Keelynn blinked rapidly. If that man made my fiancée cry, I was going to make an example out of him. It had been far too long since we’d had prisoners chained in the dungeon. Rían certainly wouldn’t have any qualms over torturing a few people after what had happened last night.
“Was there anything else you needed, or did you just wish to meet my beautiful fiancée?”
He looked as if he wanted to give some snide response but seemed to hold himself back. A smart choice. “The ground near my cottage has gone black, rotting my cabbage and tomatoes. Not a plant has been spared by the blight. Thought ye might like to know, seein’ as ye’ve been too busy to come ‘round.”
Thinly veiled insults were far easier to tolerate when they were directed at me. “You’re not the only one suffering. See Eava around the back for a portion of rations. I will be around to shift your cottage this afternoon.”
His hands flexed at his sides. “That land’s been in my family fer generations. I’ll not be leaving.”
“Until we find a way to stop the blight, relocating those affected is our only option.”
With a loud harrumph, he stomped past Oscar and into the hallway. The slamming door echoed around the exposed beams. If people were going to be like this, I wasn’t above canceling my Friday sessions. With the blight consuming more land every day, I had more important things to do than deal with these ungrateful wretches.
“I’m sorry,” Keelynn murmured. Although her shoulders remained stiff, her eyes reminded me of rain clouds about to spill over.
Seeing her so forlorn left my chest breaking open. I reached for her hand once more to brush my thumb over her pale knuckles. “First, you’ve nothing to be sorry about. Second, once they get to know you and, more importantly, learn to trust you, they will love you as much as I do. If you recall, I didn’t like you very much at first either.”
A reluctant smile played at the corners of her lips. “That’s only because I wanted to murder you.”
The memory of our first encounter still made my stomach flutter. She’d truly despised me and yet she’d saved me in every way a man could be saved.
Rían strode in a moment later. When he saw Keelynn on his throne, his eyes widened. She made to rise, but I stopped her with a hand on her knee.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, shifting a chair from the dining room set to the other side of the dais.
Last I heard, he wasn’t coming at all. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s Friday, isn’t it?” He ran a hand down his wrinkled waistcoat. Normally I would’ve made fun of him for the sorry state of his clothes, but considering all that had happened, he could use the break.
“Yes, but I didn’t expect you to come today.”
“I could do with the distraction.” The way his hand shook as he raked his fingers through his hair undermined his confident tone. “Oscar, you may send in the next person.”
With a nod, the old grogoch disappeared. Cormac, the pooka with the braids, strolled in, two more broad-shouldered men trailing behind.
“We heard about what happened at The Arches,” Cormac said when he reached the foot of the dais.
Icy dread twisted in my gut. It was only a matter of time before word got around. “What happened in Gaul was a terrible tragedy.”
Their expressions darkened with their frowns. “Our brother lost everything,” the one to the right said.
“And I have offered Lorcan and his wife funds to help rebuild.” Lorcan had thanked me but had ultimately decided to take some time to consider the best options for his family. With Deirdre carrying his little one, I couldn’t blame him. If only there were some way to get her across the Forest so the two of them could raise their child in peace. Then again, with this feckin’ blight, I wasn’t sure how long this peace would last.
“That’s not good enough,” Cormac growled. “You need to find the bastards responsible—”
“He did find them,” Rían drawled from his chair, picking at his nails as if this conversation bored him to tears. “They have been dealt with.”
The revelation seemed to take some of the wind out of the man’s sails. But then his narrowed yellow eyes landed on Keelynn. His fangs flashed, but there was nothing friendly about his smile. “What of the blight?”
These questions were getting monotonous. Maybe I should make a sign and hang it on the gates. “Dealing with the blight is our top priority.”
His sneer grew. “That’s not what I hear.”
Rían leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees as he smiled at our visitors. Who knew a smile could be so feckin’ unnerving?
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” I asked, more than ready to move them on.
“No, myprince. You’ve proven yourself as useless as ever.” He left without so much as a bow or tip of his head.