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Wow, would you look at that. Taj is giving me a run for my money in the sarcasm department. He’s furious.
I sigh. “Are you more upset with me or with yourself right now?”
“I knew it. I knew you would pass the blame back to me. Fuck you, Finn.”
“Taj,” Ariadne says. “Wait for us.”
“Taj!” Kiaran barks. “Slow down!”
And then the sound of a small scuffle alerts me to the fact that Kiaran has grappled Taj to stop him, and I can’t help a smile.
“Damn it, Wildman, let go of me or I’ll punch you in the face,” Taj warns even as his voice approaches us.
“Look,” I say, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry, okay?”
“What was that?” Taj huffs. “I didn’t hear you. Would you repeat that?”
“Damn you, Taj. Sorry okay? I’m only starting to get to know you, only starting to understand… lots of stuff.” Ariadne’s scent, her arm around me gives me the strength to keep talking. “I want to learn more about you. About all of you. Give me a chance, okay?”
Taj lets out a shuddering breath. “Deal, priest. Keep an open mind and we’ll do that. We’ll have plenty of time on our way south.”
My stomach roils, the bad feeling returning, worse. Why? I groan a little and Ariadne’s arm tightens around my back.
“Are you all right, Finn?” she asks softly.
“I’m fine. Let’s keep moving. Where is Kiaran?”
“Kia!” Ariadne pulls away from my side. “Where is he going?”
Oh fuck. I’m going to throw up. What the fuck is wrong with me? It’s as if a dark cloud is gathering inside my head.
“Wildman! Come here. You dragged me back to talk to Finnen, now it’s your turn.” Taj grunts, curses.
“Take your hands… fuck… off me…” Kiaran shoves at Taj, and by now lights are flashing in my vision, painting their outlines, my heart beating a staccato like a Temple drum in my chest. “I’m going.”
“Going where? What’s going on?” I breathe.
“I don’t know!” Ariadne moves further from me. “Kiaran, what’s wrong?”
“This town.” Kiaran is panting, a sharp quality to his voice I’ve never heard before. “I remember it. I know it.”
“What are you talking about?” Taj grunts again. “Stop it, man, where are you gonna go, huh? What are you gonna do?”
“I know it. There’s a house…” Kiaran’s voice fades a little, grows distant. “A house.”
“What fucking house?”
“He’s from this town,” I mutter. “He probably grew up here before he showed signs of Fae blood and his parents abandoned him in the hills.”
“Oh no.” Ariadne sounds upset, and Taj is cursing again, but something else draws my attention away from them.
There’s a sound… It echoes in the town and I can’t pinpoint it.
Sounds like a horse… a horse galloping.
I turn. Then turn the other way. Where is it coming from? My heart is pounding hard against my ribs, my breaths echo in my ears. I’m damn dizzy.
It’s riders.
