The blood from the wolf attack had left my sleeves stiff.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered. “When you realized I had forgotten about them?”
Cormac remained standing. The hand he dragged along the armoire clenched into a fist. “It seemed better that way.”
“Why?” I pleaded. “Because you wanted to be the only one?”
He laughed bitterly. “As if I care about that.”
“Then why?”
Cormac did not face me as he spoke. “Because I didn’t want to see you hurt. If this condition ispermanent, there is no use dwelling on the Aos Sí. If you didn’t remember them, then you couldn’t miss them.”
“Butyouremember them?” My throat was thick with unshed tears.
“Of course I do.” Cormac took a shaky breath. “Right now, they’re in danger. They might very well join us in a matter of days if Balor has her way. The Tuatha Dé Danann is unfamiliar territory, and we can’t trust a single being here. My kingdom is without a ruler, and Balor is in the Twilight Lake just waiting totake it!” he roared, slamming his fist onto the dresser. “Do you have any idea how powerless I felt at the lake when Manannán mac Lir snapped his fingers and you melted into nothing? I had no idea where you’d gone. If you even existed anymore.”
“It was a trial.” I winced.
“I don’t trust that bastard.” He began to pace. “King of the Tuatha Dé Danann, my arse!”
I rolled my eyes. “The Tuatha Dé Danann seems to go through a lot of Kings.”
“Kings, queens.” He flung his hands up, exasperated. “None of these gods can decide on a gender!”
“Belisama said they’re energy,” I told him. “They don’t have physical manifestations. They don’t exist in the physical realm. Not like the Aos Sí.”
“Itfeelsreal,” Cormac grumbled, pacing.
I pushed my hands through my hair, tugging at the strands. “How long has it been in the Aos Sí? Years could have passed by now, and Balor could have taken the whole lake.”
Cormac arched a brow. “Aside from worrying about your Shíorghrá, is Balor ruling the lake such a bad thing?”
“Cormac—” I snarled.
He held up his hand. “You don’t want to rule Cruinn. Who wouldwantto rule a bunch of Undine who have ridiculed and mocked you your whole life?”
“Balor isn’t fit to rule.” I snapped.
“And you are?”
“I have to protect them. I have to protect the lake.” I growled, fists clenched and jaw hard. “My mother gave safety to the creeds of the Twilight Lake. You saw what the Dark King did to those Kelpies.”
“And you can protect them?” He asked gently.
My eyes narrowed. “If I have to.”
He approached the bed, sitting by my side, knee to knee. Noses almost touching. I panted with anger, my palm itching to slap him. To goad him, as he had so successfully goaded me.
“What about Tarsainn?” I cocked my head to the side. “Aren’t you worried about the Mer being ruled in your stead?”
Cormac’s brows disappeared into his hairline. “I don’t rule. I never have. My mother used to give me a trident and point me at a problem. I was a weapon, not a king.”
His statement rang so close to my own situation, it was hard to ignore the hollow feeling in my chest that his words caused.
“But it is my duty to protect the Mer.” His chin jutted.
“I’m not ready to die yet,” I told him.
