Until last night with her, that is.
“You know pulling out is by no means a surefire method,” she exclaimed, catching his thoughts. She might be sad, but she was still straight to the point. “At your rate, you could have dozens of little ones running around you’re not even aware of.”
“I could,” he conceded, not about to deny he had enjoyed women over the years. Where he’d felt no shame about it when they first met, day by day, hour by hour, he felt more unsettled.Especially about Siobhán. “Something tells me that had any of the lasses I’ve been with gotten pregnant, they wouldn’t have hesitated to tell me.”
“True,” she conceded. “Even mothering what those in this era consider a bastard can be worth something if the father is a king.” Shannon might seem back to herself, but he didn’t miss the shiver or the flash of fear she kept from her face. “Siobhán’s another story, though.” She gave him a look he felt soul deep. “Are you positive she never became pregnant? Could enough time have passed when you didn’t see her that—”
“Nay.” He shook his head. “One way or another, betwixt Aodh and I, there haven't been nine months when one of us hasn’t laid eyes on her.”
She nodded slowly as though she wondered about that. How clever Siobhán might have been, regardless.
“Tell me about her.” Almost as if she had been mentally preparing herself for this, Shannon took several gulps of ale and sat in front of the fire. “Tell me about you and Siobhán. How you met. What happened between you, her, and Aodh.” She shook her head. “How youeverlet her come between you and him when he wasn’t just your brother but your closest friend?”
“I was with her first,” he growled like he had over the years whenever his brothers asked him the same thing. Only this time, it didn’t feel quite right on his tongue. As though it didn’t belong there.
He sat in the chair beside her. “I met her at...in....”
“At, in,what?” Shannon prompted when he trailed off.
“Here at my castle.” Or was it in the forest? On the shore? He was having trouble remembering now. “I think.”
“You think?” Shannon narrowed her eyes. “Surely you would remember if she meant so much to you, you’re estranged from your brother now?”
“You would think,” he replied, drawing a blank. Confused. “But ‘twas somewhere. She was there. I noticed her. Pursued her. Even loved her...I thought.”
He grew more and more troubled as he wondered.Hadhe truly loved Siobhán? He’d felt so certain for so long that he had, yet now...what? Because he couldn’t seem to recall feeling for her what he felt for Shannon. Nothing close to it, for that matter. If anything, she felt more like a bad memory. Like a lass who had caused him nothing but grief.
“She must have been here at some point, right?” Shannon insisted. “Perhaps Conall, Dúghlas, or even Mór could shed some light?”
There was no jealousy in her voice over Mór. If anything, he got the sense she liked her. He also got the feeling she hoped Mór understood her days with Liam were over, which, ironically, Mór had already made clear.
“Mayhap theycouldshed light.” Yet he got the overwhelming feeling they would not.Couldnot. That whatever he and Siobhán shared had been well protected by her. Kept from prying eyes and curious natures lest they see something Liam didn’t.
“So what drew you to Siobhán, to begin with?” Shannon wondered. “I hear she’s beautiful enough but super creepy. Didn’t you sense that?”
“Nay.” He took a deep swig of ale and shook his head. “But then I’m beginning to suspect my senses might not have been at their best around her. That...”
“She might have cast you under a spell,” Shannon said, agreeing with what he was going to say when he found himself at a loss for words. “That she might not have been anything like what she seemed?”
“I don’t know.” He blinked against the fog in his mind. “All I know is I felt strongly for her, then hated her when she leftme for Aodh. Hated that she so easily abandoned what we had found. Hated my brother even more for betraying me.”
“Sounds like a lot of hate,” she said. “And no real defining moment to support it.”
“Twill come back to me,” he assured.
More alarmed by the moment by the growing haze in his mind when it came to Siobhán, he downed the entirety of his mug in one long gulp and refilled it from the pitcher.
“Whether it does or doesn’t,” Shannon said gently enough to catch his attention. “I’ll stand by your side the best I can until this is all over. Until Siobhán’s finished, and you find your way back to Aodh.” She hesitated as though wondering how much she should say before giving him the honesty he needed to hear. “Because that’s important, Liam. More important than anything else, I think.”
“You believe ‘twas intentional,” he said. “’Tis what your sisters think. That ‘twas all planned by Siobhán from the very beginning.”
“Seeing how she’s wheedled her way into becoming Queen of Munster, I’d say it’s a safe bet,” she said, not so much sympathetic but realistic. Otherwise, he would have seemed more the fool. “And I know you’re starting to see that now. That we should move forward assuming such.”
“You mean I should move forward with less hatred in my heart for Aodh.” He saw clearly enough what she was getting at. “That we should rescue him together.”
“Yes.” Shannon not only grew remarkably serious, but her eyes flashed with her inner druidess. “We need to stand unified, Liam. Surely you see that.” She shook her head. “It’s the only hope we have. Plus...I need you.” She reached over, took his hand, and searched his eyes. “I really need you, and so does Aodh because I guarantee outside of the obvious right now, he fell victim to Siobhán every bit as much as you did.”
While a part of him continued to rebel against the idea of helping his dragon brethren, a larger part knew she was right. Whatever his issues with Aodh, his brother needed their help.
