He stared into the fire for a moment then turned to face her. “Not all Fae are like Irene MacAskill. Not all of them are good. There are...others...who do not wish us well. They are the Unseelie Fae, and their servants are called the Disinherited. The Order of the Osprey serve the Seelie Fae and we oppose the Disinherited wherever we find them.”
Maddy shook her head. “I don’t know what any of that means. This is all making my head spin. Seelie. Unseelie. Disinherited. Holy crap, only a short while ago I was just an architect. You know what? I could really do with a coffee.”
She sprang to her feet and busied herself with hanging the kettle on the tripod over the fire. Dropping some of her dandelion coffee into two of Deryn’s rough pottery beakers, she tried to focus on the task at hand and not on all the terrifying things she was discovering.
“I know this is confusing for ye lass—” Deryn began.
“You want a cup?” she cut in. “I’d like mine a bit sweeter. Honey. We need honey. I’ll go and see if there’s any in the store room.”
She moved to the door but Deryn was quicker, interposing himself between her and the exit. He took hold of her hands. She hadn’t realized they were shaking.
“It’s all right, lass,” he said softly. “Ye are safe now. Nobody can find ye here and anyone who wants to get at ye and Rory will have to get through me first. I willnae let anyone harm ye.”
“I know that,” she said. “It’s just that...that...”.
He put his finger under her chin and raised her head.
“Then trust me. And we dinna need honey in our coffee. It will do just fine without.”
She smiled wryly. “That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have a sweet tooth. Do you know how hard it’s been for me not having chocolate and not being able to complain about it?”
His lips quirked in a smile that made her heart flutter. “What can I say? We all have our cross to bear, although I’ve no idea what ‘chocolate’ is.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
She brewed up the dandelion coffee and handed him a mug. For a while they said nothing, sipping the hot drink and allowing the warmth to thaw them out. With each passing moment shefelt herself relaxing, felt her fears retreating. She felt so safe and protected here in this little hidden valley.
With him, she thought.It’s because of him.
“Sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“For running out on you. It wasn’t a great way to repay your hospitality, was it? I should have spoken to you about all this.”
He waved away her apology. “I understand now why ye did it. If I was in the same situation, perhaps I would have run too.”
He wouldn’t, she knew. He would face up to it rather than fleeing. That was the kind of man he was.
She blew out a breath and gestured helplessly. “So what do we do now?”
He sighed, leaning back. “We need information. There are things going on that I dinna understand. How was Rodric MacKay able to open a portal through time? Is he working with the Unseelie Fae? Is he one of the Disinherited as I suspect?”
“And what has Rory got to do with any of this?” Maddy added, her stomach twisting with dread. “Rodric said Rory was central to his plans. What do these Unseelie Fae want with my son?”
“I dinna know,” Deryn replied, shaking his head. “I dinna have answers to any of these questions. But I intend to find out. First thing in the morning I will send word to Callum Sutherland at Dun Saith. He is the head of the Order of the Osprey. If anyone can figure out what’s going on and a way to get ye and Rory home, it’s him. Until then, ye and Rory will stay here. With me.”
With me. Such simple words and yet there was a whole world of meaning contained in them.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she said.
“I’m glad ye think so.”
There it was again, that look in his eyes that sent her pulse racing. Was it possible he felt the same way she did? Was it possible that this thing she felt growing between them was real?
“Listen, Deryn, I—”
Just then the door to the bedroom opened and Rory emerged, rubbing his eyes. “Mama! I need a wee!”
