“Our Fae bloodlines run strong. We hold most of our father’s genes, but our mortal mother is our heart’s blood.” Rihanna patted her cheek before lowering her hand. “You ask questions of lesser importance to avoid those you fear to ask. Alas, those questions you seek answers to? The answers should come from Thaddeus and no one else.”
“He hides everything.”
Rihanna picked up a small fruit tart from a platter and shook her head. “Nay. If you pay close attention to what is unspoken, you will hear all you need to hear. If I were to guess, ’tis not secrets he holds, but shame. Thaddeus is a man with a past, but he once was a man with envious power and promise.” She took a dainty bite from the tart, chewed and swallowed, her eyes dimming briefly. “He’d once been as warm as the spring sun and as light as the breeze. A heart so pure, ’twas impossible to believe it could be tainted. The manI’ve seen recently is cold as the winter’s snow and heavy with lifetimes’ worth of burdens.”
The man she described was a stranger. A man Rori could imagine in Thaddeus, but a man she’d never known. She was familiar with the cold and burdened man, not the warm and carefree man of the past.
Although she’d been gifted with a different warmth over the last couple of days.
Rihanna frowned as she looked at the barely touched tart, contemplating some unspoken puzzle. Rori wouldn’t have thought the woman was capable of frowning, and didn’t care for the weight it lent to the air. She glanced at her own plate and tried to stomach a bite of melon, only to force the small piece down her throat. Eating was a failed mission, at least until she ensured Cassy was safe and laid eyes on Thaddeus.
“A different man fell to his knees. A man seeking redemption,beggingmy brother to protect you. He entrusted Shaye to keep you safe, believing ’twas his final breath with which he pleaded. Despite their history, he returned here, having never lost trust in my brother. My brother had never lost hope in him.”
Rori remained quiet, watching the Fae woman who appeared to speak more to herself ponder the tart as the gentle breeze teased the black strands that framed her face. Her hair reminded her of Thaddeus’s, but midnight black. Waist-length, rich and shiny. The sunlight danced off the diamonds in her ears, enhancing the fine points. Her clothing was simple yet exquisite, a deep purple gown with black and silver threadwork that hugged her small frame and highlighted her pale skin. She’d been too engulfed in her own thoughts to take notice of the finer details earlier, but sitting beside Rihanna now somehow made Rori feel extremely inadequate. If these were the females Thaddeus could have,why the hell would he stick around her, Goddess-gifted or not?
“Leaving one’sanamcarain the care of another is not a decision made lightly. If he for one moment believed harm would befall you while under Shaye’s care, he wouldn’t have come.”
“Your brother has no reason to protect me, or host me and my friend, especially if there’s bad blood between him and Thaddeus. I’d hate to impose.”
“Nonsense. Shaye is not so simple-minded. He would take you in and protect you with all his might because you are innocent, and you are mortal.” Like a switch, the weight lifted from Rihanna and the smile resumed. Her eyes glittered as she placed the uneaten tart on an empty plate and faced Rori. “Hisanamcarais mortal-born. As is mine. And it seems you found yourself the target of traitor Fae. This is the safest place for you to be. Those who defy Dagda will not dare tread upon this land after the last battle. ’Twould bring instant death upon their heads.”
Something in her words tugged a small thread at the very back of her mind. It unsettled her a tiny bit, but not enough to push Rihanna for more answers. She chalked it up to nerves after her latest ordeal.
“Ah, convincing you to eat shan’t be successful. ’Tis not a good time to see Thaddeus at the moment. Would you like for me to bring you to see your friend?”
Rori perked up and nodded, despite the disappointment that tweaked at her heart, followed by a sliver of guilt. Had Thaddeus been well enough to have her, she would have chosen to see him first. “Definitely.”
She put her plate on the table and stood up. She made it two steps around the sofa when she paused, glancing down atthe silk pajamas she’d been changed into during her unconscious episode.
Turning to Rihanna, she found the woman laughing quietly behind her delicate hand. “You wish to bathe first?”
“That might be a good idea.”
“Come.” Once again, Rihanna linked their arms together and guided her into the room. “I brought fresh towels, soaps and oils for you while you slept. There are a few outfits in the armoire you may choose from until Moira and I can bring you into the village. We both wish for you to feel comfortable here with us, and know you’re safe.”
“Moira?”
“My brother’sanamcara.” Rihanna nudged her. “You’ll meet her soon.”
22
“Ican’t believe you’ve kept all of this a secret from me!” Cassy squeezed the living breath out of Rori’s lungs the instant she crossed into the room. Rori winced and tugged at her friend’s shirt, since her arms were pinned to her sides while Cassy constricted her with all her might. “You knew about all this and you didn’t share the glorious secret? That you’ve been seeing these guys through all their glamour and didn’t have the damn sense to tell me? Your best friend? God, what kind of friendareyou? Freaking hoarding all the goods and surprises for yourself.”
“Too tight,” Rori coughed.
Cassy leaned back, her dark eyes gleaming with menace and excitement until she realized what Rori meant. Immediately, her arms loosened, hands falling to her shoulders instead. Rori flexed the tingle from her fingers and sniggered.
“I should shake you until you drop for hiding such things from me.”
“Honestly, Cassy.” Rori motioned to this new room, which was smaller than hers but still extravagant in all its gilt accents, marble floors and luxurious fabrics draped over theglassless window cutouts and another huge poster bed. “You didn’t believe me when I mentioned them by their real names. Would you have honestly believed me if I told you Fae and magic and different worlds existed?”
Cassy worried her lower lip, her brows pinching over the bridge of her nose. Rori laughed and poked her friend’s wrinkled forehead.
“I didn’t think so. It took me a bit to digest it when I first realized how sheltered a life we live.” Rori glanced over her shoulder, but found the open doorway empty of the Fae woman. Cross breezes from the open corridor and windows stirred the curtains and filled the room with sweetness. “Where did Cael go?”
“I’m still getting used to calling him by another name,” Cassy breathed, shaking her head. “The guy Ryan begged before passing out came and requested a private conversation.”
“Thaddeus,” Rori corrected.
