No one was near the fire when he finally made his way out into the tents beyond their sleeping quarters, but there was a kettle of water steaming on the stones around it. He helped himself to it, making a mug of tea and lingering there, watching the flames crackle and dance.
“You slept late.”
Phelan glanced over his shoulder toward the sound of Neve’s voice, smiling faintly. “Did I? I’m not even sure what time it is.”
“Late morning. Jac said you were still asleep but I didn’t expect you’d be asleep that long. You never sleep this late.”
He shook his head, turning back to the fire. “I guess I just needed the rest.”
“Maybe,” his cousin agreed. “Or maybe a certain woman in your life did something that none of us have ever been able to get you to do.”
Phelan froze, looking sidelong at her. “What would that be?”
“Start thinking about what’s best for you and someone else together instead of just what’s best for someone else.” One corner of Neve’s mouth curled into a smile as she leaned against the single crutch she was still using. Her leg was much better now, though probably not as much as she might have hoped—not fully healed yet, but slowly getting there. “That was always your problem, you know. You were always more concerned with everyone else and not taking care of yourself.”
“Everything I ever did was because I was a selfish ass,” Phelan whispered. “Don’t delude yourself.”
“I don’t think I’m the one spouting delusions,” Neve said. “You may think you were being selfish, but I’ve known a lot of selfish men in my life, Phelan, and you’re not one of them. Stupid sometimes, yeah, but not really selfish.”
His eyes slid shut and he tilted his head back, sighing softly. “I wish you were right,” he whispered.
“I am right,” Neve said, poking him in the side. Phelan winced, stumbling sideways. “And the only one who could ever overrule me is your sister, and she’s not here.”
Phelan sucked in a breath, feeling a pang of guilt. “Aoife.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Neve said quickly. “Really, she must be. We’d know if she wasn’t.”
“You felt it the same as I did,” Phelan said, staring at the fire again. “She wasn’t fine then.”
“But she’s not dead. I’m sure she’s somewhere safe.”
“I hope so,” Phelan whispered. “She knew about Seamus.”
Neve shivered, leaning against him. Phelan wrapped his arm around his cousin and squeezed her close.
“How could she have kept that secret from us?” Neve asked, her voice barely audible over the sound of the fire.
“She must have made a promise, something to keep him safe,” Phelan said with a slight shrug. “Can you think of a better reason?”
“No.”
“Then that must be it.” Phelan looked down at her. “If he’s out there, we’ll find him, Neve. You know we will.”
“Cameron said the same thing,” she said. “I don’t want him to go. I don’t want any of you to go. It’s a fool’s errand. He’s probably dead by now, even if he wasn’t then. Even if he survived to have children with Leinth.”
“Just one child,” a woman’s voice rasped weakly.
Phelan almost jumped out of his skin.
