“What did he say to you?” Keelynn asked, taking my arm, allowing me to escort her into the fresh air.
“He made me swear not to bed you tonight.”
Tomorrow was a new day.
Tomorrow I could do what I did best.
And prove to her that the Gancanagh would be worth more to her alive.
10
Music and dancingfilled streets lit with blazing lanterns. More than a few couples snogged in dark corners. Scraps of lace and bits of ribbon hung from their cloak pockets.
Keelynn’s side pressed against mine. The way her head leaned toward my shoulder made me want to draw her closer. She stopped to watch a squatty fiddler. Sweat rolled down his weathered brow, splashing onto the strings.
“What do you suppose they’re celebrating?” she asked, bobbing on her toes to the reel.
“It’s Lughnasa.” My father’s favorite holiday, and one of the few Rían had been allowed to join when he was younger. We used to collect wood for our own bonfires and light them down on the shore. Eava always baked blackberry tarts for Lughnasa.
Mmmm. Blackberries sounded really good. Once I saw Keelynn to the inn, I’d head home straight away and see if there were any left in the kitchens.
“Isn’t that a pagan holiday?”Keelynn asked, still swaying to the music.
“It was centuries ago.” Lughnasa was for drinking and dallying and the like, all under the guise of celebrating a bountiful harvest. “Now it’s more of an excuse for a party than anything religious. I imagine there would’ve been some competitive games earlier in the week and from the looks of it, a handfasting or two as well.”
“I think all marriages should start as handfastings,” she muttered.
I found it hard to believe a woman like her approved of such casual relationships.“Really? And why is that?”
“Because sometimes people make mistakes,” she said with a shrug. “And it’s unfair for them to have to pay for those mistakes for the rest of their lives.”
I’d made mistakes—too many to count.
And I’d been paying the price for centuries.
“You truly believe that?” If I told her the truth, would she still feel the same? Or did her forgiveness only extend to humans? Did she think the “monsters,” as she’d called us, deserved our curses?
“I wouldn’t have been able to say it if I didn’t.”
“Right. Yes. Of course.”
Two people, cursed to tell the truth. What were the odds?
The dancers and musicians finished their heart-pounding reel, dispersing quickly, and yet all I wanted was to stand here and watch the lantern light play on the rich brown tones in Keelynn’s falling hair.
What was wrong with me? I was turning into a feckin’ simpleton.
“It’s late. We should go.”Before I did something incredibly stupid and ended up confessing the truth of who I was in search of some semblance of forgiveness. As long as she had that dagger, the truth needed to stay locked inside. Once I got her to the castle, she’d see for herself.
Inside the inn, a man sat on a creaky rocking chair, nursing what looked like a bad case of gout. His jawless face twisted into a derisive sneer, making it clear I was in for trouble. Before I had a chance to open my mouth, he started spouting some nonsense about denyingthat thinga room.
“Lucky for me, we’ve already organized rooms,” I told the hateful toad. “Give us the keys so we can be on our way.”
The bastard indicated one of the signs above him about credit.
“I’m not asking for credit.” To prove it, I shifted a purse, pretending to drag it from my coat.
The man’s eyes widened even as he snorted and shoved a stack of fliers aside.