I knew better. I had dreamed of the living destruction that was slumbering within. His docility was a facade that kept everyone around him from running away screaming in terror of what lay in wait beneath his skin.
“Thank you for agreeing to accompany me,” I said, dipping my head with sincere gratitude and humility.
My seriousness seemed to amuse Darragh. The shifter was typically apathetic, but his full mouth curved slightly on one side to expose a handsome smile.
“There is no need to thank me so earnestly, my lady. You should know that I am merely following orders.”
“And yet we both know you do not answer to anyone unless you wish to do so, Guardian.”
Darragh appeared mildly surprised, as did Rian when he rose and tugged my cloak snug around my neck so he could lace itclosed. He raised his brows at me before glancing at Darragh over his left shoulder.
“She is not wrong,” he pointed out.
Rather than confirm anything, Darragh merely grunted noncommittally and turned to walk into the main room of the tent. Once he was gone, Rian returned his attention to me with slightly narrowed eyes.
“Why do you call him ‘Guardian’?” he asked.
“That is what he is. What he was before,” I explained, and Rian nodded as he continued to lace my cloak.
“There are stories,” he began softly, almost to himself. “Tales of silver dragons that guarded the Sylvan Princess who became the first of the Fallen Elves.”
I swallowed nervously and nodded when he lifted his eyes to mine to check whether his suspicions were right, but I could not bring myself to speak of such things.
“He also seems enamoured ofyou. He is not often so accommodating to anyone but me,” Rian added.
“I think perhaps I remind him of…her,” I admitted, avoiding his eyes when Rian nodded as if I had confirmed another of his theories.
“It was so long ago that the details have mostly passed into myth. I do not know enough of the story to know what happened to her,” he admitted.
“All I know are the glimpses that I catch in his eyes. Memories of a dark prison, not unlike mine, where he was forced to watch her be broken, her Light dimmed.”
Rian lowered his eyes quickly and gave another swift nod before he finished fastening up my cloak and lifted the voluminous hood over my head.
“What I want to know is why he gives you an illusion of control over him,” I admitted as he took my hand.
“You do not already know the answer, my wise Seer?” he teased me, making my cheeks flush in pleasure.
“Not with perfect certainty. But I think it is because he trustsyour judgment better than his own. He… feels that he failed in his purpose. And his kind do not feel empathy or remorse so he relies on you to be his moral compass. He trusts you to decide when to wield his power gently and when to unleash him upon the world.”
Rian looked momentarily surprised, which I supposed meant he had not been aware of this aspect of Darragh’s perception of him. After a moment, he cleared his throat and turned, tugging on my hand to guide me back into the main room where Darragh and Carrick were waiting.
“Ready?” he asked his uncle, and I realized, from the tone of his voice, that I had upset him. I immediately felt foolish for not anticipating how it would make him feel to know how much Darragh relied on him when Rian was already so suffocated with obligation.
But there was no time to discuss it with him. As soon as Carrick nodded, Rian raised his free hand to conjure a portal for us. With a firm grip on me, he tugged me into the swirling mist without another word to anyone.
The portal was freezing cold, like plunging into arctic water except it left only dew drops in my hair and on my eyelashes. The Raveina Mountains where most aes sídhe made their home was even more frigid. My breath rose in a cloud of vapour in front of me and a biting chill nipped at all my exposed flesh.
Rian must have felt me shivering because he quickly drew me closer and wrapped an arm around me. I sighed in contentment when it felt like a wave of heat rolled over us from an invisible fire as his magic cocooned me.
“Gods, I wish I could do that,” I breathed, and he gave a soft snort of amusement. I might be able to summon and tame fire, but it did not flow through my veins like it did in fire fey like Rian. Where I merely wielded the flames, Rian was in many ways its very essence.
I glanced around and saw that we were in a dark and snowy pine forest. I was confused at first about where the camp wasuntil Carrick stepped through some foliage and revealed a stone staircase. Rian drew me forward, and we were all silent as we descended into the ravine where the aes sídhe from Aes Suri and Aes Mirr camped. I could no longer feel the cold thanks to Rian, but I did sense the humidity rising as we made our way downward.
We emerged from the stairwell at the bottom and were met by aes sídhe guards who eagerly greeted Carrick in a dialect that I could not understand. But when they saw Rian behind his uncle, they froze and stared in a mixture of awe and fear as if he were a god walking among them. Then they seemed to remember themselves and bowed so low before him that they had to hold their swords back to prevent them from stabbing into the ground.
And Rianhatedit. There was absolutely no indication of his feelings on his beautiful face. But I felt his tension as he directed them to the portal that he had left open behind us so the medical supplies could be retrieved from his tent. His discomfort only increased as we made our way through the camp, stopping occasionally for Carrick to get directions to his family’s tent. I felt many curious eyes on me too, although I avoided meeting their gazes. Darragh discouraged the most curious among them from following us, but it was not long before they seemed to realize the reason for our appearance. It was rare for them to see Rian, and Carrick’s brittle expression was telling.
We finally reached the campsite where Carrick’s wife was sitting. Before she spotted us, Rian turned to me and gently tilted my chin up so he could meet my eyes.
