After Cináed helped to carry a sleeping Darren to our room, we left him on the bed and I followed Cináed onto the deck. I'm still too jittery for sleep, so I hope a little walk will calm me down.

"The day's travels are not yet complete, Roisín." Cináed says, glancing at me as we walk together. "You should be resting with your brother before we reach land."

Instead of meeting his imploring eyes, I scan over what's left of the ship and its crew. Battered creatures with dripping fur and heavy faces move about the deck, some tending to the ship and others with their own wounds. I notice the rat with the red trench coat waddling along the top of a tattered sail, inspecting the torn material between his small paws. The blue man barely acknowledges his captain as we pass him. He holds the side of his pointy face while a smaller creature with clear wings flutters around his head, attempting to bandage the gash despite the blue man's protests.

"Roisín?"

Cináed doesn't seem to be concerned with the injured crew members at all. Instead, his green eyes are locked onto me, the person who nearly got herself killed and managed to save absolutely no one else in the process.

"They're hurt because they were fighting all night. Even Darren..."

Even my little brother managed to outwit those sea monsters, while I literally leapt at the first opportunity to follow them into the ocean.

"I'm such an idiot." I mumble, swaying slightly despite the calm waters below.

His hand reaches for my arm as he responds with a practicality that surprises me. "They are my crew, not my friends, Roisín. And they are least of all your concern."

I stop and rest my hand against a pile of broken crates. The adrenaline from last night must be wearing off because I suddenly feel lightheaded and dazed. Maybe a nap isn't such a bad idea.

"I—I just need to catch my breath." I say, closing my eyes. The golden sunrise should have been a relief after the terrible storm, but the increase of light only brings a sharp pain to my already pounding headache.

It's as if my senses are acutely aware of everything. Hyperactive even. I'm forced to shut my eyes and bend over in an attempt to stifle the pain.

Strong arms lift me off my feet. I manage to peek from beneath my eyelashes to see the collar of Cináed's shirt in front of my nose. His heartbeat matches the pulsing throbs in my head. If it wasn't for the air accelerating over my skin, I'd wonder if we were even moving. His footfalls are so fluid, it's almost as if he's gliding over the deck instead of walking.

A short moment later, he's laying me down onto a comfortable surface that smells like him. Sunshine and apples and freshly mown grass and—

Something brushes my mouth. No, not just something. Only his perfect lips could leave an aftertaste of honey behind. Fingers caress my forehead, pushing back my straggly bangs. But then his presence starts to fade, and whether it's the migraine or the PTSD talking, I somehow manage to speak.

"Don't go. Please."

It's just a whisper, but I know he hears me. My eyes peer through the pain to see him halt in the doorway with his back to me. His shoulders tense and he doesn't turn around.

Just because he kissed you doesn't mean he has feelings for you.

The rejection stings almost as much as the headache. I close my eyes again, too embarrassed to watch him go.

Three footsteps place themselves on the wood floor. They sound hesitant and slow. Like someone approaching a wounded animal. Then his arms are wrapping around me, pulling me close. My trembling muscles begin to relax as he holds me to his chest.

"Fear no more, Roisín." He murmurs, soothing and melodic like a lullaby. "The pain of the night is gone. Nothing will harm you now."

The words calm my mind enough to remember the reason for all the pain. Images of red eyes and a churning black ocean send shivers down my spine.

"Why did those monsters get in my head, and not in Darren's?"

"You allowed yourself to listen to their song. The Murdhuacha can only call to those who have experienced great pain or sorrow—"

"But everyone's had that." I say, not wanting to hear that my "pain" was somehow crazier than everyone else's.

He continued after my interruption. "They sing to those who still long for comfort, who continue to hold their pain like a burden on their shoulders."

His voice lowers as if he's talking to himself more than to me. "They can still call to your sorrows of years past if you are not prepared to withstand it."

I then ask the question that's been haunting the forefront of my mind since last night.

"Cináed?"

"Yes."

"Where's your daughter's mother?"

My head is resting under his chin, so I can't see how my words play out over his face. But his arms tense around me and I think he stops breathing as I wait in silence for an answer.

Finally, he responds through a delayed exhale. "She died."

I can hear the fragility in each syllable, and my lungs tighten with instant regret at having asked him. The more I learn about him, the less I see Cináed as being some sardonic being who doesn't care about much of anything except maybe his boat.

There's nothing I can say, so I place a kiss in the hollow of his neck and rest my head back on his chest. The waves rock us gently as Cináed starts to hum the lullaby again, and my mind welcomes the release as sleep overtakes me.

