Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
SELENE
Maeve stayed close to me as Bren shut the door behind him. The cold air he’d brought in with him lingered as he turned and studied her with dark, assessing eyes. Instead of introducing them as I should have, my thoughts were stuck wondering if he’d felt the ground move too.
My friend dropped her gaze to his hand, one that could shape moonlight into a blade. Uncertainty flickered in her expression before she seemed to remember herself and extended her own. “Hello. I’m Maeve, Selene’s assistant. And you are?”
Bren, who had no reason to fear her, was the one who held back. He looked at her hand for a beat before he took it. “Bren. Project manager.”
Maeve stilled the moment their hands touched. Her lips parted as though she was about to say something. Instead, she tilted her head, her gaze softening.
Bren released her hand at once. His jaw tightened and then eased as he took a careful step back. It didn’t escape me that he had touched her after avoiding me earlier.
I moved forward before the silence could grow more awkward. “Why don’t we sit, Maeve? I can update you on what’s been completed so far.”
She blinked and focused on me. Her gaze dropped to her hand before she curled it at her side. “Right. Yes. Of course. That would be grand.”
Bren’s gaze shifted briefly toward the center of the hall and then back to me. “I’m getting coffee. Would either of you like some?”
His question sounded ordinary, but his tense posture suggested otherwise.
Maeve stared at him again but didn’t respond, so I did for us both. “We’d love it. Thanks.”
He gave a curt nod and headed toward the stone stairwell.
Maeve watched him go, suddenly seeming more herself, though perhaps a bit puzzled. The moment he disappeared, she exhaled softly. “Well.”
I regarded her with a suspicious look. “What was that?”
She seemed genuinely confused by my question. “What was what?”
I opened my hands wide. “The way you stared at him like he was a tasty treat.”
The corners of her mouth lifted in a soft smile. “Well, he is striking, and he offered to make us coffee too.”
I huffed, not satisfied with her response. “No. This was different. It’s like you noticed something I didn’t.”
Maeve furrowed her brows as she reconsidered. “For a second, I wanted to move closer to him.” She frowned. “Not because of anything he said. Just…because he was there.”
She scoffed and leaned in to whisper, “Or maybe it’s just that he’s really hot. And the way he looks at you? I fear you’re in trouble.”
My friend had no idea how right she was.
I whisked away her comment with a flick of my hand, unwilling to dwell on it any longer. “Let’s focus on work. We can talk about other things later when we’re alone.”
Her gaze grew serious. “Things like why the floor shifted and why there are so many windows on this floor? This is not a typical tower house, Selene. How did they ever defend it?”
I gave her a knowing nod. “Later, okay?”
She glanced around. “Fine, but let’s open a window first and get some fresh air. I need to breathe.”
Without hesitation, she headed for a tall sash window along the wall closest to the door and examined it. “Wouldn’t you know? It looks like it’s been painted shut. Likely a hasty effort to weatherproof it.” She arched her brow at me. “Bring me whatever’s handy to cut through the paint.”
I produced a utility knife from my stash of tools and handed it to her. She thanked me with a nod and set to work. “It’s been torture finishing up that hotel in the Liberties. Mr. Boyle is a difficult man, and we’ve missed you.”
Yes, he was. But that disastrous project was in the past, and I no longer wanted to think about it. “I’ve missed you too, but definitely not him.”
She handed the knife back to me and put her weight into opening the window. It resisted for a moment and then gave way.
The hall immediately felt lighter. The old air had been sitting too long.
“There,” I said, wondering if the castle yearned for more fresh air after being closed up for centuries.
“There,” Maeve agreed, as though we’d accomplished something more than releasing a paint seal.
I waved her forward. “Come and see what I’ve done.”
We stopped at the fireplace first, and she tilted her head up to examine the carved stonework above the mantel, seeming herself again. “Oh, she’s a beauty. Look at the corbelling on that lintel.”
She glanced at me with the beginnings of a grin. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”
I eyed her with a knowing look. “You mean we do.”
After the fireplace, we drifted toward the far end of the hall, studying the line of scaffolding along the west wall. She spoke faster now, her hands lifting as she talked about lime ratios and horsehair binding.
The knot in my chest eased a degree. This was the Maeve I knew.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “We’ll get her fixed up proper.”
I cocked my head. “Her? Do you feel like the castle has a feminine presence too?”
Maeve paused for a moment before nodding. “Sure, she does. My sense is she’s a grand old lady who’s weathered the ages, and she’s got a lot of fight left in her yet.”
The constant, odd hum increased slightly, and I gave Maeve a knowing nod. “Do you hear that? And do you feel the shifts in pressure too?”
