\u201cI\u2014\u201d\u00a0 Marin stopped, her brow furrowing, then began again.\u00a0 \u201cHow can you be sure you\u2019ll never know what happened to him?\u00a0 I mean, with everything that seems to keep popping out of the woodwork from Phelan\u2019s<\/i> sordid past, at least, couldn\u2019t you hope to eventually find out something about what happened to Seamus?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve sighed, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems to me that all of the people who might likely know something are probably dead right alongside him in centuries past.\u00a0 He went south on my father\u2019s orders.\u00a0 I\u2026we\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She broke off, exhaling a frustrated sigh.\u00a0 \u201cThere were always stories<\/i> about what he was doing, what had happened to him, but you never knew which to believe.\u00a0 Then we got word that he\u2019d been killed\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Marin edged her chair closer and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the bed.\u00a0 \u201cDid they send proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis sword and his signet,\u201d Neve said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd his mask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I was going to ask about those.\u00a0 I saw Teague with one once, and then Phelan wore one when he married Thom and I.\u00a0 Are they significant somehow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve nodded slightly, feeling her stomach give an uncomfortable twist.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Just a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
Understatement of the millennium right there.<\/i><\/p>\n
Marin smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re hoping I won\u2019t ask how.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve smiled back.\u00a0 \u201cNice to know we understand each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, absolutely,\u201d Marin said, smiling faintly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019m still going to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured that you would.\u201d\u00a0 Neve rolled onto her back with a slight wince.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re too curious for your own good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI figure that eventually it\u2019s either going to pay off or get us all killed. \u00a0Is asking about the masks going to get us all killed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot likely.\u201d\u00a0 Neve sighed and stared at the ceiling.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re symbolic.\u00a0 Each one, its colors, the style, the symbols painted on them\u2014they\u2019re unique to the wearer.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cWe each have one.\u00a0 Losing it\u2026losing it isn\u2019t an option.\u00a0 They\u2019re typically returned to the closest surviving relative upon our deaths, if they can be located.\u00a0 Otherwise, they\u2019re buried with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marin\u2019s nose wrinkled, but she leaned back and didn\u2019t press for more details.<\/p>\n
Thank the gods for small favors.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you all miss him,\u201d she said after a moment.\u00a0 \u201cThe way you talk about him.\u00a0 The look all of you get when you do.\u00a0 I can only imagine how awful it must have been\u2014to not know for such a long time and ten all of a sudden be told that he\u2019s dead and you\u2019ll never see him again.\u201d\u00a0 Marin shivered.\u00a0 \u201cIf it were Matt, I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTeague took it the hardest,\u201d Neve said softly, slowly rolling onto her side again.\u00a0 \u201cHe always blamed himself.\u00a0 Father blamed him, too.\u00a0 I think that was the harder burden to bear, really.\u00a0 Father blaming him for Seamus\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a time I never thought I\u2019d see Teague smile again, especially after she was gone and Seamus was dead and it was all coming apart\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been hard,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cBut half the time we don\u2019t even dare talk to each other about it because all of us have such burdens to bear already.\u00a0 It just doesn\u2019t seem fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem fair that you can\u2019t talk to each other about them,\u201d Marin said, leaning forward again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Neve said.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem fair.\u00a0 But that\u2019s how it\u2019s been for a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teague was trying to bridge that gap before you left.\u00a0 I wonder how closely he and Phelan had been working with each other before everything fell apart, before the world ended.<\/i>\u00a0 She closed her eyes for a moment.\u00a0 She\u2019d have to ask Phelan.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay, Neve?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 \u201cJust thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout anything important?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her lips quirked into a smile.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI\u2014\u201d\u00a0 Marin stopped, her brow furrowing, then began again.\u00a0 \u201cHow can you be sure you\u2019ll never know what happened to him?\u00a0 I mean, with everything that seems to keep popping out of the woodwork from Phelan\u2019s sordid past, at least, … Continue reading