I can\u2019t stay here for much longer.\u00a0 I\u2019m just putting all of them in more danger by staying.<\/i><\/p>\n
It\u2019s your duty to stay.\u00a0 You have to watch over them.\u00a0 Someone has to watch over them.\u00a0 That\u2019s the task that was settled on your shoulders, the burden you agreed to carry.\u00a0 You knew it wouldn\u2019t be easy when you took up the Taliesin\u2019s mantle.\u00a0 You can\u2019t shirk that duty now.<\/i><\/p>\n
But how can I stay knowing that I\u2019m putting them all in very real danger by my sheer presence?\u00a0 There are things out there that won\u2019t stop coming until they\u2019re dead or I am\u2014and there\u2019s usually more where they come from.<\/i><\/p>\n
Phelan drew a shuddering breath.\u00a0 \u201cHellfire,\u201d he breathed.\u00a0 It felt like someone had shoved a hot poker into his side where the hamrammr<\/i> had lodged a spear.\u00a0 I might have well have been coated in some kind of poison,<\/i> he thought.\u00a0 Even if it wasn\u2019t, it sure as hell feels like it was.<\/i><\/p>\n
I have to stop letting this happen.<\/i>\u00a0 His eyes fluttered shut, though he could still see the fluttering light of the lamp through the closed lids.\u00a0 His mind drifted back, back to days long gone, simpler times.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me I\u2019d regret saying yes, Seamus,\u201d he murmured to no one.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you were right.\u00a0 I regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhelan?\u201d<\/p>\n
He tensed at the sound of Jacqueline\u2019s voice, hissing as the rent muscles of his side, back, and belly protested.\u00a0 He forced himself to relax, eyes blinking open again.\u00a0 \u201cJac,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t hear you come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d guess not,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 She crossed the floor to his bedside, turning up the lamp slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d also guess from your reaction when you heard me that your side\u2019s not feeling much better than it was before, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan watched the blonde-haired girl as she settled on the edge of his bed and gently peeled back the covers on the injured side of his body.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cUnfortunately not.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want anyone to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know, or to worry?\u201d\u00a0 One corner of her mouth curved upward in a rueful smile.\u00a0 \u201cOr both?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone\u2019s got enough to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re included in that enough to worry about,\u201d Jacqueline said as she eased his shirt up to get to the bandages taped over his stitches.\u00a0 \u201cWe love you, Phelan.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you understand that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I do,\u201d he said, voice made hoarse by the sudden tightening of his throat.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that I enjoy feeling like a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not a burden.\u201d\u00a0 Her pale-eyed gaze skewered him straight through the heart.\u00a0 \u201cAnd don\u2019t you dare say that you are ever again or else it\u2019s me you\u2019ll answer to and we both know you don\u2019t want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d he murmured, meeting her gaze.\u00a0 There was fire in those eyes, a flame that burned bright and hot despite her sweet demeanor and even tempered nature.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a riddle.\u00a0 I imagine she always has been.\u00a0 Jehovah\u2019s touched child with a purpose that none of us can quite understand\u2014not even her.<\/i><\/p>\n
Not even me.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cBecause,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0 \u201cYou won\u2019t like what happens to you.\u00a0 Now hold still.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to have a look.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.\u00a0 This would be uncomfortable, and not just because she was going to poke his stitches.\u00a0 Of that, he was certain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I can\u2019t stay here for much longer.\u00a0 I\u2019m just putting all of them in more danger by staying. It\u2019s your duty to stay.\u00a0 You have to watch over them.\u00a0 Someone has to watch over them.\u00a0 That\u2019s the task that was … Continue reading