Page 67 of Throne of Dreams
“I went into Niahvess today.” His hands coiled into fists and he forced himself to relax. “I tried to find an oath breaker.”
Silence descended upon them.
Lir leaned forward first and steepled his hands together. “Maeve. She bears your mark now.”
“Yes.” Tiernan confirmed his suspicions.
“Shit.” Brynn’s eyes darted around them, and her nails dug into the fabric of the sofa. A line of apprehension formed across her brow. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“No,” Tiernan agreed. “It wasn’t.”
He wasn’t worthy of the one fated to him. He never intended to bind himself to another, and certainly not through a mating bond, because he knew his time was finite. His days had been numbered since he made that deal with the god of death. Eventually, Aed would return, and when he did, he would takeeverythingfrom Tiernan. His magic. His power. His life.
“Were you able to find one?” Merrick stretched his legs out, crossing one ankle over the other. “An oath breaker?”
“Not exactly.” Tiernan recalled venturing into the part of Niahvess that wasn’t quite as pretty as the rest of the city. The area shrouded in shadows, where magic of a darker nature was discussed in whispers, where those who dared to show their faces went only out of desperation. “It was a fae who specializes in verbatim.”
Meaning, he could help Tiernan work around his deal with the god of death, but for now, there was no way to break their bargain.
“Have you told Maeve?” Merrick asked.
“Have I told her what?”
“Any of it?” He gestured vaguely around the room. “All of it?”
“No.”
Brynn jolted upright. “Why the hell not?”
“And what, exactly, do you suggest I tell her?” Tiernan cut through the tension simmering between them.
“The truth,moh Rí.” Brynn crossed her arms and agitation rolled off her in thick waves. “She deserves to know. It could make things…easier.”
A ridiculous notion. “I don’t see how.”
“If she doesn’t yet know the magnitude of the situation,” Lir began, choosing his words carefully, “it will be all the more devastating for her.”
“That’s a good point. You’ve already told her about the mating bond between the two of you.” Merrick tucked his hands behind his head. “Just expand on everything that implies.”
“No.” Tiernan stood then, firm in his convictions. “I won’t have her living in fear for my life.”
Brynn fumed and scowled at him. “You can’t keep her in the dark.”
Anger bubbled beneath the surface of Tiernan’s skin. She had no idea the depths he would venture to protect Maeve from harm. But telling her the truth, telling her about his vow with the god of death, could end everything he’d worked so hard to preserve.
“I’m not keeping her in the dark. I’m protecting her.”
“You’re deceiving her.” She shot to her feet, face flushed with frustration, and her eyes sparked to a deep shade of crimson. “How do you think Maeve will feel when she uncovers the truth? When she learns you’ve been lying to her and keeping secrets from her, just as Casimir and Rowan did?”
Thunder erupted around them. It cracked so loudly, the glass doors leading to the balcony rattled in their frames. “Youdarecompare me to them?”
She fisted her hands on her hips. “Explain to me how what you’re doing is any different!”
“Hey now, easy does it.” Merrick jumped to his feet, separating the two of them. The air roiled with the threat of violence as their tempers flared. “Let’s take a step back.” He shot Brynn a hasty look. “Breathe.”
Brynn glared at Tiernan. Fury radiated from her. His strongest healer and third-in-command held his stare for minute after agonizing minute, until finally conceding. “She deserves to know.”
“I promise to tell her.” Tiernan softened his tone. “Eventually.”
