Keelynn glanced down at the blue silk that hugged every blessed inch of her. The skirtswishedquietly when she gave it a slight shake. “Rían gave it to me.”
The bastard grinned from across the dining room.
“You are free to do as you please, of course. But I would appreciate it if you did not flaunt your relationship with my brother so blatantly in my face.” All I’d gone through to get her here, and he was the one who benefitted.
Her brows drew together. “I wasn’t—I didn’t mean—”
I refused to listen to her excuses. She couldn’t help the way she felt. Rían had saved her from ruination. Of course she would feel some sort of gratitude toward him. Perhaps she had even learned to love him at one point in those months they’d spent married. I’d been grateful for her forgiving nature before. As I walked away, I cursed it.
Rían didn’t deserve her forgiveness. He didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as my wife—and if he didn’t stop smirking, I was going to make sure he stopped breathing altogether.
I took my seat at the head of the table, giving Shona a tight smile before shifting dinner for the rest of us. I could barely stomach the food, but if I didn’t eat, I’d only make myself weaker than I already was. I reached for my wine but couldn’t bring myself to drink any. It wouldn’t help. Nothing would. And waking up with a hangover would only extend my misery into tomorrow.
Shona chatted about the children she and her wife had adopted. Four in total. I feigned a smile and nodded, only half listening.
Daithi and Daragh had come to discuss the possibilities of shipping goods from the fae in Iodale. Keelynn remained quiet in her seat next to my brother. When she finished, he escorted her into the hall and up the stairs.
The wine was there. Full and within reach. Begging me to take a drink.
Just one.
No.
No.
One would lead to two, and two would lead to an entire feckin’ bottle. And with a bottle of wine onboard, there was no telling what I’d end up doing or where I’d end up going or whose bed I’d end up waking in.
My head started pounding. I couldn’t do this anymore. Between dying and coming back and dealing with the Danú and my brother’s betrayal, it was all too much.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Shona, “but I need to get some air.”
The selkie smiled, her dark eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight. “Not a bother. I’m exhausted anyway. Will I take my usual room?”
“That would be fine. Daithi and Daragh, you’re more than welcome to whatever drink is in the parlor. My brother will be down shortly to join you.” After he finished with mywife.
I escaped outside, raking my hands through my hair. The wards made the air thick, too hard to breathe. At least the sound of the sea made me feel a bit better.
Dammit.
I finally had the chance to make things right between us. Our journey had finally come to an end, and Rían—
Someone called my name. It sounded like . . .
Keelynn?
I evanesced to where my former wife stood at the entrance of the maze, hair unbound. My fingers itched to comb through her glossy waves, to drag her against me, to lose myself in her. “What is it?” Scanning the darkness, I found only hedges and shadows. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes, something is terribly wrong.” She caught the ends of my waistcoat, drawing me closer.
“Tell me. Was it Rían? I swear, if he didanythingto harm you, I’ll run him through and lock his corpse in an iron casket for all of eternity.” He’d deserve every bit of it. For harming her. For marrying her. For stealing her away.
“I haven’t seen Rían since dinner. In all honesty, I’d be happy never seeing him again.”
Hold on . . . Was she . . . Was she being truthful?
“Nothinghappened, Tadhg. Between your brother and me, I mean. Yes, I kissed him to make Robert jealous, but we didn’t have arealmarriage. He was barely around, and when hewasaround, we didn’t see each other. And he insisted on sleeping in his own chambers.”
“The two of you didn’t . . .” I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud, even as my heart swelled.