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“How long will you be gone?” Ella asked, her voice small and scared in a way he’d never heard from her before. It riled him even more.
“It doesn’t matter because you are coming with me,” Mananan replied.
“What? I didn’t agree to that.”
Mananan exchanged a look with the other males. They didn’t need to voice their agreement; he felt it.
“Ella, you can’t stay here unprotected,” Mananan tried again, as gently as his anger would allow.
Taranis came to his rescue. “He’s right, Ella. That thing saw you. It could be hunting you. You can’t be left alone until it’s dead.”
“But the lighthouse can’t be left alone either. I have a duty to keep it going,” Ella began to argue.
Bayn took a step forward. “I’ll have warriors come and tend to it. It will be cared for in your absence. I promise you, Ella. It’s not worth your life.”
Ella looked up at Mananan again, and he could see the struggle in her eyes. He didn’t want to have to force her to go with him, and deep down, he knew he would if she resisted. She would be angry at him, but at least she would be alive.
“I need you to put me down, Manan,” she said and touched his cheek gently. He reluctantly set her back on her feet. “Let me breathe for a second and think this through.”
He watched her walk back towards the lighthouse.
Kian pulled out his phone and put it to his ear. “Elise, my love, I need you to start messaging Ella. Yes, something did happen…” he said, walking down to the ocean to speak with his mate.
“Are you really going to take Ella to Tír fo Thuinn?” Taranis asked. He looked serious for once.
“Yes. I need the sword, and I won’t let her out of my sight until that fucking thing is dead. You saw how it looked at her, Taran. It wants her. It will hunt her. I can’t handle…” Mananan couldn’t get his words out straight.
Taranis hugged him, surprising him back to sanity. “It will be okay, big brother. We will all make sure of it. Get the sword and bring her back. We can’t destroy the altars Ella found and fight this creature without you. I’ll summon my dragon knights. If we can help kill it, we will.”
“Thank you, Taran. I’d appreciate that,” Mananan replied. He gave his brother’s back a pat and let go of him.
Taranis pulled a small velvet bag from his pocket. “Here. I finished making this for you. Maybe a present will cheer her up after the day she’s going to have. I can’t believe you are finally going to let a human into your kingdom.”
“She’s not just any human,” Mananan replied.
Taranis’s expression softened. “I’m starting to see that. Just be careful with that old heart of yours.”
“Old heart, my ass. You are barely a decade younger than me.”
“That’s why I speak from experience.”
Mananan rolled his eyes and gave his brother a playful shove. Taranis could be a pain in the ass, but when he wasn’t being one, there was reason to worry. He might have been the youngest of them, but he carried burdens that Mananan couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“If you are going to bring the knights here, make sure you tell the Greatdrakes. Their own instincts might go haywire,” Mananan said.
Taranis only grinned deviously. “Oh, I’m looking forward to. I’ll send word to my best. They have most likely been sitting on their asses the whole time I’ve been gone. It will be good for them to come to the human world and stretch their wings.”
“Why am I suddenly worried,” Bayn said, looking between them.
“I promise I’ll keep them in line,” Taranis replied, crossing his heart. He nodded towards the lighthouse.
“You’d better go and check she’s all right, Manan. We wouldn’t want her running away on you.”
“She wouldn’t get far if she did.” Mananan shrugged.
Taranis tipped his head back and laughed. “Does she know you’re hunting her too, brother?”
Mananan smiled despite everything. “Now, where would the fun in that be?”
