I nodded, my eyes fixed forward.
Cormac exhaled a sigh when he sensed he wouldn’t get the answers he sought. “A shelter is a good idea. The weather can turn. We don’t know how long days last here.”
I glanced at him, my cheeks warm.
Cormac pressed his tongue against his canine tooth.
The gesture reminded me of something.Someone.
My brow pinched.
There was somewhere I had to be.
Somewhere I had to go.
Someone was missing.
More than one.
I shook my head to clear it, focusing on Cormac, though it took some effort.
“Maeve.” He repeated my name.
I’d been staring up at Cormac without seeing him. His face creased in worry.
“A storm,” I answered the question he didn’t ask. “Beyond the cliffs.”
Cormac reached out, throwing his arm around my shoulders. I startled at the familiarity of the action.
I’d seen Cormac act that way with someone before.
But who?
Their names slid off my tongue like ice.
A crawling sense of unease washed over me. I reached down and grabbed the heavy branch again, determined to dosomething.
Cormac stilled my hand. “Maeve. Sit down.”
I shook my head, my eyes fixed down.
Cormac exhaled a heavy breath. “Please.”
We might have been in the Tuatha Dé Danann, but that word meant something to the fae—a bargain.
I stepped away from his hand. “Am I a joke to you?”
His brow pinched. “A joke?”
“This beach is large enough that we don’t need to spend every moment together.” I didn’t look at him as I spoke. My jaw was as stiff as my resolve. “I’d rather you justgo awayif you intend to mock me.”
“Mock you?” He echoed.
My nostrils flared with anger. I waved a hand between us, the motion sharp like the jaws of a moray eel. “This. Us. You hate me. You always did. You call me Princess, as if that means something. A title that was never mine. Youkissme out of boredom. You prod, you pry, and make me feel as small as a shrimp on the sea floor. Forwhat?” My voice grew higher and more shrill. My face was hot and my vision blurry with tears. “We’re fucking dead, Cormac Illfinn.I know it’s my fault!”
He stepped towards me, his body rigid like a man preparing to draw his blade. His hands snapped out, gripping my biceps. For a moment, I thought it was going to shake me.
I twisted against his grip, trying to escape. To knock his hands away, but they did not budge.
