Rori cupped Cassy’s face. “And that will be for this lifetime, if the Goddess they believe in favors you both.”
23
For an undetermined amount of time, he swam in an unsettling numbness, one that managed to keep him calm while hiding the agony he anticipated at any moment. ’Twasn’t his first time dealing with this murky black void and the suffering that would come upon breaking the surface of consciousness. Alas, this time, he was prepared for the rebound effects of anesthetic spells and magic.
When he finally found the strength to open his eyes, he lay, unmoving, with bated breath waiting for the onslaught of pain.
Naught came.
Mayhap hehaddied?
As he shook the sleep from his mind, the numbness dissolved at its heels, but no essence of pain or discomfort filled its space. The gray dissipated to reveal a white ceiling with gold accents, the sway of shadows dancing across its pristine stage. The soothing sweet fragrance lent to the air by unseen gardens fed the warm breeze that stirred across his skin. Naught in this deceitfully calm comfort could snuff the growing ache that throbbed deep inside his soul.
“Rori.”
“Safe.”
He blinked, twisting his head toward the familiar voice. Too many thoughts pummeled his recovering mind at once, but the assurance that Rori was safe prevailed above all else.
“Her wound.” Goddess, he sounded so weak, his voice raspy and faint.
“Healed.”
“Good,” he released on a breath, turning his head back to the ceiling. He listened to the echo of his beating heart for a few more moments, trying to gather his strength before he finally managed to push himself upright. The anticipated pain he had experienced the other morn did not come as he braced himself for the sharp attack. “My deepest gratitude to you.”
“Mm.”
Thaddeus considered his next move. ’Twas a miracle he’d survived the ambush, knowing the severity of his wounds. In fact, he hadnotexpected to survive. Alas, breath filled his lungs and blood pumped through his veins, delivering him into another dilemma he’d need to maneuver carefully.
He understood now the devotion towardanamcaras. ’Twas the only reason he’d sifted here, of all places. He knew in the deepest recesses of his soul that Rori would be safest beneath the protection of this household than even beneath his own care.
He needed help, and he’d turned to the one person he bloody well knew would not turn him away.
Combing a hand through his untamed hair, he lifted his head toward the sound of water pouring and a subtle clink. Shaye offered a cup of steaming tea, his arm as steady as his shuttered gaze. Thaddeus shifted to the edge of the mattress, dropped his feet to the floor, and took the cup, taking a sniff ofthe medicinal aroma before he tasted the bitter liquid. He didn’t bother hiding the grimace from the poignant flavor, but took another sip, allowing the healing herbs to warm his muscles and work their magic. ’Twas only when he lowered the cup to his thigh that he caught the glint of gold at his wrist. Lifting the cuff of a fresh linen shirt, his brow furrowed at the thin gold band. He checked his other wrist to find a matching one.
Shackles.
“You must understand my position. Your arrival at my door brings much concern to this household, as you’re probably aware.” Shaye made himself a cup of tea from another pot. “It places me in a difficult predicament, housing a traitor with an execution order.” The dark Fae cast him a hard glance. “A threat to my family.”
“Why heal me?” ’Twas genuine curiosity. “If I am this bane? My plea was for Rori, not I. I know my fate.”
Shaye watched him from over the lip of the cup, the colors of his irises muted. Their last encounter had been one of war, where they stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Thaddeus had pronounced his intentions that day, at Daeanna’s side. A blind fool played by a princess puppet master. He had stared this same man in the eyes, knowing his own ill intent, all the while refusing to see the pity burdening his childhood friend.
As he lowered his cup, he settled back in his chair. “I’m not of the same mind as you. I do not see things as two-dimensional. Aye, you deserve no sanctuary within my home after the harm you brought upon my wife, my son, my family, my people.” Shaye sighed, placing his cup on the nightstand. “Alas, I am not you, Thaddeus.”
When his gaze returned to Thaddeus, it had softened, the edges giving way to pity. Thaddeus caught himself fromlowering his head, swallowing his pride in the face of truths he knew would hurt.
“I am not ruled by stone-carved expectations and biased talk. I do not mark a man for faults if he learns from his mistakes, nor do I follow the word of another blindly and refuse to remove the blindfold from my eyes when met with crucial decisions. You have committed crimes against the Fae that cannot be redacted. You stole Fae potion from Dagda’s own vault and decisively reversed his sentence of exile by delivering that potion to Daeanna.” Shaye leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “Do you know what she did to Moira? Are you aware of the danger she placed myanamcaraand my unborn son in upon her return?”
Shame pressed down on his shoulders and this time he did lower his head, staring into the steaming cup of foul-tasting tea.
“Moira and my son would have perished that day had Dagda not gifted us with Fae potion. She wasdying, hemorrhaging in my arms, as Liamcutour son from her belly to save him. Aye, ’twas Daeanna’s actions, her evil intentions toward my wife, but ’twasyourinterference with our king’s ruling that allowed it to occur. Your infatuation with a cold-hearted, callous monster under the guise of love because you believed you needed to prove yourself, your worth, when you had naught to prove to anyone. ’Twas your own insecurities and well-hidden jealousy that drove you on this path that led you so far astray from the man you should have become. You scoffed at my warnings and chose a dark path rather than staying upon the one of light.”
His lips had pulled taut as Shaye’s low-spoken recount of events and assumptions of his choices beat inside his head. The corner of his mouth twitched, the cup of tea jerking in his tense fingers.
He snapped his head up and bored his gaze into Shaye. “You’ve no place to assume you know why I made the choices I did.”
“Do tell, Thaddeus. ’Twas never the misplaced feeling of inadequacy or inferiority because townsfolk compared us and our gifts? ’Twas never jealousy over Daeanna, despite me confiding in you that I wanted naught to do with her and would never fall for her wiles? ’Twas never a misperceived threat from me that caused you to finally turn your back on decades of friendship the moment Daeanna’s attentions turned upon you?”
