Page 12 of Keldori By Daybreak

“You guys say ‘half-assed’ here?”

“No. I must’ve picked that up in Keldori. Your people have such a crude way of speaking.”

I had half a mind to shove him away, but my bouts against Sabrina, if they could be considered that, had left me sore and aching. Besides, I was eager to get back to the hovel, and if leaning against Ciarán meant getting there faster, then so be it.

The trees thinned as we walked, and usually I’d be grateful for less forest, but after seeing the men in the woods, I felt more exposed and vulnerable.

“I’m serious about undermining me,” Ciarán growled as we passed beneath a tree that bowed under the weight of collected snow. “I can handle Sabrina.”

“I know Sabrina. No one handles her.”

“You know a version of Sabrina.”

I watched Sabrina’s strawberry curls bounce in time with her stride. Orla spoke animatedly next to her, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying, nor did Sabrina seem to be engaging back.

“She’s the only one of you who had the same name in Keldori,” I said. “I think I might know her better than I know any of you.”

“Even me, Blue?”

I gave a dry laugh that my ribs protested against. While nearly everything about Sabrina was the same as her Nightmare form in Keldori, Ciarán couldn’t be more different.

“I don’t know you at all.” I braced for whatever smart response Ciarán had waiting for me, but instead, his voice lowered, and his grip on my arm tightened.

“That’s too bad. I would’ve liked to have heard about that version of me.”

“Ask Sorcha. She was closer to you than I was.”

“I think we were closer than you’re admitting.”

Heat flushed my cheeks. “We were just coworkers.”

“I held you as you fell asleep. Is that common practice for coworkers in Keldori?”

Of all the days he’d spent as Liam, I hated that those last twenty-four hours were the only ones he remembered. I shoved him away and stumbled after Sabrina and Orla with an arm braced over my aching ribs.

“Is that a no?” Ciarán laughed in my head.

“Do you remember this?” I reached backwards to show off my middle finger.

“Oh, yes. You showed me that one here. I remember it very well.”

We passed beyond the tree line, and midnight wind bit at my face. The mountainside offered a stunning view of the night sky, but Gams’s storm swallowed the stars nearest the horizon. In the other direction, dual moonlight glinted off the sloped, snow-covered eaves of Sorcha and Aoife’s hovel where it nestled at the foot of the cliff. Warm light spilled out around the rim of the door that led to the main hall.

I quickened my step, eager to warm up next to the hearth, and I stumbled on the slick pathway. Ciarán grabbed my arm to steady me, but I pulled away from his grip.

“I’m fine.”

His cowl muffled his exasperated sigh. “Only you could manage to be so proud after getting so thoroughly thrashed for the last several hours.”

“It’s not my fault Sabrina was more interested in blowing me up than she was in actually teaching me anything.”

“Excuses,” Ciarán grunted.

My temper, fueled by the pain in my ribs and the threat of Gams’s storm raging over the distant bay, flared. I spun to face Ciarán with a blue flail in hand, swung the weapon, and it shattered against his shield of orange.

“That’s not—” I started, but he cut me off with a hand pressed against my mouth. He pulled his cowl down and let it hang loose around his neck.

“Not fair?” he finished for me. I jerked my head away from his hand, but he scoffed. “Go ahead, Blue. Make your excuses. It’s your world and your family on the line.”