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And then the three of them melted into the shadows.
Joel carefully scooped her into his arms as if wary of jostling her foot. “I don’t think Killian can shadewalk two more people and a horse. Let’s hurry home and get you looked at.”
“Sunweave?” she mumbled against his shoulder.
“Alive and on the mend, thanks to Killian. I wouldn’t have made it here without him.”
Burning pain clung to her foot, relentless when Joel helped her onto the horse. She leaned back against him, hoping for the end of all this pain, misery, and heartache. No more.
A lump formed in her throat just as Sunweave started forward. She knew they needed to leave Heulwen and head to Ebriel as soon as possible. A fresh start for someone in her position. No one had to know who she was nor her past. She could simply be the wife of an orchardist, an amazing musician, and a wonderful man.
Simple. Relatively worry-free. Happy.
But it was wishful thinking. Because everything rested on Calle. Her anonymity. Whether he would claim Maisy as his own. And what happened when she finally spoke the truth. Her heart trembled with the fear that he might take her daughter away from her completely, as it was his right to do so within Heulwen law. Too much of hers and Maisy’s future rested on the shoulders of a man whose fate was forever tangled with hers.
And the idea frightened her.
Chapter 19
“Wake up, love.”
Nyana opened her eyes and blinked in confusion at the darkness surrounding her. Stars twinkled overhead on a midnight blue canvas. Cold air frosted her breath. Darkness. Snow. The ebony outline of trees.
Oh!
She lifted her head and nearly smacked Joel’s chin as she recognized her surroundings. A familiar low stone wall. A shriveled tree split straight down the middle. A comforting house with soft candlelight flickering through the windows.
Home.
The walk to the front porch jostled her injured foot, and she hissed through her teeth and groaned. “Is it too late to contact Cian?”
“As soon as I can, I will.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, taking the first step and then the next. “My magic is completely depleted. I can’t send a message until sunrise without the sunlight to recharge it. But I can ride out immediately instead.”
A flicker of candlelight from the windows revealed Joel’s haggard expression. Shadows rested beneath his eyes. His clothing lay rumpled against his body. His long, pointed ears drooped the faintest bit to betray his exhaustion.
How long and how fast had they ridden to reach home?
What a good, sweet man to put her needs before his own, without a single complaint. She’d never thought she’d find someone so loving and selfless. She was so lucky to have him.
Still in his arms, they entered the house, only for a woman to jump to her feet where she’d sat reading on the sofa. Nyana regarded her curiously. Copper hair. Green eyes. Tall. And a book in her hand. No doubt this was Lyyli, Killian’s new wife.
Lyyli gave them an uncertain smile accompanied by a small wave. She pointed upstairs as if to say the children slept in their room, and then she patted the sofa beside her while pointing to her ankle.
Nyana held back a frown. Why didn’t she speak? Perhaps to not wake the girls?
The thought was interrupted as Killian shadewalked into the room and groaned dramatically. He slumped exhaustedly into the armchair, closing his eyes. “If I have to shadewalk one more time tonight, I’m going to keel over.”
Lyyli touched Killian’s cheek with the back of her fingers, a tender affection in her eyes. Killian’s mouth twitched the slightest bit, but he otherwise kept his eyes closed.
Joel set Nyana carefully onto the sofa beside Lyyli and lifted her injured foot onto the side table. She winced as he untied her boot and slipped it off, followed by her stocking. Angry, red swelling climbed from the top of her foot to her ankle. But no higher.
Lyyli rushed into the kitchen and returned with a steaming bowl of water and cloth. While Joel covered her foot with the hot, damp cloth, she balled her hands into fists and fought through the pain with each breath.
“What did you do with Ethan and Cole?” Joel asked Killian.
“I dumped them on the Heulwen castle doorstep with a note that said, ‘To His Highness. Courtesy of Joel Harrington and Lord Killian Graves.’” The Shadow Fae chuckled. “I don’t know enough of the story to have stayed for questioning. I suspect King Calle will come to ask himself.”
“No,” she breathed. “Not now. Not like this.”
