Chapter 21 #2
Lowering my hand, I stepped back toward him, leaves crunching under my soaked feet.
He was so much bigger than me—always had that quiet strength—and the sadness in his face broke my heart.
Even in the moonlight, the pain in his eyes was plain.
“But I want you to tell me anything. Especially if you think I’m being foolish.
I care about what you think, Ciaran. More than anyone. ”
A faint glimmer of hope lit his expression, and I bit the inside of my lip. Curpiss. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But the damage was done, and I didn’t have the heart to take it back.
“If he hurts you—”
“He won’t. He saved me from the vuk. Not because he knew me, but because he has integrity. And then again last night, when I was—”
I paused, searching his eyes. We’d agreed with Tara that telling anyone about the skinwraith attack could be dangerous. But I can trust Ciaran.
Ciaran raised a brow. “Last night?”
At last, I whispered, “Giulia Bernardi … she wasn’t just murdered.”
His red-gold brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“After the festival, on the way home, I heard something, so I went searching and found a human heart. On a tree stump. Then I saw Giulia.” My body gave an involuntary shudder.
“She’d been turned into a skinwraith and attacked me.
Rykr heard me scream and came to my aid. We destroyed the skinwraith.”
“What?” Ciaran’s body went rigid. He ducked his chin at me in disbelief. “A skinwraith? What did Seth say? Why haven’t the scouts been informed? There are teams searching for her body.”
All valid questions. I bounced with discomfort. “The thing is, only Rykr and I saw the skinwraith. And considering how much controversy we’ve brought to—”
“No.” Ciaran retreated a step. “You’re telling me that one of our own was killed and turned into a skinwraith and you told no one?” His eyes flashed with anger. “Giulia’s mother deserves to know what happened to her daughter.”
I didn’t blame him for his anger. He was right. “I told Tara. My mother, too.”
“Then they’re just as guilty as you are.” Ciaran’s fingers hooked into claws as he paced. “Don’t you realize how serious this is? A skinwraith on our territory means everyone we know and love is at risk. We have to tell Seth and the council—alert the Vangar. It’s our duty.”
My energy seemed to drain. “Please, Ciaran.” I stepped closer to him, settling my hand on his arm.
“I can’t take any more scrutiny. Neither can Rykr.
I know it’s bad, but what else can I do?
Everyone would question Rykr, you know it.
If I say anything, if they know I was involved …
gods, I’m already heading toward the Skorn. For now, we have to wait—”
“Until what? More people die?”
“I don’t know what else to do, Ciaran! Tara thought—”
“I don’t give a damn what Tara thought. You’re better than she is. You used to be better than this.” His eyes glared with betrayal. “You’re just protecting Rykr. Why do you care so much about that swiver?”
I flinched.
“You’re making him a priority over everyone you claim you love … above the honor that used to matter to you before him.”
His words gutted me.
Gods, he’s right.
I shouldn’t have told him about the skinwraith.
“No. You shouldn’t have.” Rykr’s voice cut through my mind, crisp and knowing. I whirled around to find him several feet away, leaning against a tree trunk. He lanced me with his blue-green eyes.
Fuck.
I drew a deep breath, then lifted my gaze to Ciaran. He’d already spotted Rykr and his entire body tensed, his anger barely restrained.
Rykr pushed off the tree, sauntering toward us, despite the irons.
“Thank you for being here, Ciaran,” he said with deliberate, infuriating calm.
“I was worried she might not have someone to wait on her out here, but clearly I had nothing to worry about.” He leaned down and grazed a kiss against my cheek. “Hello, wife.”
My heart stumbled.
Ciaran’s fists clenched, but he forced himself to step back. “Goodnight, Seren,” he ground out, then stalked away.
Rykr hooked his thumb into the waistband of my dagger sheath at my hip, tugging me closer. I stiffened, but didn’t pull away. “How long were you there?” I asked, fully aware of the war going on inside me.
My loyalty was to Ciaran. He was right. I shouldn’t conceal the truth about the skinwraith. He was my friend.
And yet …
Rykr felt like a piece of me.
Mine.
“Long enough to hear him confess his love for you,” Rykr murmured, his gaze never leaving mine. “And watch him put his hands all over you.”
Heat flared over my skin, but I met his stare head-on. “What’s it to you, Rykr? Or are you suddenly pretending this thing between us gives you the right to give a fuck who touches me and where?” I tilted my chin.
For a moment, his eyes flicked to my lips. The corners of his mouth curved. “Such a dirty mouth on a pretty face.” He leaned in closer, his breath warm against the skin of my jawline, and my pulse hammered in my throat. “Makes me want to see what else that tongue of yours can do.”
Fire surged through me, liquid heat pooling in my core. My thighs clenched before I jerked away, glaring. “What are you doing here anyway? You had your fun on the horse ride this morning. Leave me alone.”
He barked a short, humorless laugh. “What am I doing here? I’m here, thistling, because you dragged me here, remember?
And now we’re facing a trial in a few days, so I thought I’d come by, see if you were done wasting time sitting in watchtowers, and actually wanted to train for it.
But clearly you had the company you really wanted, so I apologize for intruding. ”
I raised a skeptical brow. “You came to train me?”
“Hard to believe I might want to keep you alive? Yeah, I know. I’m not sure what I was thinking.” He smirked.
The last thing I wanted to do was train.
I wanted a bedroll. Food. A bath. A sleeping draft to help me forget the hideous, monstrous face of a skinwraith and to numb the ache still radiating from my ribs. A way to warn the tribe about the attack without condemning myself—or putting more lives at risk.
But I had none of that right now.
What I had was a Sealed Pendaran—irritated or not—standing in front of me, offering to train me for a deadly trial. Dammit.
I deepened my glare. “Fine.” I started back toward the brook. “Come with me.”
“Your gratefulness is oozing from your skin.”
“What can I say? I’m learning lots from you already, Rykr.”