Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
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Rain swept across the windshield as I guided the car along the narrow road leading away from Cillian’s estate.
Selene sat quietly in the passenger seat, while warm air from the vent stirred damp strands of hair near her collar.
It filled the interior of my car with the haunting smell of honeysuckle.
I lost my presence of mind for the briefest moment as I filled my lungs with the sweet scent that would forever remind me of her.
Forever remind me of our time in the grove, when I’d plucked a flower from a vine and tucked it into her hair.
The way she’d looked at me then would remain seared in my memories for as long as I lived.
The world was a cruel place at times.
I glanced at her, at the gloved hands resting loosely in her lap. I couldn’t guarantee they would prevent others from sensing us if she touched me, but it seemed no skin-on-skin contact was best, just in case of accidental contact.
Part of me was shocked she’d come along. Not just because we’d be hunting a wraith, but I knew she was loyal to her boss, and Cillian had firmly objected.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel when his face appeared in my mind. Cillian had overstepped.
He and I had already agreed I would be in charge of keeping her safe, and I had already restored the necessary distance between Selene and me. He had overstepped and overreacted.
More than that, I’d watched the way Selene had responded to him and caught the questioning in her expression. It wasn’t my place to tell her what he was. But if he kept it up, she’d figure out something was strange about him.
Unless he pushed me too far. I might reconsider then.
The damned vampire had deliberately escalated the exchange in the foyer, turning a simple request into something territorial and absurd. There had been a breach. Selene needed experience with her abilities. Understanding what existed in her blood mattered.
That should have been explanation enough.
Beside me, she shifted slightly in her seat, and I spared another glance in her direction. I wouldn’t watch her for too long. That might give her ideas of things that couldn’t be, but a few seconds couldn’t hurt.
Rainwater darkened the shoulder of her coat where droplets had melted into the fabric, and despite everything she’d witnessed in recent days, her breathing remained steady.
Most mortals would have spent the drive demanding explanations or trying desperately to convince themselves the world still made sense.
Selene simply watched the rain hit the windshield.
The way she’d adapted to everything that had come at her stunned me. It wasn’t fair of me to expose her to more, but we both needed to know who and what she was. If it was only me wondering what her presence in Ireland might mean, that would be one thing.
But Cillian was fearful too. I saw it in his eyes. That meant more than his words.
Uncertainty tightened my chest. Perhaps I should not have invited her.
Not because she lacked capability. That concern had faded faster than I cared to admit. But because her presence beside me altered things in ways that I did not entirely understand.
For centuries, containing breaches had been my duty. At times, Cormac would join me for the sport of it. But having Selene at my side felt different. The task ahead no longer settled over me with the same crushing, solitary weight.
I shoved the thought aside.
Selene accompanied me for practical reasons. Nothing more.
We would test her abilities, and I’d return her to Cillian’s home where she could rejoin her friends Maeve and Nora. Where she would be safe and protected while out of my sight.
I slowed as I rounded a curve in the road, my thoughts returning to Maeve.
Her arrival at the castle would help. The woman was intuitive enough to notice undercurrents but lacked anything truly dangerous in her blood.
More importantly, she eased the pressure surrounding Selene. She made her laugh. Distracted her.
Maeve’s presence would reduce the dangerous longing that crept in whenever Selene and I were alone.
“You’re quiet,” Selene said softly, disturbing my introspection.
“I’m concentrating.”
A faint smile curved her lips. “I’d ask about what, but I suspect you wouldn’t tell me.”
The sight of her smile completely stole my concentration.
Ahead, the lights from my home glowed in the night, and I braked, taking the tight turn into my driveway.
She tensed. “I thought you said the breach wasn’t at the castle.”
“It isn’t. It’s near the old abbey, a few paces beyond the tower house.”
Her delighted gasp echoed around us. “There’s an old abbey? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I noted her reaction and the way it pushed against my boundaries. “It hasn’t held up as well as the castle, and it’s not part of the project. There’s a small cemetery there as well.”
She grinned and focused beyond the windshield, her anticipation filling the space between us. “Even better.”
I slowed when the paved drive transitioned to the narrow gravel lane leading to the old tower house. Ancient oaks arched overhead, but soon parted, revealing my old family home. The outline of Mystwood Castle loomed before us, massive and beautiful. But no longer desolate. For that, I was grateful.
