieved as she began wrapping another short tunic around me. This one was made of a shimmery aqua-green fabric that reminded me of sea foam. Happily, it covered all of my breasts. Sitting at the vanity, I picked through the makeup as she began combing out my hair and twisting it into a sturdy French twist. Our eyes met and I smiled mischievously up at her in the mirror.

“Did you get plenty of rest last night, my friend?”

As I expected, pink blossomed over her cheeks—which made me laugh and quote Juliet’s bawdy nurse in my decidedly bad Cockney accent, ‘Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks, they’ll be in scarlet straight at any news.’”

Which only made her blush even more furiously. I laughed again, happy at the way her eyes danced—even in her embarrassment.

“It was a wonderful night.” Such simple words, but her voice made them sound like the pronouncement of a miracle.

“I am so glad for you, Alanna.” We stayed silent for a while, each of us, no doubt, thinking of her own husband. I’ll admit that my own cheeks felt a little hot as my mind wandered.

“Rhea, last night, did Epona guide you to Guardian Castle?”

“Yes. She took me to Nuada.” Our eyes met again in the mirror, and we exchanged a sober look that said we acknowledged the evil we were up against. “I challenged him, and Epona got me out of there. I don’t look forward to my return trip tonight.”

“Epona will protect you.” Her voice sounded as sure as ClanFintan’s.

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me. And, I admit that I think I can hear her voice sometimes, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to flitting around the country, naked in body and soul.”

“Even Rhiannon could be disconcerted after nights when Epona’s Dream Magic visited her.” Alanna’s hands stilled and I saw a pensive frown cross her face.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I was just remembering how very upset Rhiannon had been right before she crossed The Divide into your world. She slept little. It was as if she wanted to avoid Epona’s visions.”

“I’ll bet that bitch knew those Fomorian things were coming.” It made perfect sense. “Epona would have wanted her people warned.” As I spoke, that feeling was back—the one that whispered encouragement into my mind and soul. “She probably showed Rhiannon what was going on and, selfish bitch that she is, she chose to run away rather than stay and fight with her people.” I hated that someone who looked like me pissed me off so badly.

Speaking to the back of my head, Alanna combed and pinned my hair. “Perhaps Epona allowed her to run because the Goddess wanted you to lead our people against the Fomorians.”

I started to reply with a big no way, but she wasn’t finished.

“Epona had to have known Rhiannon’s true nature—and the Goddess must have known yours, too. It was you Epona chose. You are her Beloved, not Rhiannon.”

Alanna finished off my hair with a beautiful golden band, and I kept my mouth shut. It was a daunting thought—that a goddess might have really chosen me. I hoped fervently Epona knew what she was doing.

I stayed silent and Alanna reached over to retrieve the coronet from its spot on my vanity. She placed it on my head. It nestled against my forehead comfortably, like it had been made for me.

“I think you should wear this more often.”

I reached up and touched the golden circlet with hesitant fingers. It felt warm under my fingers.

“Maybe I should,” I heard myself saying. My stomach felt fluttery. I tore my eyes away from the reflection of the crown and searched through the nearest jewelry box for some matching earrings.

And changed the subject.

“How are Carolan’s patients?”

Before she could answer, we were interrupted by a double knock at the door.

“Come in!” At my command the door swung open to admit several servants who were laden with trays of breakfast food.

“Yum!” I smiled in pleasure at the servants. “I’m starving.”

“Good morning, my Lady.” One of the men bowed nervously (I swear he looked like a kind of zitty kid who had flunked my freshman English class. Twice). “Lord ClanFintan ordered us to serve you breakfast here as soon as you awoke.”

“He did!” I smiled like a lovesick fool. “Isn’t he adorable?” I said to no one in particular.

“If you say so, my Lady.” The servant looked slightly flustered as he bowed his way out of the room.

Alanna’s laugh rang through the room. “You are freaking them up.”

She almost caused me to shoot oatmeal out of my nose. “Alanna, honey, it’s freaking them out, not up.”

“Oh.” She shrugged her cute little shoulders and sat next to me. We daintily dug into breakfast.

“Carolan’s patients?” I repeated through a mouth filled with some kind of wonderful cinnamon roll, which I washed down with a strong, green tea fragrantly sweetened with honey. I guessed the servants had decided to restrict my breakfast drinking. (Note to self: tell the friggin servants to bring back…never mind. Tea was probably better for me. At least for breakfast. Sigh.)

