\u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 I looked between Phelan and Cariocecus, my brow furrowing.\u00a0 I could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.\u00a0 \u201cAre you two done baiting each other?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried to break my face,\u201d Cariocecus said, feigning innocence.\u00a0 I swore under my breath and massaged a temple.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tried to break Thom and I,\u201d I retorted.\u00a0 \u201cAnd tried to kill all of us, and subverted one of our friends\u2026do I need to keep going?\u00a0 Because I\u2019m sure I can come up with more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cariocecus just stared at me for a moment before he glanced away.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d he said, his voice even, perhaps even a little remorseful.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t have to continue.\u00a0 I\u2019m well aware of the wrongs I\u2019ve done unto you and yours, Seer.\u00a0 I\u2019ve no need to be reminded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 I crossed my arms and stared at him.\u00a0 \u201cThen you can keep explaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes narrowed briefly before he let out a soft sigh and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cVery well.\u00a0 There are tales that the Taliesin seems to want to forget\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow the hell do you know that\u2019s what I am?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan demanded as Thom slowly let him up from the snow-covered ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a rather poorly kept secret in some circles,\u201d Cariocecus said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the metal of the archway again.\u00a0 \u201cIt began when someone sorted out that Seamus the Black had been the Taliesin before you and then began to think about who the mantle might be passed to when he\u2019d left your homeland.\u00a0 Chief among the possibilities were you and the Lord Teague, but the latter was summarily dismissed soon after.\u00a0 Men watched you, Wanderer, and the pieces began to fall into place.\u00a0 No matter how secret you think your intentions may be, how quiet you make your moves, someone will always<\/i> notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan\u2019s eyes narrowed dangerously and a muscle in his jaw twitched violently.\u00a0 I smothered a wince as I turned away from him and back toward Cariocecus.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still baiting him,\u201d I said, tone light and even.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he\u2019s not a fan,\u201d Thom growled.\u00a0 \u201cStick to business, Cariocecus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I am<\/i> trying,\u201d he said, eyes narrowing slightly, \u201cbut a certain troublemaker is making that difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan shook off Thom\u2019s grip.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 I looked between the two of them, voice soft.\u00a0 \u201cIf this is going to work, we can\u2019t have the two of you constantly at each other\u2019s throats.\u00a0 It won\u2019t do us an ounce of good to even try.\u00a0 Either you two make some kind of peace or the deal\u2019s off.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach gave an uncomfortable flutter at the idea of just giving up, but I hadn\u2019t been sure that this little alliance was in our best interest in the first place.<\/p>\n
When had I started to think otherwise?<\/p>\n
That<\/i> was enough to make me shiver.<\/p>\n
Phelan gave me a baleful look for just a second, then sighed and drew himself up a little straighter, a little taller.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u00a0 I will make a concerted effort to treat him with some modicum of respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will endeavor to do likewise,\u201d Cariocecus said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 I exhaled a breath I hadn\u2019t realized I\u2019d been holding.\u00a0 Don\u2019t push your luck, Marin, you can\u2019t hope for much more than what they\u2019ve just agreed to.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cNow that that\u2019s settled, tell us how you know that Seamus is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did already say that it was because the Lady of Sighs told me.\u00a0 In exchange for my sparing the Wanderer\u2019s life, no less.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still don\u2019t believe that,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know how you expect me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBelieve it,\u201d Cariocecus said, \u201cbecause it\u2019s the truth.\u00a0 She was in a cabin surrounded by Hamrammr<\/i>, possibly about to get torn to shreds.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head, looking at Phelan again.\u00a0 \u201cWhen you piss off goddesses, you pick some of the best<\/i>, you realize that, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like I try,\u201d Phelan retorted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not.\u00a0 It\u2019s just the way about you.\u201d\u00a0 Cariocecus grinned momentarily, then continued.\u00a0 \u201cI came to her rescue, of course.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always had a soft spot for your little sister, Wanderer.\u00a0 She\u2019s so much sweeter than the rest of you, but with such steel<\/i> in her spine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom put a restraining hand on Phelan\u2019s shoulder and I swallowed another sigh.<\/p>\n
Yeah.\u00a0 This\u2026isn\u2019t going well.\u00a0 Not at all.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cSo she told you that Seamus was alive because she was grateful that you\u2019d saved her life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, no, she bargained,\u201d Cariocecus said.\u00a0 \u201cShe bargained for her brother\u2019s life and I granted her that boon.\u00a0 Then she told me.\u00a0 Of course, I suspected that he was still breathing because the signs point to it\u2014and there are some who have scryed his blood in the world, started to track it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cThat could just have easily been his offspring.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed,\u201d Cariocecus said, tone thoughtful and eyes distant.\u00a0 \u201cIndeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christ.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like where I think this is going.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like it at all.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 I looked between Phelan and Cariocecus, my brow furrowing.\u00a0 I could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.\u00a0 \u201cAre you two done baiting each other?\u201d \u201cHe tried to break my face,\u201d Cariocecus said, feigning innocence.\u00a0 I swore under … Continue reading