Page 70 of Queen of the Hollow Hills

“Ah, yes, I am quite certain that was the reason he has visited thrice this spring,” Aedan teased his sister, who, to my surprise, blushed.

I felt something knot in my stomach but smiled all the same. “I didn’t know Eddin was in Isurium Brigantum,” I told Aedan.

Aedan nodded. “After you gave birth to our princesses, Brennan sent Eddin from Mydils to Isurium Brigantum. He was looking for shipsandhorses. Brennan had ships. I had horses. He has revisited us twice since. For the horses, of course,” Aedan said, giving his sister a wink.

Amma shifted in her seat, lifted her goblet, and drank, her eyes on her plate.

My chest felt tight.

“King Cuneda took whatever horses the late King Eddin owned and mingled their blood with no regard. The Dardani always took much pride in their horses. It is good that King Eddin wishes to restore the herds,” Corva added. “Aren’t the horses in Isurium Brigantum bred with Saracen stock, Chieftain?”

At that, the conversation veered away from Lady Amma and the apparent attention she had been given by Eddin to horses. I turned to my plate, my mind busy. Amma had been averyyoung bride. While she was older than Eddin and myself, she was only Eddin’s elder—Eddin being older than me—by four or five years. She was still of bearing age and, like her brother, quite attractive. Had Eddin liked Amma, or was Aedan merely teasing, as he was apt to do? Either way, my stomach knotted, and I began to feel…well, something I had no business feeling.

“How are the young princesses, Queen Cartimandua?” Amma asked me. “I had hoped to come with Aedan when he next went to Rigodonum to meet them.”

I cleared my throat and smiled at her. “They are well. Bright and smiling girls, both sitting up on their own now and finally letting me and their father get some sleep.”

Amma smiled gently, then looked down the table at her son, who was beaming a smile at Aedan. “I was little more than a child myself when I had Aerin. He has been the treasure of my life. When his father died…” she said, then paused. After amoment, she redirected her thoughts, stating, “I have been glad for my brother’s love and care. We both would have been lost without him. Aerin follows Aedan in all things. I am proud of them both.”

“As I am grateful to both of them for their service.”

Amma smiled. “I’m lucky to have caught you, my queen. I will return home soon. There is always work to do this time of year, as I’m sure you know well.”

“Yes.”

“Amma,” Aedan called. “We are all sated and tired. Will you not sing for the queen?”

At that, Aedan’s men cheered and called for the lady to sing.

Amma waved them away. “No, good gentlemen. I am a croaking toad compared to those who sing in the halls of Rigodonum.”

“If a frog is a lark,” one of Aedan’s men called.

Smiling, I turned to her. “Now, I must hear, if you are so obliged. If not, feel free to tell your brother no,” I said, giving Aedan a knowing look.

Amma gave me a soft smile. “Very well, my queen. But only because you asked. I most certainly will not do it for Aedan.”

At that, I laughed, and Amma rose and went to a chest in the corner. From within, she pulled out a harp and then sat at the front of the hall.

“I will sing in honor of our twin princesses, for all the world is brighter with them being in it,” she told us, giving me a warm smile, then launched into a song.

As soon as she had sung the first notes, I realized why the others begged her to sing. A sweet melody cascaded from her lips as she gently strummed her harp. She sang a song I had not heard before about two Seelie princesses, twin born, one who became the lady of spring, the other the lady of winter. Spring fell in love with the prince of autumn, and winter fell in lovewith the prince of summer, and together, they cared for all living things in our world. She painted such a beautiful image that I felt tears welling in my eyes.

When she was done, I noticed a few gruff warriors wiping tears from their cheeks.

We applauded her, and then Aedan called for a servant to bring her a mead.

Amma took her seat beside me once more.

I reached out and took her hand. “Thank you,” I told her, gently squeezing her hand. “You have the voice and skill of a bard.”

She gave me a light smile. “Thank you, my queen. My mother thought so too, but it was my father’s will to see me otherwise…bestowed,” she said, flicking her gaze to her son, giving him a soft smile.

I did not miss her meaning. The lands Amma now watched over as a retainer had once been Setantii, sitting on the border of their and our lands. Amma had been married to an older man who’d once been a Setantii chieftain. Bellnorix and Amma’s father had no doubt thought it a good idea to solidify the Brigantes’ hold on those lands through marriage. I suppressed a frown. No wonder she had been married off so young. Now her husband was dead, the land would never fall into question, no matter what games Setantii rebels wanted to play. The heir to that house was Brigantes. And while it was clear Amma loved her son, the price she had paid to ensure the lands stayed Brigantes was high.

I squeezed her hand once more. “Let the druids be jealous we Brigantes are blessed with such a skilled singer in our lands.”

“My queen.”

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