My friend glanced around. “No. You’ve talked about things like that before, but I sense none of it, not like you do.”
I was on the verge of revealing I’d learned I might be a ward witch when Maeve cocked her head and swiveled away from me. “But I do sense something compelling over there.”
The woman brimmed with energy as she strode across the hall, stopping directly over the circular inlay, her hair spilling over her shoulders as she peered down.
My insides clenched as she kneeled and gently drew her fingertips over the tiny pieces of stone, laid in the shape of a Celtic knot. “There’s something to this.”
She lifted her gaze to me. “I think it’s a thin place, Selene. I’d stake money on it.”
Just as she finished speaking, a sound from the direction of the stairwell drew my attention, and I turned to find Bren standing there, holding three mugs by the handles.
His dark gaze held mine for a long moment before he continued forward into the room, and I wondered if there was something about Maeve that he didn’t like.
He said nothing as he strode to the ancient oak table, placing two cups by my work area. Then he moved to the opposite end and set his mug next to his laptop. He slid out a chair and sat. “I didn’t have hands for cream and sugar. You’ll have to grab them if that’s your preference.”
Maeve stood, brushing dust from her hands, as she regarded him. “Do you believe in thin places, Bren?”
I pressed my lips together, knowing it was too late to derail the conversation. And I acknowledged there was a curious part of me who wanted to hear how he’d answer Maeve.
He held her gaze as she strode closer, his expression reserved, but I spotted curiosity in his eyes too. “Depends on who’s asking.”
Maeve cocked her head, obviously enjoying the exchange. “I am.”
When she reached the long table, he curled his fingers tight before relaxing them. “Yes. I believe there are such things.”
A friendly smile blossomed on her face, though she didn’t seem to lose her sense of self as she had before. “Perhaps you’ll be able to help me convince Selene that there are things in life that you feel more than see.”
He slowly nodded before dropping his gaze to his computer. “Perhaps.”
His actions and his one-word answer were obviously a sign he didn’t want to continue conversing. I suspected if he wasn’t so suspicious of Maeve, he’d leave the room again.
But my dear friend wasn’t dissuaded so easily. She settled into a chair near my things and lifted her mug, blowing on the coffee before taking a sip.
I sat next to her as she studied him. I suspected he knew, but he didn’t look up.
“You look like you belong here,” Maeve finally said, her voice quiet yet certain.
I gripped the handle of my mug and waited.
Bren glanced up. “Is that so?”
I cleared my throat, more to break up the tension than anything else. “That’s because this castle once belonged to his family. I believe his ancestors have lived in the area for hundreds of years.”
I cast a casual glance at Bren. “Is that right?”
Bren held Maeve’s gaze for a beat too long. Then he looked at me. Something tightened low in my chest, and I swore the hum of the castle deepened.
“Many generations,” he finally said.
More hammering sounded overhead, and Bren picked up his work gloves from the table, never having touched his coffee. “Sounds like they’re ready for me to return.”
He didn’t wait for a response as he stood and crossed to the door in an easy gait. He paused in the doorway, cool air rushing in around him. Seconds passed before he stepped out without glancing back, and the latch clicked behind him.
Maeve and I remained quiet for several heartbeats before she turned to me with a curious look. “Did I say something wrong?”
The tension created by having them in the same room faded like the morning mist after the day warmed. I hesitated as I tried to find the words to explain him. Finally, I sighed. “It’s complicated. He’s complicated.”
She drew her fingers through her hair, away from her face, her expression concerned and intrigued. “Can’t say I’m surprised. There’s more than meets the eye with him and this place. I sensed that the moment I walked through the door.”
A month ago, I would have smiled and let the moment pass, assuming it was Maeve’s hopeful belief that there was magic around us. With what I’d experienced since coming to Killarney, she might think I was the daft one now.
I sipped my coffee, only to find it lukewarm. And yes, I did want sugar, but I wasn’t willing to go get it. “I don’t know where to start, Maeve. So much has happened. Things I’m not sure I wanted to know. Things I don’t understand.”
She lifted her shoulders in a gentle shrug. “How about you start with the man? Bren?”
A sudden stillness fell over the castle, and I had the odd sensation it was holding its breath. Which was utterly ridiculous.
Maeve narrowed her eyes as she turned her head from left to right, studying the room, before she returned her gaze to me. She raised her brows in a questioning look.
Before I could respond, the strange stillness settled deeper around us. I placed my hand over hers before she could speak. “Let’s take a walk outside by the lake.”
I knew I wouldn’t tell her everything. Not yet. Not until I could decipher what the truth was. And there were things I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand well enough to explain.
She nodded immediately. We stood without saying another word, donned our coats, and made our way out the door.