Limping, he brought Sif into the fold, into the heart of their encampment.\u00a0 She glanced around warily, though mostly, her gaze settled on the back of his neck.\u00a0 He could feel that gaze, calculating, measuring, cold against his flesh as if it was a physical thing.<\/p>\n
Phelan took a slow, silent breath to steady himself as they drew closer to the fire.\u00a0 You\u2019re in control of this one, Taliesin, just remember that.\u00a0 You hold more cards than she does\u2014and she knows it.<\/i><\/p>\n
D\u00e9ithe agus arrachtaigh, I hope that Thordin\u2019s not sitting there.<\/i>\u00a0 His stomach roiled.\u00a0 He could taste the tension between the pair of lovers, worse than it had ever been between Thom and Marin, even when he\u2019d first come at the beginning, worse than it had ever been with Finn and Brigh\u00edd so long ago, at the heights of their arguments, at the very worst times.<\/p>\n
Then again, no one ever slept with someone\u2019s brother in those scenarios, either.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cYou swear that you weren\u2019t the one who told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t tell him,\u201d Phelan repeated, twisting to look at her.\u00a0 \u201cWhy can\u2019t you believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you won\u2019t tell me who did, Wanderer.\u00a0 In absence of alternatives, what else am I to do but believe that it must have been you who told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was Teague,\u201d Phelan snapped, hating himself for the admission.\u00a0 \u201cThey ran into each other in Colorado a few years ago.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how it came up, I just know that it did.\u00a0 Thordin told me.\u201d\u00a0 Teague didn\u2019t even tell me they\u2019d run into each other.<\/i>\u00a0 That still stung a little.\u00a0 Teague didn\u2019t keep many secrets from him.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s hell to get slapped in the face with the ones he <\/i>does decide to keep.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prince of Princes?\u00a0 He\u2019s still breathing, too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hardier folk than most people like to think,\u201d Phelan said, wincing as he stepped funny and stumbling.\u00a0 Sif caught him by the arm before he went crashing to the ground.\u00a0 He swore heartily as ribbons of pain shot through his chest and abdomen as he righted himself,\u00a0 allowing himself the luxury of leaning against her for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cMy current state of affairs nonwithstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhelan, what the hell are you doing up?\u201d<\/p>\n
He flinched at the sound of Jacqueline\u2019s voice, straightening quickly as he spotted her out of the corner of his eye.\u00a0 Her stride slowed as she studied Sif, who let go of Phelan hesitantly, canting her head to one side and studying the newcomer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatt came and got me,\u201d he explained, turning toward her and reaching a hand out for the healer.\u00a0 \u201cSaid there was trouble brewing and he needed a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I guess I\u2019ll just have to deal with him<\/i> later,\u201d Jacqueline said as she took Phelan\u2019s hand, squeezing it tightly as her eyes raked over him quickly, as if she was checking to make sure he hadn\u2019t suddenly sprouted any new wounds.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s probably doing just that.<\/i>\u00a0 He suppressed the urge to sigh.\u00a0 I\u2019m turning into some kind of violence-magnet and my body\u2019s starting to pay the price for it.\u00a0 This is worse than it ever was back in the old days, and I swear I had more enemies in a smaller area then than I do now.<\/i><\/p>\n
Maybe I\u2019m just getting old.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s our guest?\u201d Jacqueline asked, still looking at Sif.<\/p>\n
\u201cSif,\u201d the blonde said with a smile as cold as the frozen north.<\/p>\n
Jacqueline\u2019s brows knit.\u00a0 \u201cLike Odin and all that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u00a0 Like that.\u201d\u00a0 Sif\u2019s gaze returned to Phelan.\u00a0 \u201cI believe I\u2019ll find that fire now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan gestured vaguely.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sif nodded, brushing past him, long strides eating the distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t Sif and Thor\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s complicated,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s just leave it at that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Limping, he brought Sif into the fold, into the heart of their encampment.\u00a0 She glanced around warily, though mostly, her gaze settled on the back of his neck.\u00a0 He could feel that gaze, calculating, measuring, cold against his flesh as … Continue reading