“There must be more to all of this than just that,” Phelan said after a moment. He wavered slightly on his feet and Thom got up to flank him, helping Jacqueline get him over to a seat near the fire. “It can’t be that simple.”
“It is,” Neve said, confidence audible in her voice and visible in the way her shoulders straightened and her chin lifted. “It absolutely is, Phelan. It’s all they want. They want a place they can come home to and we can offer that to them.”
“Why don’t they just find someplace else that seems likely?” Tala asked, shifting one of the twins from her breast to her shoulder. “Why does it have to be here?”
“Good question,” Paul muttered.
Davon frowned. “Probably something like wanting someone to be able to watch their homes while they’re away—I’m sure that they’ll drift in and out like so many ghosts or nomads.” He glanced toward Phelan and Neve for confirmation.
“They may at that,” Sif said, her tone thoughtful, musing. “They’re not known to stick around. I’m surprised they’ve lingered as long as they have here. Perhaps it’s Seamus.”
“We could gain his freedom,” Neve whispered. “We need him.” She glanced toward Marin and Thom, then over toward her cousin, pain reflecting in her eyes. “Don’t we?”
Phelan shook his head slowly. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “He’s alive.”
“He is,” she said. “He is and he’s here. Who knows if he’ll ever have another chance to be free of them?”
“What was their reasoning for freeing him?” Thordin asked. “They couldn’t fathom it without having some kind of loophole, some reason they’d be able to let him walk away beyond the opportunity to offer us this deal.”
“He’s loved,” Matt said. “That’s all the reason they need, all the opening they need. He is loved and the people who love him the most still live and breathe. They never should have taken him in the first place.” He glanced toward Phelan, then toward his sister and Thom. “Just like they never should have taken Ciar of the Imbolg. They have lesser claim than they.”
Marin blinked. “Matt, how do you—”
“It doesn’t matter.” Matt glanced at Kellin. “How are we making this choice? Casting ballots? Show of hands?”
“Ballots,” Kellin said softly. “Get a notebook and a hat.”
Matt nodded. “Done.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
I just hope it is as simple as they make it sound. They love Seamus and want him back in the fold.
Thanks for the new chapter.