“I do not know.” Her brow wrinkled with worry. “He would not allow me to accompany him to the sickroom. But last night we were sent word that several more families had fallen ill with the pox.”

“That’s not good.” I dreaded what I knew I had to do. “I’ll go see what I can do for them as soon as we finish eating.” And I felt my appetite dwindle at the thought.

“ClanFintan asked that you come to him first.”

“Where is he?”

“Before I came to wake you, he was in the inner courtyard overseeing the ladies with Connor and Dougal.”

“How did Dougal seem?”

“Busy.” We exchanged a satisfied look.

“Well—” I swallowed the rest of the tea “—I better get going. I guess I should look on the bright side of this. At least I don’t have to bare my breasts this morning.” I gave her a slanted look. “Do I?”

“Not for another fortnight,” she laughed.

“Great—I have that to look forward to.”

Her laughter bubbled around us.

“What are your plans today?” I asked as I finished the tea.

“I will oversee the household servants, check on the cooks, make sure there is room for the arriving families and warriors and be certain you and Carolan have the needed supplies for the sickroom.”

“Just another boring day of nothing to do, huh?”

“Yes, my Lady,” she sighed as if she had not a care in the world—except perhaps whether to have her finger or toenails manicured.

“Yes, yes.” I walked regally to the door. “Being ladies of leisure is certainly tiresome.” We giggled like girls as we stepped out into the crowded hall—where our giggles turned into coughs.

“Rhea, I need to go make sure the cooks are not having attacks of apoplexy.” Then she lowered her voice for my ears only. “Do you know your way from here to the courtyard?”

“Yes,” I whispered back.

“Good—Oh, please give Carolan my love when you see him.”

“I’ll do that.” I smiled. Then I straightened up and said in a very Goddess Incarnate–like tone, “Thank you for all of your hard work, Alanna. You are a diamond amidst a group of CZs.”

Her blank look was reflected in the faces that had paused to bow in reverence to me.

Oops.

“As I said, you are a diamond amidst any group, which is easy to see.” I knew how lame I sounded.

She tried fairly successfully to hide her smile behind a submissive “Thank you, my Lady.”

I started purposefully down the hall with my mouth shut, before I could say anything else that would make no sense at all to the local populace.

I remembered the way to the courtyard, and a double set of well-muscled guards bowed and opened the doors for me. I paused for a moment, observing the activity in front of me.

The courtyard had been transformed from a lovely garden area to an efficient working area. Women clustered at different stations—it seemed they were doing everything from carving shafts of arrows to tearing strips of linen and boiling huge vats of water. Everyone was busy doing something. Working side by side with the human women were ohmygosh female centaurs.

I stepped back into the shadows of the doorway, intrigued by my first look at female centaurs. The first thing I noticed was that they were smaller. No. I take that back—the first thing I noticed was that they were stunningly gorgeous creatures. They carried themselves with a grace and fluidity that was a cross between the way a beautiful Arabian mare would move, and a prima ballerina. There were at least a dozen female centaurs scattered throughout the courtyard, their coats and coloring ranging from blond palomino to a dusky dappled gray. They each wore intricately decorated leather vests, a little like the ones ClanFintan and his warriors wore, but the females’ vests were brightly colored and sparkled with jeweled beading.

Several of them were clustered around the area where the human women were carving arrows, and my eyes were naturally drawn to that group of alluring horse-women.

In the middle of which stood my husband.

I suddenly decided it was time to leave the shadows and make my Goddess-Incarnate-Beloved-and-Chosen-of-Epona presence known. Drawing myself up to my full height (which would probably come about to the shoulders of the female centaurs), I stepped out into the courtyard.

“Good morning, Goddess!”

“Epona!”

“Blessings upon you, Epona’s Beloved!”

I smiled gratefully at their adoration, which made the incredible beauty of the centaur females somehow easier to digest, and returned their greetings as I made my way slowly (so their loving welcome could sink in) to my husband.

As I joined his little group, he moved into the space in front of me. His eyes held mine—they sparkled with his own, decidedly more personal, form of adoration. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed first my palm, then the pulse point at my wrist.

“Good morning, Rhea.” His deep voice gave me shivers. Or maybe it was his lips that gave me shivers. Or maybe it was…

Anyway, you get the idea. He gave me shivers. Not that I minded.

“Good morning, love.”

He registered my greeting by stepping even closer to me and leaning down to lightly kiss my lips.

“I missed you this morning,” I whispered to him.

“And I did not want to leave our marshmallow.”