<<———————>>

Cináed's lullaby echoes through my thoughts and I smile. We're standing in a field of grass. Or a meadow, since trees encircle the ring of flowers and clovers around us.

The sudden change in scenery doesn't bother me though. Although it reminds me of something I've seen before. Maybe a dream I've had...

I tense against his chest. His black shirt smells foreign, and the skin on his neck is as white as marble stone.

This isn't Cináed.

Daring to glance up at him, I'm met by a pair of shockingly blue eyes. They hold ice in them like two glaciers floating on his face.  And they also hold a perfect reflection of me, like I'm frozen in the cold forever.

"I am waiting for you." He says, and that's when I recognize him.

"You're the man from my nightmare." The one I had right before Cináed woke me up in the cemetery.

His smile startles me. It takes him from being gorgeous to absolutely godlike. If he wasn't holding me, I know my body would stand there regardless--immobilized like a deer watching bright headlights grow closer. Trapped by fear and wonder all at once.

He rests a hand on my face. "I am no man, dear child. And soon, this vision you call a nightmare will be your reality."

My pulse accelerates as we watch each other, our faces paused only inches apart.

"I am waiting for you, Roisín. And you are coming to me."

Before his mouth can press against mine, I shove off of his chest and somehow break free from his iron grip. My legs and arms propel me forward like a wild animal running for my life.

When I reach the line of trees, the earth seems to tilt sideways and I'm left free falling through branches that catch at my clothes and hair, before I plummet into a body of water. The deep blue liquid feels more substantial than normal, and I hover several feet below the surface as bubbles swirl around my face. As they drift toward the sky, my vision clears enough to see a pair of red eyes bobbing closer, followed by the ghastly head of a goat.

It's thick seal-like tail swims the creature forward, and the goat's mouth opens as it starts to sing.

"Come away, O human child."

"No!" I scream, but my throat only releases another stream of bubbles. I scramble backwards, trying to distance myself from the sea monster's song.

"For the world is more full of weeping," the goat's face is right in front of me now, it's unblinking red eyes draining my soul of life itself, "than you can understand."

"NO!"

My scream launches me upright in the bed, and as I take in my surroundings I realize it was only a nightmare. The afternoon sun is filtering through the window of Cináed's room. I'm alone and safe.

"It was just a dream." I breathe, brushing my bangs out of my eyes.

Then why didn't it feel like just a dream?

Terror resurfaces as my mind replays images of the strange man and then the red-eyed goat. I shake my head and untangle myself from the bedding, ignoring the feeling that the man who had appeared in my dreams twice now was more than a nightmarish figure of my own imaginings.

I run down the tight hallway and stop once I'm outside, blinking rapidly as my eyes adjust to the glaring sun reflecting off the dampened deck. The smell of wood and salt begins to set me right again.

Forget the dreams. This is what's real. Your future changes today the moment you set foot in Ireland.

The desire to find Darren and share the last moments on sea with him moves me across the upper deck and toward our room. Before I reach the door, a familiar laugh calls from behind me—a laugh I haven't heard in a long time. Darren's face is beaming, the sunshine kissing his skin and the breeze tossing his dark hair. He's with Cináed, but they're both sitting high above me in the riggings of the ship.

"Darren!" I call, my heart jumping to my throat.

They both look down at me, and Darren waves. "Raisin, come up here!"

"Cináed, I don't want my brother up that high." I say, trying not to let all of my worry show in my voice.

"Then you should have thought twice before allowing him onto the finest vessel of the sea." Came the teasing response, followed by a smirk and a wink that I barely catch as my hand shields the sun from my eyes. "Your brother is a born sailor, Roisín.

"Come on, Raisin! We're watching Ireland get closer till it's time to sail ashore." Darren is pleading now, swinging his legs in eager delight.

I swallow hard and wipe the moisture from my forehead. There's a series of ropes tied together like fishnet. It's what all the sailors use to navigate through the riggings. Reaching a trembling hand forward, I wrap my fingers around the weathered rope and start to climb.

<<----------------->>

Guys, I missed an entire week of posting! My friend A-McCarthy from Ireland came to visit the states, and then I had events to go to for Indie Author Day last weekend. So it's good to be back home with some time to write again!

This chapter ran a bit long, but there was a good amount that still needed to happen before they reach the beautiful Emerald Isle (nickname for Ireland).

What are your thoughts on the new discovery about Cináed's past? And are Roisín's night terrors something she should be concerned about? 

Click the star to vote for more! <3