Page 30 of Why Broken Wings Fray

With a growl he tossed his head back, stepping one large and loud step backwards. “I am sorry.”

I shook my head several times. “Duty calls.”

He looked prepared to argue that, his brows bunching as the green started to fill his eyes once more. All at once he nodded and sighed, back to looking like the King of Talamh again.

“Get some rest.” Just as the realization hit him, his features pinched and narrowed until he looked sly, a smirk to match. “I shall see you in the morning, little human.”

I was left to watch as Raegan nodded and bade me farewell, his hulking body the last thing I saw before the door shut. I ignored the commotion that rose outside of my door, the noise slowly fading as they walked away.

I was too deep in my own head, swimming in all that I had learned in the few minutes that had passed between us. Because now, more than ever, I knew that I hadn’t imagined what I felt for Raegan. Now, all I had to do was keep it from swallowing me whole.

15

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Upon passing out and having, quite easily, the most restful sleep of my life, I woke with a banging headache. I was prepared to startle to consciousness, immediately regretting letting the King of Cluaineach and Choilltean into my chambers, yet that shameful wave did not grace me. Instead, I felt renewed. Like I had awoken in another time, one where Saoghal wasn’t at war with itself and I wasn’t plagued with darkness.

At the end of the day, it had been a very good distraction, even with how brief it was.

After having a castle servant knock on the door and inform me of breakfast, I groaned my way towards the attached bathing chambers where I started the day by pushing my hair out of my face.

I was glad I did. Because as I shoved some of that pale-blonde hair from my face and it slipped over my shoulder, I saw the faintest of marks against my neck. Frowning, leaning closer to that odd suspended-water-mirror, I tried my best to get a better look at the two tiny pricks in my neck.

Grabbing some of the powders, I worked extensively to cover up the tiny mark and the subtle bruise that had formed beside them. Overall impressed with my ability to do such a thing, I slipped out of the bathing room, got dressed, and prepared myself for hell on earth in the form of breakfast.

Pushing open the dining hall doors, I expected the whole room to go silent, as if they knew what I had done last night. Thankfully, no such thing happened. Quite the opposite, actually – as I strode across that grand space towards the table full of friends, they were loud. Rowdy and laughing, chatting and cheering, just as they had been when I came to Saoghal before.

It was not a table full of a king and his guards and advisors, but a table full of old friends. That, along with the sudden flash of heat that came from the sun rising and penetrating the many windows of the dining hall, forced a smile to my face.

At least until I drew nearer and Shea, halfway through an apple, coughed out, “Gods, girl. Look at you. How late of a night did you have?”

Everyone went eerily silent as they turned to me. Faces I knew like Shea and Aisling, faces I had yet to know but recognized from the halls. Worst of all, though, were the two overly familiar to me. Killian, his brows shaped into a question-mark on his forehead, and Raegan, shit-eating-grin on his face and one brow cocked at my unkempt appearance.

“Not late enough, actually,” I said to Shea, yet refused to blink off of Raegan. That cocked brow of his twitched even higher as he regarded me, a cunning gleam to his eyes as he nodded towards the one spare chair.

Yet again, placed next to Killian at the end of the table, bordered by the head-chair that Raegan sat in.

This is hell.

Just as I sat myself in the chair, grimacing as it slid across the stone floor, Raegan lifted his fork to his mouth and placed a strawberry there.

“A late night?” he drawled, far too much humour in his eyes for how early it was. “Do tell us, Olivia. What could possibly have kept you up so late?”

I wanted to punch him.

Killian chuckled at my left, as if he had any idea what Raegan was doing. If he did, it would have been a whole different sound coming from him.

Shooting daggers at Raegan with my eyes, I took a deep breath and grabbed a handful of blueberries from the bowl in front of me. “Oh, it was nothing. Really, nothing noteworthy.”

Raegan grinned. “Is that so?”

“Sure is.”

“I’m sure getting settled back in is a tedious venture,” Killian said, coming to my rescue in ways he would never understand. The tension between Raegan and I had turned thick, forcing me to swallow most of it as I veered my focus back to the empty plate in front of me and the three blueberries that I had squished in my palm.

Raegan narrowed his eyes at Killian, which if it hadn’t been for the planned murder behind them I might have been relieved to have the attention off of me. Instead, Killian only made it worse when he reached across the table and grabbed onto a bowl of assorted fruit, turning to the side and offering me some.

“You like peaches, don’t you?” he said, his eyes wide and full of Killian-joy.