“It’s a feckin’ brilliant name. Think of the fluffiest thing you’ve ever seen, then multiply it by ten. That’s how fluffy his paws were.”
My tears spilled free, soaking into the soft cotton of his shirt. I tried to imagine a little dark-haired boy running around Tearmann with a ball of fluff bounding behind him, chasing butterflies and swatting at bits of long, swaying grass.
“One time, I glamoured myself to look like my father. Nearly got me into a very awkward situation with Tadgh’s mam.”
“Tadhg’smother?” I sniffled. Not his. That seemed like a strange distinction to make.
Rían gathered my wet hair from my neck, spreading it across the pillow. “He’s only my half-brother. Same philandering father. Different mothers.”
My father, for all his failings, had been faithful to our mother. As far as I knew, he hadn’t so much as looked at another woman since my mother had passed.
“Could you make yourself look like me?” I asked, feeling some of the frost begin to melt.
Rían’s chuckle vibrated against my cheek. “If I did that, I’d want to touch myself all the time. I’d never get anything done.”
A little more frost disappeared. “You are ridiculous.”
“Only for you.”
I knew he was trying to distract me. It may be working now, but he couldn’t keep talking all night. At some point, the dark memories lurking in the recesses of my mind would drag me back to that cursed Forest.
Today, I was lucky Rían had found me.
What about tomorrow? Or the next day?
He couldn’t be with me all the time. If anyone ever attacked me again, I needed to be able to protect myself.
“Rían? I want a—”
A heavy knock interrupted my request for a dagger.
Rían extricated himself, stalking to the door.
I didn’t need to see him to recognize the deep cadence of Tadhg’s lilting voice.
A moment later, the door clicked closed. Rían turned, a somber expression on his face. “You need to get dressed. Quickly.” Before I could ask why, he said, “We’re having a trial.”
* * *
They caught them already.
That was all I could think as I changed into the dress Rían had shifted.
It hadn’t even taken them an hour.
With my hand in his, Rían brought me downstairs, keeping his thoughts locked away behind steely blue eyes. He’d refused to tell me their names. Refused to tell me anything other than, “It’ll be all right.”
We ended up in the study, surrounded by volumes of Tearmann Law. Would he call one forth today or did he already know the punishment for kidnapping? The door built into the paneling between the bookshelves had been left ajar.
I heard Tadhg speaking in a congenial tone, discussing the weather with someone. Then I heard a second voice. A voice I recognized.
Rían studied me, an unreadable expression on his face. “You know who she is.”
It wasn’t a question.
He held out a hand. “I need you to come with me.”
“I can’t.” I retreated toward the desk. If I saw this person, my mind would end up right back in that forest. I wanted to hide in Rían’s room and pretend that none of this had happened. Let them deal with the perpetrators how they saw fit. Leave me out of it.