Cormac wasn’t asking anything of her. He wasn’t weighing her, shaping her, waiting for her to become something else.
He meant it. It was difficult to accept.
“There were… other ways it could have gone,” she said at last, her voice quieter than she intended.
“Sure, it was a risk. One that relied on the goodness of other people. Which is not something I put a lot of faith in. But you were right.”
Cormac’s smile chased all other thoughts from her mind.
“You kept people alive. That’s what matters.”
The garden was quiet around them, leaves stirring faintly overhead.
It was kind of him to say, but Aoife knew the truth. People had died who would still be alive today if it weren’t for her.
She had been wrong about too many things and made too many mistakes.
Halverton had shaped her in ways she hadn’t even noticed at the time, and she’d let him. There were moments she could have resisted, and she didn’t. Moments she could have spoken and chose silence instead.
Cormac would never know all that had happened in the weeks they were apart.
And she was grateful for that.
She couldn’t bear to see how his opinion of her might shift if he did. He had warned her not to let Halverton change her, and she had done it anyway.
If he knew the full truth… would he even be here?
Cormac pushed himself to his feet.
“We could walk,” he said.
“Or we could stay here.” She rushed to assure him. “You can barely stand without wincing. The walk here must have been exhausting.”
“I can stand,” he said mildly. “And it’s not so bad. Come on. I’ve been cooped up inside for weeks.”
She hesitated before nodding. “All right. Slowly.”
“Slowly,” he agreed.
They set off along the path, Aoife hovering close, careful to match her pace to his. She tried not to watch him too intently,but her eyes kept returning to the set of his shoulders, the way he guarded certain movements. When his foot caught on a root and he faltered, she was already there, hand closing around his arm, steadying him.
He stiffened for a heartbeat, let out a breath and straightened, gently easing his arm from her grasp. “Thank you,” he said.
She stepped back. “Sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be.”
They walked on, side by side, not touching now, but closer than before.
The trees had long since started to turn and they walked in companionable silence for a while, leaves crunching softly beneath their feet.
“So,” Aoife said at last, glancing sideways at him. “What’s been happening in the village? I’m missing everything.”
Cormac huffed a quiet laugh. “Did you hear about your da and Mrs Harrow?”
She frowned. “Hear what?”
“They’ve been seen together.”