The rain had tapered to a soft patter, which would make hunting easier. I parked in my usual spot, since we’d be required to travel on foot through the trees. I shut off the engine and turned to Selene, opening my senses as I studied her in the car’s dim interior. “Are you ready?”
She released a full breath. “I can’t decide if I’m nervous or excited.”
Her reaction drew a chuckle from me, and it heartened me to know she wasn’t truly afraid. “No reason to be nervous. Come on. Let’s go look.”
The woman was out of the car before I could get her door for her. She pulled her hood over her head and met me in front. Together, we headed alongside the castle, our boots crunching on the gravel and twigs. “How far is it?”
I gestured with a lift of my chin. “Just up ahead. Not far.”
Minutes later, the abbey rose from the darkness in fractured silhouettes of ancient stone and shadow. Crumbling arches stood beneath the low sky, while ivy crawled over sections of the outer wall. Beyond the ruined cloisters lay a graveyard, with many leaning headstones worn smooth by time.
The structure belonged to older Ireland, to things that lingered, and my heart tightened as old memories returned.
The common wraith toward the far end of the cemetery chased them away. It was small, as expected.
Selene removed one glove and tapped her phone to engage the flashlight. She swept the beam across the area, sending the shadows into hiding, even if only momentarily. “How old is it?”
I studied the dilapidated remains. “It’s close to six hundred years, originally a Franciscan friary.”
She repeated the number of years in a hushed, reverent voice. “It’s incredible.”
The light from her phone illuminated her lovely, animated face. I couldn’t look away as she continued. “Things here are so old, and the history is so deep.”
I huffed softly, enjoying seeing my land through her eyes. “Unfortunate that this place has been gutted by centuries of weather.”
She gave a sad shake of her head. “Such a shame. Maybe we can give it a bit of help too.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe.”
Selene sucked in a sharp breath, startling me. She gripped my elbow with one hand and swung her flashlight in a wide arc again. “I think I feel it. The cold, and…something not right.”
Fear echoed in her whisper as she frantically glanced around. “The creature’s close, isn’t it?”
I’d suspected she’d feel the tear in the Veil, but I hadn’t expected her to sense the wraith. I slipped from her grasp, grateful she still wore the glove on that hand, even as I ached to wrap a protective arm around her. “It’s just beyond the far wall, near the graves.”
She stared up at me and swallowed. “It’s smaller? Less dangerous? Are you certain?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I am. There’s nothing to fear. Let’s see if you can find it without my assistance. I’ll intervene if necessary, so don’t be afraid. I’ve dispatched many of them.”
She blinked, her eyes wide. “Many? How many is that?”
I’d lost count. “Enough to know they’re not a worry. Think of them as a minor thing that feeds where it should not.”
Selene expelled a deep breath. “I’ll just follow my instincts then.”
I encouraged her with a nod.
She sent me a tentative, nervous look. “Can I hold your hand? Would that be okay?”
That one look, the way she posed her question, exposed the damage my distance had created. But what choice did I have? It was either hurt her feelings or possibly endanger her life.
I glanced briefly at the gloved hand she extended and prayed I wasn’t wrong about believing the fabric and her fear would be enough protection.
I lifted my chin in agreement and braced myself, not for the monster in the cemetery but for the one inside me.
She hesitated as she turned her head in different directions. Then she gripped my hand and drew me forward. “I need to do this. I need to learn.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
It took only seconds for her to respond. “The breach is to the left, but the creature is this way.”
By the gods, the woman strode straight toward the small wraith, leaving a wide berth when she stopped. She released my hand and pointed ahead of us with a sharp gesture. “There.”
I swallowed my surprise. “You are correct.”
A wispy black wraith hovered above its anchor, connected to a nearby headstone. It stilled as we approached, but it didn’t shrink back as one normally would, and that puzzled me.
She lifted a worried gaze to me. “I know you said it’s not dangerous—”
I cut her off, my tone sharper than intended. “No.”
Regret struck the moment the word left my mouth. Selene recoiled immediately.
I forced myself to speak more calmly. “Make no mistake. Every wraith is dangerous.”