Page 78 of Broken Veil
A voice called from the trees. “I heard that.”
“Christ, he’s scary sometimes,” Duncan muttered.
Carys couldn’t help but check on Lachlan again; he seemed to be moving on autopilot. His face was locked down, and his normally bright eyes were fixed firmly on the ground.
“Stop it.” Duncan squeezed her hand.
She turned her face forward. “I’m not doing anything.”
“It’s bad enough that he…” Duncan shook his head. “No, I’m not going to discuss this. Not when we’re both tired and hungry.”
“Fine.” She didn’t want to talk about it anyway.
Didn’t want to talk about her fears that the voice in her head might come back.
Didn’t want to talk about how hard it had been to let Lachlan go when he was so very vulnerable.
Didn’t want to talk about the weird stab of jealousy in her chest when she saw Lachlan’s haunted eyes.
It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter. You’re in love with Duncan.
She was in love with Duncan. He was an absolute rock and the one thing that seemed to make sense in this absolute fever dream that had become her life.
She loved Duncan.
And her feelings for Lachlan were complicated, but nothing was going to change the fact that she had made her choice. And that choice was holding her hand and holding her up when she was ready to fall over.
“Nêrys.” Cadell spoke from behind her. “You need to rest.”
“And you need to eat.” She kept trudging along the path, and her spirits lifted when she saw a thin stream of smoke over the trees.
“Mary lit the fire,” Duncan murmured. “We’re almost home.”
Carys glanced over her shoulder. “Hey guys, Duncan was just saying we should stay a day at his house.”
Cadell nodded. “The surly human is not wrong.”
Laura raised a hand. “I vote rest and recover too.”
“The Morrígan?—”
“Is not going anywhere,” Naida added. “Whatever havoc she is causing at the moment will not be made better if the hero chosen to defeat her runs out of energy.”
The hero chosen to defeat the Morrígan.
A daughter of a Brightkin and a Shadowkin who could walk through worlds.
Seren could walk through worlds too.
Carys reached back in her memory to the voice that had stayed with her through battle. The voice that had been as familiar as her own.You never came to look for me,she mused in her own mind as she walked on the path toward the house.Why not? Duncan told me you crossed the gates, but you never came to look for me.
Who says I didn’t?
Carys froze.
“Carys?” Duncan shook her hand. “What’s wrong?”
Her heart raced in her chest. “Nothing.”
