“No. Listen to me.” Ciaran’s warm hand rested on my shoulder. “I don’t care what anyone else in our tribe thinks—I know your marriage to Westhaven is just a sham. A sham because you’re a good person and you didn’t want him to be killed. And it worries me because you’re in danger because of him.”
My pulse beat in my throat, heat pooling in my cheeks. Despite my better judgment, I met Ciaran’s gaze. “You don’t have to protect me from Rykr. He’d never hurt me. If only because he’d end up hurt in return.”
“There are plenty of ways he could hurt you without killing you and you know it.” Ciaran lifted his hands to my face, cupping my jaw, his thumbs brushing lightly along my cheekbones. “I love you, Ser. I think you know that. And the only thing keeping that tarse alive is that I don’t want something to happen to you.”
I searched his gaze, my stomach tightening. Ciaran had never been quite this bold. But maybe Rykr’s presence had pushed him to say what he hadn’t dared to before.
Before he could take it any further, I leaned in and pressed a gentle, platonic kiss to his cheek. “I know you do.” I tried to move gracefully out of his grasp, not wanting to yank away like a startled deer, but he caught my hand.
A forlorn expression fogged his eyes. “I don’t think you understand?—”
“Don’t.” My fingers tightened against his. “Don’t say things you can’t take back. Rykr may be a Lirien, but I …” I care about him.
There.
I’d admitted it. To myself, at least, even if I couldn’t say it aloud yet. Especially not to Ciaran.
His face flushed. “I don’t think Westhaven is doing you any good. You seem … different since you took that oath. He’s not a good influence on you.”
I rolled my eyes and tore my hands away. Covering the food he’d brought, I stored it in my pack, my appetite vanishing. “I’ve known him for a handful of days and now he’s changing me? Maybe you’re just blinded by your prejudice. I appreciate you wanting me to be happy, but you have every reason not to like him. Admit it.”
His throat bobbed. “I’ll admit it. I don’t like him. But who is he, anyway? I understand why you made that oath, but that doesn’t have to mean I like what happened. Or that he’s here. I’ll stand by you, Seren, but Seth wasn’t wrong to question what you did. It was dangerous, and it broke our laws.”
His words hit me hard. Ugly, untamed anger flared through me. “So now Seth is the good guy? I deserved twenty lashes, then?”
“No, no. You know I hate what he did. But Seth being a hagspawn doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the best interest of the Viori at heart—especially where Liriens are concerned.”
I stood, brushing off the leaves from my backside. “I’m done discussing this, Ciaran. Maybe my decision was extreme, fine. But now Seth is right about Rykr and I’m not? That’s not loyalty and you fucking know it.” I whirled on my heels to go.
“Seren, that’s not what I mea?—”
I threw him a withering glare. “It doesn’t matter. It’s what you said. And I’m pretty damn sick of men telling me they know better about everything where I’m concerned.”
Ciaran scowled, scrambling to his feet awkwardly. “I never really thought I had a chance with you, Seren. Not really. And I know that you’re … his, now. But all I’m asking is that if that’s how things are going to be, you be careful.”
I covered my face with my palm. “First, I’m not his. I don’t belong to anyone, let alone Rykr.”
I can’t be at war with my friends. Not right now. Not with everything else I have going on.
Lowering my hand, I stepped back toward him, leaves crunching under my soaked feet. He was so much bigger than me—always had that quiet strength—and the sadness in his face broke my heart. Even in the moonlight, the pain in his eyes was plain. “But I want you to tell me anything. Especially if you think I’m being foolish. I care about what you think, Ciaran. More than anyone.”
A faint glimmer of hope lit his expression, and I bit the inside of my lip. Curpiss. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But the damage was done, and I didn’t have the heart to take it back.
“If he hurts you?—”
“He won’t. He saved me from the vuk. Not because he knew me, but because he has integrity. And then again last night, when I was?—”
I paused, searching his eyes. We’d agreed with Tara that telling anyone about the skinwraith attack could be dangerous. But I can trust Ciaran.
Ciaran raised a brow. “Last night?”
At last, I whispered, “Giulia Bernardi … she wasn’t just murdered.”
His red-gold brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“After the festival, on the way home, I heard something, so I went searching and found a human heart. On a tree stump. Then I saw Giulia.” My body gave an involuntary shudder. “She’d been turned into a skinwraith and attacked me. Rykr heard me scream and came to my aid. We destroyed the skinwraith.”
“What?” Ciaran’s body went rigid. He ducked his chin at me in disbelief. “A skinwraith? What did Seth say? Why haven’t the scouts been informed? There are teams searching for her body.”
