“I would have been. It was Ornella who saved my life. Did she tell you that she can weave magic together?”
“She told me about the portal,” I said, and he grunted in satisfaction. But I had opened the gates to the heavy before either of us was ready, and now I could tell he was going to continue with it.
“I want to know what they did to you, Sage. I need to know why they wanted you. And I need to know how you wantAmira and her mates handled. I have made a deal not to harm Riordan myself, but nothing was said about Amira or theskiá.Keeping them here prevents Riordan from making an alliance with Aoibheal, but it is up to you and Ornella what we do with them afterward.”
I knew these questions would eventually come from my cousin, but it still didn’t make them any less abrasive. Summer had also tried to ask me about what happened with the Sylvan, but I’d gently redirected her. I wanted to recount that experience just once with everyone present who needed to know about it.
“I will tell you and the others about the Sylvan when we are all together. Not now,” I insisted, and he agreed with a nod. “And I do not want the witch hurt,” I added, which made him raise his brows at me.
“Are you sure? Ornella was rather eager to administer her wrath and retribution.”
“Ornella may think she wants revenge, but she would regret hurting her friend. She is angry and hurt right now, but they only wanted to protect her, Rian. She will accept that one day, and I do not want her to make choices she cannot come back from,” I insisted firmly.
Rian sighed and tipped his head in a dramatic show of exasperation and reluctance with me.
“Do you have no regard for how difficult it will be for me to rein in Ciaran and his bloodlust?” he demanded.
“I have faith in you, cousin,” I laughed and returned his smile when he looked at me again. Then he pulled me into another hug that was longer and harder than the one he gave me when he first arrived in the tent.
“I am so sorry. I should have stopped them—”
“Don’t,” I interrupted, leaning back to grip his upper arms as I looked at him seriously. “You think I didn’t see how hard you fought? What they did to you!”
Rian was silent, the bond between us muted on his end soI could only feel a faint hint of his emotions. But they still seemed… more active than usual. Less restrained.
“I am no hero, Sage. I would have destroyed the Vale and every fey in it if it meant keeping you safe. I would have done worse if the Sylvan had not nearly killed me,” he admitted with his eyes on the table beside us.
His words were as heartening as they were terrifying, and I could tell he was as unnerved as I was by them.
“So. You have a mate,” I redirected, and Rian snorted as he turned to pluck up some grapes.
“That topic will require me to consume far more wine than I am comfortable drinking in front of your parents.”
“Then one night soon we will drink all the wine and talk about it. Summer said you rejected her,” I hedged.
Rian drew in a deep breath through his nose as he gave a distracted nod.
“I am unsure what to do,” he admitted with a glance over my shoulder toward Nuala. “It is… complicated.”
I opened my mouth to ask him why, but the laughter behind us went quiet when something clattered. I turned to see Nuala standing completely still, a plate of food on the floor at her feet. Her eyes had gone ghostly white and her face was fully slack as she stared unblinking.
“Nuala?” Rian blurted before he stepped toward her. But then he stopped at the blare of a horn, which had been designed to penetrate every silencing ward in the camp.
Pyrope and Serafin had stayed in the bedchamber to escape the party, but both vargr stalked out with their heads low and their lips curling readily.
“What the fuck is that?” demanded Summer.
I looked at Rian, but his attention was still on Nuala as she blinked out of her trance and then looked straight at him with pure terror in her eyes.
“That’s a patrol alert from the southern flank. It means that we are under attack,” Rian advised my mate coolly.
Chapter forty-seven
AT WAR WITH HIMSELF
Rian
There was stunned silence after my announcement before Darragh went through a portal to take his usual post in the war tent and relay information to and from the generals. Ciaran was the next one to get to his feet with his armour already materializing on his body. Sage manifested his suit beside me, but I grabbed his arm to stop him before he could move toward Ornella.
