Although she laughed, there was no mirth to the sound. Those men had bad news written all over their scowling faces. Perhaps it had been a good idea to send us away. Still, I hated sitting around like a bump on a bloody log.
I nudged my shoulder against Keelynn’s. “How are you faring?”
She plucked a piece of hay from the bottom of her skirts and threw it aside. “I knew the night would end with me locked in a room but had assumed my darling husband would be locked inside with me.”
Not exactly the visual I wanted in my mind right now. We needed to talk about something else.
“Rían asked me to marry him,” I confessed in a voice barely above a whisper. And the disappointment on his face when I turned him down would live in my mind forever. While I meant what I’d said about my thoughts on marriage, the full truth was that I couldn’t commit to anyone or anything while the bargain with Caden loomed over my head. I should’ve told him before. Now it was too late. Tomorrow morning, I would slip away and spend the rest of my days trying to get back to him.
Keelynn’s eyes widened. “He did?”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes when I nodded. This should have been one of the happiest days of my life—my sister had gotten married, and the man I loved had proposed. Instead, I felt as empty and hollow as this tower.
“What did you say?”
I ran a finger beneath my eyes to clear some of the dampness. “I told him I couldn’t.”
“Because of his mother?”
I shook my head. A wrinkle formed between Keelynn’s delicate eyebrows as she assessed me. I didn’t want to ruin her day but had learned my lesson about leaving without saying goodbye. Once Tadhg returned, I had a feeling he wouldn’t let his new wife out of his sight. They’d be holed up in his room for the rest of the night—and probably most of the morning as well.
“But you love him,” she said.
If only our lives were that simple and love could be enough. More tears spilled free, rolling in warm streaks down my cheeks. Each time I scrubbed them with the heels of my hands, more tumbled out, taking their place. “I love him so much, it hurts.”
Her arms came around me, and she pulled me close. “Then why did you turn him down?”
I buried my head in the crook of her neck, unable to bring myself to look her in the eye when I made my confession. “Because I made a mistake and cannot move forward until I have fixed it.”
“We’ve all made mistakes, Aveen. Your life doesn’t have to be perfect for you to find happiness.”
Now for the part that would hurt the most. “I’m leaving.”
She drew back, her face a mask of concern as she searched mine. “What do you mean you’re leaving? Where are you going?”
“To Iodale.”
“What’s in Iodale?”
“Caden Merriweather.”
“As intheCaden Merriweather? The man you—”
I squeezed her hand, keeping her from saying any more. I couldn’t bear to hear her speak my mistakes aloud. “The very same.”
“I don’t understand. Are the two of you together?”
“God, no. I haven’t thought about him since I met Rían. But when Caden returned to Airren, he found me and called in my bargain to leave the island with him.” Holding me to promises I wasn’t sure I’d ever meant to keep.
“He’s fae?” she gasped.
All I could do was nod and hang my head.
Keelynn remained quiet for the longest time before taking me by the shoulders and turning me to face her. “This isn’t the end of the world. We simply must find a loophole. What were the terms?”
“I promised to leave Airren with him, that much I remember.” Her lips pressed flat with disapproval. What a terrible role model I had turned out to be. “But in my defense, I didn’t know he was fae or that he would hold me to my promise. We sail from Hollowshade on the morning tide.”
Her grip on my shoulders tightened. “How long ago did this happen?”