Thaddeus stared at him, his tongue heavy, his throat dry. Cael’s smile grew as his silence stretched. As he struggled to form an excuse. Cael snickered.
“As I suspected.”
“Nonsense.” Thaddeus shrugged him away with a scowl and turned back to the ocean view. “Áiféiseach.”
“It’s not absurd. You know, brother.” Cael mirrored Thaddeus’s braced position against the railing, following his gaze out to the endless water, shimmering beneath the moonlight, waves lapping along the sand. “Things aren’t as bad as we believe. The last time we spoke, after you began your affair with the evil princess, was unpleasant. You’d already changed, becoming her slave. She’d taken a pure heart and poisoned it, molding and forming some demented version of a man who held worlds of promise for our kind.
“Back in the day, I remember eavesdropping on our father when he’d have meetings with Shaye’s father to fill him in on the happenings of Court. Despite his exile, our parents worked closely to provide continued support to the Court, to Dagda, and our people. The way they would praise you and Shaye, the whispered hopes and anticipation they both held for the two of you was enlightening. Promising. You two together could have been a powerhouse of new heights for all Fae races. Yet a manipulative princess came along and drove a world between you, and for what? She created a monster out of a kind, gentle, humble man to do her bidding while pining after a man of the very race she wanted to destroy. One you once would have laid down your life to protect. If you ask me, she got what she deserved in the end.”
Thaddeus fought the memories his brother stirred awake inside his mind. Those of simpler times, before Daeanna. Before Court politics. Before reality turned him jaded and hard. Memories from a time long since lost, relationshipsdestroyed, and bridges burned beyond repair. He would not linger on what could have been. Only on what lay ahead, in the short time he had left.
He was no fool to believe he’d live a long, happy life. He’d signed his own death warrant willingly…at the time. For a woman who never truly loved him as he had her, and left him for dead amidst dust and smoke. If he allowed himself to accept the truth, ’twas as the world faded around him, struck through by twin arrows launched by a man who might have been an ally had Fate led him down a different path, he realized she would always abandon him for Shaye.
He’d saved her from exile and she delivered him to the hands of Death without remorse.
Oh, how blinded he had been by her sweet promises, whispered wonders, and timeless beauty. The gratification ofthinkinghe’d gained an upper hand over Shaye when ’twas he, Thaddeus, who had lost everything the instant he accepted Daeanna’s invitation.
“Will you share with me why they targeted me of all the Seelie roaming this realm?” Cael asked quietly, breaking the silence that had settled between them. “I have a feeling it’s not as simple as my affair with Cassy.”
“Nay. ’Tis not.” Thaddeus refused to divulge more. His suspicion from the moment Grison set him on this task strengthened with clarity. ’Twas not Cael. ’Twas Thaddeus. A test of loyalty to Daeanna while being used by Grison.
Deception.
He’d barely caught the way his mouth curled in a cold grin when Cael groaned. “And you’d rather keep the reasons to yourself instead of sharing with your brother, I see.”
“I’ve my reasons.”
“Let’s switch topics. What are you going to do about Rori?”
Thaddeus cut his attention to Cael. His brother smiled knowingly as a stark vision of the little mortal filled his mind. Those wounds and the darkness that had consumed him. The feel of soft flesh as he tormented her beneath his touch to hide his healing of her bruise. The faint floral scent of her hair. The fire in her eyes despite the fear she fought to close away in his presence. Goddess, the vision didn’t stop there, but rewound to the day in her bedroom. The tight little top that hugged a petite figure. Lithe legs as smooth and pale as the rest of her skin.
His cock gave a startling jerk. Warmth flooded his groin.
“Well, I’ll be damned. I don’t think I’ve ever seen youblush, Thad. Didn’t think it was possible for the cold-hearted golden beast.”
Thaddeus bared his teeth with a hiss and spun away from the balcony, returning to the living quarters. Cael clamored at his heels, his laughter taunting Thaddeus with each step. He’d made it to the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. Cael quickly hushed. Thaddeus cast him a curious look.
“Cassy,” Cael said.
“Should I chaperone?”
Cael chuckled, leaning into Thaddeus. “Is that your kink?” When Thaddeus furrowed his brows in honest confusion, Cael knocked him in the shoulder and headed toward the door. “Goddess, I need to teach you the ways of this world on the fast track.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
With a flick of his hand, Thaddeus sifted out of Cael’s home.
He needed to work through this new layer of turmoil and confusion, and ’twas best to do it alone.
10
One night. Get through one night.
A poignant emotional concoction of paranoia, exhaustion, worry, and guilt tormented her throughout the night. Her mind refused to rest, running wild scenarios and previous events constantly, without so much as a fade-out between each reel. The sickening replay of Rich’s assault. The overwhelming encounter with Thaddeus. The questions left unanswered by Cael when he’d brought her to her car, a fury-infused and fear-matted mess. She couldn’t sleep, even though she knew in her heart she was safe. For one night, at least. The only person who knew she hid in a hotel room half an hour from her apartment was Brandon, and that was because he’d insisted on keeping her company. After a weak argument, she conceded and agreed to him tagging along.
She’d be lying if she said his presence didn’t provide some comfort and security. He had tried to keep her mind off things, but in the end, she continued to be plagued by the nightmares of the day. Wine didn’t help. She couldn’t concentrate on movies. In the end, she took to one of the two beds and resorted to staring at the walls.
A sliver of misplaced guilt taunted her conscience, woven between the threads of all else. Guilt for getting Brandon and Cassy involved and potentially placing them in danger. Guilt for having Brandon in the hotel room.
