The keening from her paling daughter was the soundtrack to the panic in her mind. No matter which way she looked at the situation, there was no way out. Diplomacy would not save her here, for the matter wasn't over a mare or over numbers. It wasn't about who had done what.

This was simple revenge; she could see the truth of it in the wicked smile Nyimara had worn as she called Siobhan a slave. Whether it was revenge taken on Nyimara's part or Bjorn's didn't truly matter, because it didn't change the base nature of the act. Bjorn had cast her aside, unable to forgive her for what she now shared with Ailill, and she unable to forgive him for moving on to another land without them. The love that had once tied the red queen and the Bera Konung of the Ridge together lay in sharp, jagged shards on the ground.

She did not know why Nyimara would seek revenge, considering she had her new home, her solo queendom, and Bjorn all to herself, but she couldn't justify a random act of cruelty in her mind. Even Nyimara, wicked as she was, had to have a reason or it simply did not make sense to Siobhan.

She knows that her lover is injured, but she cannot bring herself to tear away from him and continues to press as close as she can to him. Her entire body longs for the sense of peace and calm they had found together, but she shakes against his body. Fear and anger comingle in her mind, making it hard to keep track of the sky and the ground. Siobhan will not risk the child that grows within her womb to fight against Nyimara, but she wants badly to rip her into pieces and to stuff her into the ground. The same fury that had enabled her when retrieving Sigurdr from the Lagoon floods into her now and she steadies at the promise Ailill hands to her.

He will come for her. And she will survive until then.

"I know," she murmurs into his mane, her eyes squeezing shut in an attempt to glean what comfort she can from the knowledge that neither of them will allow this to be a permanent situation. A part of her attempts to triangulate the timeframe, to see if she can return before spring, but as soon as she gets close to the dark truth, her mind shies away. She can only handle so much heartbreak at once, and the knowledge that her child might not get to see Ailill's smiling face first hurts her in ways she cannot describe.

Sniffling to hold back the tears she is determined not to shed in front of her daughters who so badly need to see her be brave here, she attempts a smile that trembles on her lips. Siobhan pulls back slightly, reluctantly, so that she can look upon her lover's beautiful face once more. "I know you will," she reassures him, offering him her hope and faith. "And I know you will take care of our girls."

Her gaze flicks to Roisin, who had moved to stand alongside Akadi, and she winces at the knowledge of what this will mean to Roisin. To know that her mother had been kidnapped by her old herdmate and held prisoner in her father's herd. To know that her own mother would not allow her to come with, regardless of the reasoning behind it, would be immensely hard for the girl to struggle with. She could only hope that her warning and the oversight of Ailill would be enough to keep the girl's hooves firmly on Atlantis. Her heart bled for Akadi as well, aware that the girl had only just found a family to take care of her.

But she would not forget her girls.

Swallowing hard against the lump in her throat, she stretched out to trace the cheek of her lover. "We will be together again, I promise." With another trembling smile, she looked toward their two growing daughters. Aislinn had spent more and more time alone, but even the missing third daughter was precious to her and she was sorry that she could not say goodbye to her. Turning her gaze back to Ailill, she met his eyes with a soft plea. "Don't let them come alone when they do."

She knows that she should go now, that her fate cannot wait forever, but she can't bring herself to tear away from him yet. Who knew what fate awaited her in the Inlet? In the place she had told Bjorn she would not go?

Would Ailill, like Bjorn, move on to someone else while they were parted?

Sucking in a quick breath, her gaze intensified as she searched his eyes. He had every bit of her faith in his hands now, and she had nothing left but to trust him. "I love you."