“Stay with me.”
She looked me dead in the eye, without a flicker of warmth, and said, “I’m choosing not to.”
I wouldn’t beg. Not for her. Not for anyone. Besides, what good would it do? She’d be dead tomorrow. Gone forever. I called on my magic reserves, evanescing back into her bedroom. She let me go the moment we arrived.
I should have gone. I should have left and said good riddance.Instead, I lied and said that I was only trying to help, when I knew the only person I had been trying to help was myself.
Aveen threw the pillows aside and drew down her coverlet. “Thank you for tonight,” she clipped, ignoring my plea entirely.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say to me?”
“You got your ride. What more do you want?”
I want you, you beautiful, stubborn, infuriating woman. Nothing more, nothing less. Every smile, every frown. Every mood. Every inch.
Instead of saying any of that, I left.
16
Why hadn’tI kept my mouth shut?
That question—along with countless others—swam through my mind for the rest of the night and the entirety of the following day. I’d barely been able to haul myself from bed to bathe and put on clean clothes. This was what happened when you let yourself feel things. You’d think I’d know better by now considering everything that had happened in my life. But no. I had to go and let that infernal human give me hope.
Someone pounded on my door. “Are you ready yet?” Tadhg bellowed from the other side.
There was no sense delaying the inevitable. I fastened the final button on my black waistcoat and glamoured myself to look like the ambassador, doing my best to take on the air of a man entirely unaffected by what was about to happen. Robert would undoubtedly be by Aveen’s side all feckin’ night, looking proud as punch despite being a pathetic shit. He’d dance with her. Touch her.Kissher.
You don’t care.
Youdon’tcare.
With the lie pounding through my skull, I tore open the door, finding Tadhg in a pair of clean breeches, a shirt missing no buttons, and a dark waistcoat that looked semi-clean.The most confusing part of all was what he had tied around his neck. “You’re wearing a cravat.”
He shifted his weight, tucking his hands into his pockets. “So?”
“So, you never wear cravats.” Sure, he wore them draped around his neck like a scarf or stuffed into his pocket. One time I saw him using one as a handkerchief to clean rouge stains from his lips and throat. Tonight, he’d tied it properly.
“This is a special occasion, is it not? Or would you prefer I look like a homeless beggar for your lady love?” he said with a smile that was all too innocent. Tadhg was anything but innocent. He was up to something.
If I were being honest, I would’ve preferred him looking like a homeless beggar. With Aveen’s affection for me at an all-time low, there was nothing stopping her from considering my brother a genuine contender for her affections.
“Let’s get this over with.” Maybe I could find the witch who’d cursed Tadhg and ask if she could curse me as well to keep him from having to kiss my—
“Such a foul mood, brother. Nice glamour, by the way.” Tadhg poked my cheek like the child he was. “Who are you supposed to be? Lord Stick-up-his-arse?”
I bit back my retort, reminding myself that, as much as I loathed him, I needed him as well. I could always kill him tomorrow.
Out beyond the wards, Tadhg offered me his hand, wiggling his fingers when I didn’t immediately accept. Being so weak never seemed to bother him in the slightest. Why did he need to be powerful with me at his side? His people loved him, weak or not.
We reached my spot in the trees, walking across dewy grass to where a line of carriages had been parked. Coachmen chatted and laughed amongst themselves. Every time a horse stomped its hoof or huffed a breath, Tadhg jumped. Eventually, we reached the house, where muffled music bled through the closed doors.
Tadhg went to take the first step, until I caught the back of his shirt. “You are not following me in there,” I told him. Aveen would have my head, and I didn’t need him spending more time with her than necessary.
He scowled at the house, then back at me. “Where do you expect me to go?”
“Wait for her in the garden.”
“Ah, here now. I just want to have a little fun. You can tell your friends I’m your cousin from up north or some shite.”