Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
SELENE
Idrew my brows together and glanced between Nora and Maeve as Cillian left the dining table and headed to answer the front door. “I didn’t hear the bell or a knock, did you?”
Maeve lifted her shoulder, appearing as confused as I did, but Nora whisked away my concern with a wave of her hand. “Ah sure, I did. It was a soft knock.”
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but I had the odd sense she was lying. Voices from the front of the house reached us, and my heartbeat quickened in response. “Bren? Why would he be here?”
I didn’t wait for them to answer as I vacated my chair and headed toward the door, hoping he didn’t have bad news.
Bren’s words stopped me in my tracks, halfway between the kitchen and the front door. “I will see her.”
Cillian responded in a controlled, icy tone. “We’re in the middle of dinner. I’m certain whatever it is, it can wait. You’ll have her again in the morning.”
Have me?
That was an odd phrase to use. No one had me, except myself.
The irritation in Bren’s voice grew stronger. “You cannot stop me. I will see her.”
Alarm stirred low in my stomach. The men had been chilly with each other during my interview with the restoration council. But this was something else entirely.
I hurried the rest of the way down the hall and into the foyer.
The door was still open behind Bren as he stood at the threshold, Cillian’s position keeping him from entering. The sound of rain pattered outside, and raindrops glistened on his dark hair.
My body acknowledged his presence even as my mind was on their argument. I kept my expression even, pretending I hadn’t heard their exchange. “Bren? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
As I spoke, Nora crowded in next to me. “Bren? Oh, it’s lovely to see you. Would you care for some apple cake? It’s fresh from the oven.”
Cillian answered before he could. “He only stopped by for a moment, and now he’s on his way.”
My boss made to close the door, but Bren didn’t step back. Instead, he focused on me, silver flecks lightening his dark eyes. Fear tightened in my stomach. The last time I’d seen those flecks, Bren had been telling me not to watch, right before he’d battled a terrifying thorn wraith.
Maeve joined us, oblivious to the mounting tension. “We didn’t expect to see you tonight. You should come in out of the rain.”
Irritation played across Cillian’s features, but he finally stepped back to allow Bren entrance. I couldn’t understand why my boss was provoking our client. Especially one who’d opened his purse strings so widely and had chosen us for a prestigious project.
It made zero sense.
In any case, someone needed to diffuse the situation, and I had an inkling that person would be me. I studied Bren with a cautious look. “Is there something we can help you with?”
The tension in Bren’s shoulders eased slightly. “There’s something you can help me with.”
Cillian huffed. “I explained it can wait until working hours. We do appreciate that you’ve awarded us this contract, but there needs to be boundaries.”
“Boundaries?” Bren’s answer all but exploded from his mouth. “Are you daft?”
My boss shifted his stance, and I struggled to understand what was at play as he answered. “I’m nothing of the sort. It’s far past working hours, and I’m trying to protect my employee.”
Bren expanded his chest with a deep breath. “Are you suggesting I’d put her in a situation where she wouldn’t be safe?”
Cillian arched a brow, and it suddenly occurred to me he might have heard about the monstrous wraith in the moonlit grove.
I turned to him with a narrowed gaze and caught the slight flinch in his expression.
I sent him a calm smile. “It’s okay. It’s important to keep our clients happy, and I don’t mind. ”
Bren spoke before he could. “Grab your coat. It’s chilly out. Gloves, if you have them.”
I turned to him with a surprised look, ready to spout that I wasn’t aware he required me to leave the house. But the look in his eyes and the tension boiling in the foyer said more than words could.
The weight of everyone’s stares pressed against me as I slipped into my coat and pulled gloves from my pocket.
I thought I might see anger in Cillian’s eyes when I met his gaze, so I raised my brows, holding a look of concern in my expression, hoping to communicate that I was only acting in the best interest of the firm.
He gave me a slow blink as he exhaled and then slightly tipped his head, giving me his approval. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
I shot a quick glance at Maeve, who watched with wide, interested eyes and a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Leave it to her to read more into the situation than there was. “I shouldn’t be long.”
Though I truly had no idea what I was getting myself into or how long I’d be gone.
Once I had my purse in hand, Bren stepped aside and allowed me to walk past him out the door.
We strode in silence, hurrying toward his sleek silver sports car, as rain splattered around us. He opened my door, and I slid onto the smooth leather seat. Silence surrounded me until he opened his door and then claimed his space behind the wheel.
Anger still radiated from him as he started the engine. It roared to life, but I spoke before he could shift the car into drive. “What was that all about? Why are you and Cillian at odds?”
Bren inhaled a sharp breath and held it. Then he slowly released it and turned to me. “He doesn’t own you, doesn’t have the right to keep me from—”
He stopped abruptly, his jaw tightening while the car’s windshield wipers swished. “It should have been a simple conversation.”
I nodded slowly, trying to piece together what he wasn’t saying. “I think maybe Cillian thought you were overstepping because it’s not normal working hours.”
Uncertainty replaced the irritation in his expression. “This isn’t about the castle.” He cursed under his breath. “My intention was to ask you politely if you’d like to accompany me on an outing. But Cillian turned it into a much bigger deal than it should have been.”
The tension I’d noticed back in the foyer suddenly made more sense. I held his gaze, searching his face, and pushed back the pull of awareness that came with being close to him in an intimate space. “What kind of outing?”
He nodded, gathering himself, and a sense of calm replaced the turbulent tension that had followed us from the house. “There’s been a breach.”
I froze as a chill crept over me, and it took me a moment to respond. “Another one? Not a thorn wraith, right? Because if it is—”
Bren lifted his hand from the gearshift, moving it toward me, before he caught himself. I didn’t have time to process his reaction before he replied, “It’s nothing like what we encountered before. It’s a small tear and a small creature, like earlier. A common wraith.”
The explanation helped somewhat, but my fears didn’t completely disappear. “Why do you want me to come with you?”
His expression softened then. “I thought you might want to test your magic, to see if you can seal the split. Similar to what you did the other day, alongside the lake. You’ll be in no danger, and it might teach you something about yourself.”
He hesitated for several seconds. “I’d like to know what you sense about things too.”
The idea of experimenting did tempt me, as long as I’d be safe. But that he wanted to know more about me unsettled me the most. “Okay. As long as nothing can hurt me.”
His response was a confident smile that twisted my stomach into knots I wasn’t sure I could untangle. “You’ll be safe with me.”
The certainty in his voice settled somewhere dangerously deep inside me, leaving me to wonder if he was the true threat. “I’m willing to try.”
Bren nodded, pleased with my answer.
He put the car into drive. The road ahead disappeared into the darkness and rain. Cillian’s comment from the foyer drifted through my mind again. You’ll have her again in the morning.
It was an odd phrase. Especially for Cillian. If the opportunity presented itself, I’d ask him to explain. For now, I had enough on my plate.