Right.
The witch thread.
Maeve would feel it if something happened to Tiernan. But even as she reached for him through their bond, there was no response. Only a foreboding and still silence. For now, the only thing she could assume was that he was still alive. But she couldn’t very well sit around and wait for him to die.
“I just…” Maeve pressed her fingers to her temples. “I need a minute to think.”
“Maeve—” Saoirse made to follow her, but Maeve waved her off.
“I’m only going for a walk. Not far.” She tried to smile, but it was impossible. “I promise.”
She wandered through the open-air corridors, past the shimmering fountains. All the while, her mind continued to spin, to piece together a plan to rescue Tiernan and Casimir. She would never be able to live with herself if anything happened to them, tohim. Her heart lurched at the thought.
The late afternoon sun dipped lower in the sky, lengthening the shadows of palm trees as she passed. A chill crept over her as she approached the verandah, the very place she’d stood when she first arrived on Faeven’s shores. Waves crashed against the steps descending into the ocean’s frothy depths, and when she looked west, she could just see the rugged mountains and the immense gloom that still hung over the Spring Court.
Somewhere in that wretched place, waiting for her, was Tiernan.
Hardened resolve locked her spine into place, and she rolled her shoulders back.
Maeve glanced down at the witch thread marking her wrist and tried again.“I’m coming for you.”
“I must say,” a male voice responded, laced with seduction, “I wish I was hearing those words under different circumstances.”
Maeve startled and spun around.
There he stood, battered and covered in blood, but alive. His hair was a mess, the midnight pieces sticking up in every direction. The armor he wore was ripped in some places, shredded in others, and a trickle of blood slid from the cut on his lip down to his chin. A bruise marred the right side of his face, but sun and sky, he wasalive.
“Tiernan?”
“Yes,astora?”
A strangled wail got caught in her throat and she ran for him, jumping into his arms. She clutched at him, buried her face in his neck, and breathed him in. She reveled in his touch, his feel, his scent. All of him, for all of her. He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her against him. This male was the whole of her heart, the entirety of her soul. He loved every broken, jagged piece of her, and she would never lose him again.
“How?” She pressed herself into him, so there was no way of knowing where she ended and he began. “How did you escape?”
“You’ll be pleased to know Balor has returned from the Kethwyn Woods.”
“Balor?”
The Fury. The Fury of darkness had rescued Tiernan from the Spring Court. She owed Balor a great debt, for it was twice now he had saved her mate’s life.
Maeve held onto Tiernan, refusing to let go. In his arms, she was safe. In his arms, she was home.
“I’m sorry.” Remorse poured from her for all the hurt she’d caused him. “I’m so sorry, Tiernan. I should have listened to you. I never should’ve?—”
“Listen to me very carefully, you owe menothing. No apologies. No explanations.” Gently, he set her back down onher feet and captured her chin, silencing her protest. “You are a fucking queen, do you understand? I’m the one who screwed up. I pushed you too far and overstepped my bounds.”
“Out of love,” Maeve countered, threading her fingers through his hair.
“Out of fear.” Tiernan gently brushed his thumb along her lips. “What I did stemmed from fear of losing you. I should have proven my love by trusting you. Fully.”
“And do you trust me now?” she asked, searching his face, hoping to find the answer.
“I…” His gaze dipped to her neck, and the deep blue of his eyes darkened with rage, diminishing the flecks of gold completely. “Fucking gods.”
“Brynn says it will heal.” Maeve grabbed his hand in an effort to distract him. “Come along, my lord, I’m sure everyone will be curious to know how you escaped the Spring Court.”
“Do not think for one moment,” he growled, “that I am going to forget what she’s done to you.”
