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He said nothing, hunching over further as I picked up the picture frame and shuffled closer to him.
“I spotted something in this.” I tried to keep my tone light, but my voice still wobbled. Resting my head on his shoulder, I pointed at the little black cat hiding in the corner of the photo.
Lonan tensed up. “I’m sorry,” he said stiffly. “I hadn’t meant to intrude—”
“No, I’m glad you’re in it.” I kissed his shoulder. “I’m glad you were there.”
Setting the photo down, I shifted to face him, clutching both of his hands. “You were always there, weren’t you?” I asked him quietly.
He went pink. At length, he gave a stiff nod. Reaching up, I cupped his face and leaned in to kiss him.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“It didn’t do much good in the end,” he mumbled, looking down to shield his gaze from me. I squeezed his hands.
“If they hadn’t taken me, we probably never would’ve met, so I don’t wish it hadn’t happened. That part, at least. I wish… I wish my parents were still alive, but…” I took a deep, shaky breath. “Maybe it’s easier that they aren’t. My life is here now. I wouldn’t have been able to have both.”
“You should’ve had the choice,” he bit out. “You should have been able to decide for yourself. The Carlin took that away from you.”
Fury flared at the mention of her, making my fingers squeeze his tighter. Trying to calm myself, I said, “Yes, that’s true. But there’s no point thinking about it now.”
Letting my gaze drift over to the photograph, I stared at my parents.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to fulfil the vows I made,” I said hoarsely. “I’m going to kill her. And Balor.”
Lonan let out a long breath. Slowly, he said, “I saw him.”
My gaze snapped back to him. “Who? Balor?”
He nodded. A rush of protective anger made me tremble, almost made me jump up from the bed and grab my bow to go and find that piece of shit right then.
“How?” I bit out. “Where was he?”
Lonan cleared his throat. “I went for a walk last night and ended up near the forest.”
I stared at him, the anger melting into pure dread. “You… you weren’t going to go in, were you?”
“No.”
Swallowing, I reluctantly asked, “And… Balor was there?”
“Yes. Skulking at the edge of seelie land.”
“Why?” I whispered.
Lonan sighed, shifting to lean back against the headboard. He absentmindedly worried the sheet over his lap. “He wants me to help him kill our mother.”
I stared at him. “Balor wants to kill her?”
“He thinks he will become king.” Before I could ask, he added, “I didn’t tell him that it will be me. He probably wouldn’t have believed it if I had.”
Another wave of anger washed over me, this time on Lonan’s behalf. “They all underestimate you.”
He huffed without humour. “He called me their trained dog.”
My hands clenched into fists. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Or I will.” Black eyes, hard and cold, fixed on me. “He threatened your life. Said he was going to find a way to kill you, like you killed the Brid.”
