Free Lady of Conquest by Teresa Medeiros Page A

for the jolt of emotion her desperation gave him.
    “Have you ever heard of the Lex Talionis, Gelina?” Mer-Nod asked.
    She nodded, then shook her head. “I’ve heard of it. I know ‘tis a law. But I know not what it concerns.”
    “ ‘Tis a law,” Mer-Nod said. “A law established by Conn’s father, Feidlimid Rechtmar, who was known as the Lawgiver. The Lex Talionis gives one man the right to extract vengeance from another in equal portion according to the severity of the wrongdoing.”
    “An eye for an eye,” she murmured.
    Conn knelt in front of her, his large fingers softly caressing her hands. “I have a proposition for you. You blame me for the deaths of your family—and perhaps rightly so. I blame you for the deaths of my men. According to the Lex Talionis, justice has been served. If I took your family from you, it is my duty to replace them. I will become your fosterer. You will live here as my honored charge and grow to womanhood.”
    She stared at him without comprehension.
    “There is one condition,” he added. “You must swear allegiance to me here and now. And you must mean it. If your words are empty like your father’s were, your fate will be the same. I will not be constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for your dagger to slide between my shoulder blades. I will not tolerate it and I will not tolerate your betrayal. You are young. Your scars can heal here as my charge. You will have the best care I can afford you. But I must have your pledge here tonight with Mer-Nod as our witness. Then I will introduce you to my court. You will be greatly honored. You may speak.”
    Gelina was silent. In a dark choice between blood ties and life, only one question surfaced in her mind. “And if I refuse your offer?”
    The two men exchanged glances. It was Mer-Nod who spoke, his well-modulated voice outlining her fate dispassionately. “You will be sent tonight on a ship bound for Britain, banished forever from Erin. Conn cannot afford traitors at Tara, but has agreed to let you leave alive if you choose.”
    Conn stood and lowered his head in defeat, anticipating her decision. She stood, troubled by an odd sensation of sympathy.
    For the second time that night, she knelt on the wooden floor, brought his warm surprised hand to her lips and murmured, “My liege.” His other hand cupped her chin, raising her eyes to meet his. “And my allegiance.”
     

Chapter Six
     
    Visions danced like mist in the corridors of her dreams. Tall, strong, a fiery sword of retribution clutched in her hand, she towered over the heads of her enemies, her brother’s strong shoulders gripped by her legs. Wielding her sword, Vengeance, like the natural extension of her hand that it had become, she swung again and again, hacking and stabbing at hordes of featureless blue-eyed warriors until the blood ran like a river over the floor of the cavern. Too much blood. Her exultant battle cry turned into something else as Rodney swayed beneath her, his feet slipping in the gore. No. Rodney never stumbled, never faltered. He had borne her weight like his own for hours and days and years. He would never, ever drop her.
    The foundation of her life vanished, and she was falling. Down, down, a thousand leagues into blackness, a moment suspended in time until the river of blood sucked her into a hazy world, tinged with pink.
    Her brother swung her around and around. Sparkling black eyes, raven black hair, his warm hands clasping hers as they danced in the great hall of their father’s castle. He swung her faster, his grin widening with each turn. She was ten years old and she was afraid.
    She wanted to beg him to stop but knew he would laugh and chide her for being a baby. She knew also that the back of his hand would reach out and gently wipe away the tears caused by his taunts and almost make it worth it. But not quite. So her tiny bare feet crunched over the floor, the fear growing with each step. The room whirled in a swirl of