Page 5 of Throne of Dreams
He knew. He took up the room next to hers after Lir returned with her from the Spring Court. He heard her cries and sensed her restlessness. She faced her demons in her sleep, and nightmares from her past haunted her.
“There are some things I’d rather forget,” she continued. When the tension finally eased from her body, Tiernan let his hands fall away from her.
“Such as?”
She rubbed her lips together and his gaze dropped to her mouth. “Like all the times I was thrown into the cage and tormented as a child. All the times I was afraid.”
“Those memories shaped you into who you are today. They’ve made you stronger. You learned to fight because of them, Maeve.” He reached through the waves and just barely allowed his knuckles to graze her fingers. She didn’t seem to notice, or mind for that matter.
She shook her head and strands of hair clung to her cheeks. “No. I learned to fight because Casimir taught me. Because it was necessary.”
At the mention of the Drakon’s name, Tiernan captured her chin and tilted her face up to his. Even after the removal of her cuffs, the top of her head barely reached his collar bone. She was rather short for a female fae, but he preferred her that way. There was nothing about her he wanted to change, other than the desire for her to let him in, to have her realize he wasn’t her villain.
“No. You wereborna warrior. You were born the High Princess of Autumn, the daughter of a fearless king and a merciful queen. And you, Maeve Ruhdneah,” he used her true name, her birthright, “will never fear again.”
Her damp lashes fluttered, and she lifted her eyes to him. “What if you’re wrong?”
The words came out as a whisper. Soft, like the petals of the first summer rose, and he ignored the tug in his chest.
“I’m never wrong.”
In one swift movement, she pulled her chin from his grasp. “It’s more than just the cage. And fear. It’s other things, too.”
“Fearghal?”
“No,” she spat, and a delightful sort of vengeance gripped her lovely features. “I want to remember him. I want to recall every vile thing he did to me in that godsforsaken dungeon, so that when I kill him, I’ll enjoy every second of it.”
Tiernan couldn’t help it.“Good girl.”He slid the words into her mind in a low, rumbling growl.
Fire sparked from the tips of her fingers. The water sizzled for only a moment, but she didn’t scold him for slipping into her thoughts. Defiance danced around her, fiery and wicked and wonderful. “It’s Rowan.”
Tiernan rocked back on his heels. The name of the fallen fae had been the last thing he’d expected her to say. “You don’t want to remember Rowan?”
“I do, but there are some memories I would rather forget.”
Intrigue got the best of him, as it often did when it came to her. “Such as?”
She pressed her lips together in a thin, mocking smile. “That’s really none of your concern, my lord.”
She was right. Whatever she wanted to forget about Rowan was none of his business. Yet just knowing the male fae had kissed her, touched her, was enough to make him rip through the realms, find the asshole, and kill him all over again. Fury simmered beneath the surface of his skin. The urge to wreck and ruin, to completelydestroy, burned like fire in his soul, hotter and brighter than any flame Maeve could throw his way.
He took a slow, steadying breath and clenched his fists twice for good measure, forcing the overwhelming urge back down to the deepest and darkest part of him. He couldn’t be too angry with Rowan. After all, he was the one who had saved Maeve’s life, just as Ceridwen knew he would. The vision had come to his twin not long after Maeve’s arrival in Niahvess, though it wasn’t completely clear. It had been blurry and sudden, leaving his sister breathless. Knowing Rowan’s fate was somehow entwined with Maeve’s survival was the only reason Tiernan ever left her alone with him, even if it had caused him more torment than he cared to admit.
“If you truly want to forget, then I’ll see what I can do about finding a memory keeper.” Though he sincerely hoped she would change her mind.
Maeve ducked her head and her hair fell around her like a silken waterfall. “Thank you.”
Tiernan smirked. Despite being fully fae, she still possessed so many adorable mortal qualities.
“You know,” he drawled, determined to maintain his reputation as a cocky High King so she wouldn’t get any ideas and he wouldn’t feel inclined to indulge her, “you could erase all of your memories of him. And let me replace them with some new ones.”
His offensive comment elicited the desired response.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She was wildfire, and Tiernan was drawn to her, unable to stay away.
“Very much.”
Maeve whipped around and moved through the lagoon back to the shore. Drops of water fell from her hair and glided down her bare back. With every step, her hips swayed, drawing his attention to the sweet curve of her ass. There, her skin was smooth and flawless. There were no scars. No tattoos. It was the one area of her body Fearghal had not touched with his nightshade-dipped blade, the only thing that could scar a fae.
