“Riona,” Madison muttered under her breath. “Way too much assumption.”
“We’ll see.” Riona looked between them. “So I guess this is it? You have to go?”
“We should.” While he would like to stay and give her more time to adjust to all this, he had been away from his kingdom too much of late. “If Madison is ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” She thought about it. Or, as he sensed, her inner druidess told her to take a moment to do something. “I just need a few more minutes and your laptop, sis.”
“Sure thing.” Riona tilted her head in question. “Why?”
“Because I’d like to leave a message for our sisters.” She headed into the kitchen. “An add-on to Cian’s book, I guess.” She glanced at Riona as she opened the computer. “Because they need to read that too. Need to understand who he is to understand who his brothers are.” She perked a brow at him. “Am I right?”
“Yes.” Though tempted to refrain, he had promised honesty. “Mostly, anyway.”
Her brows lowered. “Mostly?”
He gestured at the book and spoke bluntly. “Like Raven and many of the people I’ve helped along the way, my brother Aodh is half dragon.”
Riona’s jaw dropped. “Say what?”
“Dragon?” Madison’s eyes glazed a little before they cleared. “Yes, definitely dragon.” She homed in on Cian. “I’ve come across him in a dream, haven’t I? Stood close to him...worried for him.”
“You have.” He was surprised she remembered that much when Aisling had assured him she would recall little if nothing of her time in Ireland. Brief moments during which she apparently slept here and appeared no more than a wraith seen by Cian there.
“I saw you near Aodh several times,” he went on. “Comforting him if I didn’t know better.”
“No doubt,” she murmured, clearly thinking it over. Sensing something in it. “Why, though? Because I definitely was.”
He shook his head, wishing he knew. “Perhaps because we were pre-battle at the time?”
“Maybe.” Yet she seemed unconvinced as she started typing away on Riona’s laptop. “You’ll make sure Constance and Shannon get this right, sis?”
“You bet.” Riona leaned against the counter, crossed her arms over her chest, and sighed. “I can totally handle this, you know?”
“I know.”
“So this isn’t you being an overly worried big sister?”
“Nope.”
“Liar.”
Madison stopped typing and eyed Riona. “This is me lending you a hand because those two aren’t always easy, and you know it.”
Riona rolled her eyes. “And because they tend to listen to you over me.”
“Maybe at one time.” She gave Riona a pointed look, telling him things he hadn’t sensed off of her prior to this. “Nowadays, they’re not sure what to make of me.”
That clearly got to Riona because her expression softened.
“Well, I know what to make of you.” She closed the distance, rested her hands on Madison's shoulders, and leaned her head against her sister’s. “You’ve done nothing but help people your whole life. Now you’re starting down a new path. One made of more honesty than you’ve ever been allowed to express.” She dropped a kiss on Madison’s cheek and winked at Cian. “And that’s not such a bad thing, all things considered.”
He was pleased Riona seemed to approve of him because he got the sense she lifted Madison up like Declán did him.Hadbefore his brother defected. While he could barely think of his closest sibling now without heartache, hecouldsee the love between Madison and Riona. The way they complimented each other.
“Thanks, sis.” Madison smiled and typed the last of her message. “That’s sweet, but I’m pretty sure the world doesn’t need so much honesty. Especially from me.” She clicked a button and looked at Riona. “It’s printing now. Make sure they get it, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Promise?”
