Page 41 of Light and Shadow
“I hope I won’t disappoint them. I’m just a girl from Jersey. I’m no hero.” Her breath is more shudder.
We take a few steps. “You’re absolutely perfect,mo chroi.”
Her legs are weak, and the going is slow, but we walk into camp hand in hand, and she smiles at the elves and even says hello to a few who smile at her.
She is the definition of strength, and she doesn’t even know it.
Back on the short rise in the grass, she lies with her head on the little blanket I brought from her world. With a long exhale, she closes her eyes.
Someone left a worn comb with two teeth missing. A wooden cup steams next to it with the scent of camomhail leaves wafting up. My mother made the luibhe tì whenever were sick as children. All those memories of hard times and simpler times waft through my mind.
Surrounding the camp, Jax and his men are evenly spaced, keeping watch.
Confident that we are safe for the moment, I slip in behind her, wrap my arm around her, and take her hand.
She hugs my arm close to her chest. “She will come looking for me, won’t she?”
There’s no point in hiding the truth from her. “After her failed attempts to understand human magic and what happened today, she’ll be even more keen to capture you.”
“Should we find another way, and let Jax take these people across the sea without me? They might be safer if I am far away.”
I consider it, and I cannot deny her logic. Still… “No. We’ll all stay together. You will be Venora’s main target, but she will want her slaves back or dead. She won’t want them to reach my mother. I think she’d kill them rather than let them get to the western continent of Siar Fàilte. She’ll want you alive, and staying together might keep her from destroying the others.”
The fire smolders as she sighs. “I don’t want anyone to die because of me.”
I hold her more secure. “We would all die to save this world, and you are necessary to that end.”
“Is that why you came for me?” She shakes her head and releases my hand. “Don’t answer that. I’m just feeling vulnerable and sad. It was a stupid question.”
Not letting her pull away, I kiss her damp hair. “I think we should try to comb your hair before you sleep.”
With a long sigh, she sits up and picks up the brown comb.
I sip the tea, and deeming it made from healing herbs that grow wild, I hand it to her as I take the comb. “Drink this. It will ease your sore muscles.”
Sitting with her back to me, she does as I tell her with an indignant huff that makes joy flare inside me. Hurt, sad, and a little broken, my Harper will recover. I know it because I can’t bear a world where she doesn’t.
One small bit at a time, I begin detangling the damp mess. When I hit a knot, I ease the strands apart as gently as possible. “I promised to keep you safe. I broke that promise, but I’ll never leave you in harm’s way, Harper. Domhan needs you, that’s true. It would be a lie to deny that I would have had to try to find and recover you no matter what.”
Her shoulders stiffen.
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t destroy me when Venora took you. The needs of this world are one thing, and my own feelings are something different. Don’t you know whatmo chroimeans?”
She draws in a long breath with a shake, and her back rises then falls. “I know it meansmy heart.”
“So then you know how I feel.” I run the comb through the left side of her hair, which is now tangle free.
“In my world, people call each other names like sweetheart and hon all the time. Sometimes it means you like a person, and other times it’s just to be nice or get someone’s attention.” She toys with the ends of her hair and adjusts her seat to give mebetter access to her right side. In the dimming firelight, her skin looks flushed and warm.
I lower my chin to whisper in her ear. “I would not use the elvish term so lightly. I call youmo chroibecause without you, I would be empty.”
She jerks away and winces before looking over her shoulder and meeting my gaze. “I’m human.”
“I’m aware.” I smile. “Let me finish your hair.”
After a pause, she turns away again. “I will go back to my home and my mother when this is done.”
Even though this is not new information, it still hurts. “When that time comes, I will have to deal with it.”
