His lover perched on the wall above the gate, staring out across the snow. She glanced over toward him at the sound of his boots on the snow and offered him a faint smile. “How’s Phelan?” she asked softly, gently.
Seamus shook his head. “Not good. Can you come down?”
Leinth hesitated a moment before she nodded, coming down from her perch and smoothing her robes once she had her feet on solid ground again. “What’s the matter?”
“I need your help,” Seamus said. “We need to find Eriú.”
“She’s not entirely enamored of me,” Leinth said. “None of them are, really.”
Seamus winced. “That can’t be true.”
“I happen to think it is.” Leinth resettled her cloak across her shoulders and peered up at her lover. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Phelan has amnesia. Rather badly, too, it seems. Eriú may be able to help or at least give us some insight.”
Leinth frowned. “Are you sure?”
“She’s the only one who can tell us that for certain, anyway. Will you help me find her?”
His lover sighed and nodded. “Of course I will, Seamus. You know that.” She hesitated moment. “Have you talked to them about what the Hunt offered? About…about what they asked in return for your freedom?”
“No,” he said quietly. “We haven’t had that discussion yet. Once we’ve gotten Phelan…” He broke off, sighing and shaking his head. “I’ll talk to Marin again. She knows what they offered. So does Neve. We just haven’t…we haven’t talked to the rest of them yet. It’s a delicate thing.”
“I know it, but it’s an important thing.” Leinth touched his cheek with chill, bare fingers. “It’s incredibly important to the people who love you.”
“I know,” Seamus whispered. He leaned in and kissed her gently. “Don’t you think it’s important to me, too? I’ll talk to them. But we have to get through this first.”
“Right,” Leinth said, closing her eyes for a moment. “Well. Let’s get to work.”
ah yes, I was so absorbed in Phelan’s drama, I forgot about The Hunt offer and the ramifications of this decision. Whew . . . . .
Thanks for the new addition. Good good reading here.