\u201cHold still,\u201d Jacqueline snarled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan almost jumped right out of his bed, wishing for a moment that he could take leave of his skin as well if only to quell the fiery pain in his side and the roiling of his stomach.\u00a0 As it was, he crammed himself into the corner at the head of his bed, wide-eyed and staring at her.\u00a0 She met his gaze with a baleful one of her own, her jaw tight with one muscle twitching in it and her pulse visibly pounding in her temple.<\/p>\n
His mouth went dry.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSave it,\u201d she snapped.\u00a0 \u201cLie back down.\u00a0 I\u2019m not finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2014send Jay,\u201d he said, swallowing the bile that suddenly rose in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re in no state\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she agreed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not in any state to work on you.\u00a0 Do you know why?\u00a0 It\u2019s because you\u2019re being a damned idiot and I can\u2019t take it.\u00a0 I just can\u2019t take it.\u00a0 Do you have any idea what would happen to us if you left?\u00a0 We wouldn\u2019t survive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you would.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019re all too strong, too brave, too smart to just lay down and die.\u00a0 You\u2019re clever.\u00a0 You\u2019d outwit anything that came up against you.\u00a0 Somehow, you\u2019d all find a way to come out on top.<\/i><\/p>\n
They\u2019ll do that with or without you.\u00a0 So why can\u2019t you stay?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cNo, we wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 Even if we have Neve and Thordin, we all know that they don\u2019t have half the knowledge that you do rattling around that thick skull of yours.\u00a0 We need you and I can\u2019t believe you\u2019d think for a second<\/i> of leaving us.\u201d\u00a0 She swiped angrily at the tears that were welling up, threatening to spill down her cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cIf you left us, I think I\u2019d hate you and I don\u2019t hate anyone.\u201d\u00a0 She capped the bottle of rubbing alcohol and flung it back into her basket.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t even look at you right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She spun, then, and marched out the door.\u00a0 Phelan sagged into the corner, mouth dry and heart beating at twice its normal speed.<\/p>\n
The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stirred and he smelled the scent he always associated with \u00c9riu.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose you\u2019ve come to scold me, too,\u201d he said in a hoarse whisper.<\/p>\n
Her voice was like bells.\u00a0 \u201cShe fancies you, Uncle.\u00a0 Don\u2019t judge her too harshly.\u00a0 She can\u2019t help her heart any more than you can help yours.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
A shudder went through him as words failed.<\/p>\n
For one of the very few times in his life, Phelan O\u2019Credne didn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cHold still,\u201d Jacqueline snarled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got work to do.\u201d Phelan almost jumped right out of his bed, wishing for a moment that he could take leave of his skin as well if only to quell the fiery pain in his … Continue reading