Page 11 of Realm of Nightmares
“Tell me what’s wrong.” He kept his tone soft, but stern. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s bothering you.”
“Yes, but you shouldn’t have to help me, Tier.” She spread her arms wide in exasperation. “You’re recovering. You had magictornfrom inside you. Certainly, I can handle a few daunting visions all by myself.”
Being a seer had always held a strange sort of power over her. He assumed it was because it wasn’t something she could control. They happened on a whim, usually without warning, and oftentimes left her disoriented.
“Do you want to talk about them?”
“Not right now. Another time. You should try to eat something.”She waved off his concern, then gave him a once-over.
“We’re having biscuits with raspberry cream,” she added, and her smile was too wide. “Your favorite.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “You knew I’d wake up today.”
She shrugged, nonchalant. “A lucky guess.”
“Alright.” He was grateful she was somewhat back to her cheerful self. The first few days after Maeve’s departure, she’d been a ghost, hollow and empty. It terrified him.
He offered her his arm. “Let’s eat.”
Their pace was leisurely as they strolled toward the balcony overlooking the Lismore Marin, where they usually dined. Without the sun, a mist had settled in over the ocean, the color so much like Maeve’s eyes.
It was a punch to the gut.
Tiernan rolled his shoulders back, determined not to display any sort of weakness, especially when he walked out onto the terracotta balcony to find Lir, Merrick, and Brynn already there. They stood at once, greeting him in unison.
“Your Grace.”
“Please.” He held up one hand. “No formalities today.”
Once everyone was seated, he realized he was the only one making any sort of effort to eat. Brynn stared downward, gnawing her bottom lip. Merrick was watching him, every muscle tense, as though waiting for Tiernan to do something irrational, like pass out or vomit. And Lir simply sat there, as silent and stoic as ever.
The atmosphere wasn’t the same without her. It was weighted. Strained. And everyone knew it.
“So…” Merrick glanced around the small table. “Is Maeve well?”
Brynn groaned and rolled her eyes to the overcast sky. “You couldn’t at least let us get him to eat something before you asked?”
Merrick’s gaze flicked over to her. “She’s one of us, Brynn. We all miss her.”
At this, Brynn dropped her head. Her burgundy curls concealed her face from view and poked at the biscuit on her plate with a jeweled dagger. “I know.”
Uncomfortable silence fell between them once more. He wouldn’t dare tell them that the last time he spoke with Maeve, she’d been pleasuring herself while he spurred her on.
Tiernan ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back, and chose his next words carefully. “She trains daily,” he said, remembering his conversation with Aed. “With Rowan.”
Ceridwen’s fork clattered against a porcelain dish, Merrick rocked back in his seat, and Brynn’s head snapped up.
It was Lir who spoke first. “He lives?”
“Apparently.” Tiernan didn’t know whether Rowan was alive within the Ether like Maeve, or if he was only a soul whose fate had not yet been determined. But if he had to guess, given the way the god of death spoke about them, he would assume it was the former.
“Are you alright?”Ceridwen’s soft voice flitted through his thoughts.
“I’ll manage.”It was all he could do at this point.
“Maeve loves you.”
“My lack of trust does not lie with her.”He would never doubt Maeve’s fidelity to him.“It’s with Rowan.”
