\u201cLeinth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dark circles ringed the Otherworlder\u2019s eyes as she clutched her dark cloak around her body, her shoulders slumped and her hair hanging in ragged tangles around her face.\u00a0 Neve let go of Phelan and tentatively approached the newcomer, swallowing hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you make it past the wards?\u201d\u00a0 Neve asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine it was because I feel no malice toward any of you,\u201d Leinth said, swaying on her feet.\u00a0 Phelan darted forward to catch her as her knees buckled.\u00a0 She looked at him, surprise evident in her eyes as she struggled to find her balance again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you lived,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cGood.\u00a0 I was afraid that you wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lover has a gift,\u201d Phelan said, releasing her as she steadied.\u00a0 \u201cI was lucky.\u00a0 I shouldn\u2019t have survived.\u201d\u00a0 His gaze raked over her, brows knitting.\u00a0 Neve spoke before he could, but the words could have been his.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like hell,\u201d Neve said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI grappled with the Hecate.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think you\u2019d look much better.\u201d\u00a0 Leinth shivered, her gaze drifting toward the fire.\u00a0 \u201cShe escaped.\u00a0 I thought I had her exactly where I wanted her, somewhere she shouldn\u2019t have been able to win free of so easily, but I was sadly mistaken.\u00a0 She\u2019s craftier than I thought\u2014either that, or she\u2019s more able to tap the lines of power than I imagined she might be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s the queen of hags,\u201d Neve snarled, her nose wrinkling in distaste.\u00a0 \u201cThe Witch-Goddess.\u00a0 Of course she can tap the lines of power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe shouldn\u2019t have been able to when she was encased in Lake Superior ice,\u201d Leinth said, her voice as cold as that ice must have been.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, I might have overlooked something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike what?\u201d\u00a0 Neve asked.<\/p>\n
Phelan\u2019s stomach dropped.\u00a0 \u201cAllies.\u00a0 The Hecate has allies\u2014Menhit, probably others.\u00a0 They could have freed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because I\u2019ve helped you and yours, I\u2019m a target now, too.\u201d\u00a0 Leinth slowly seated herself by the fire, resting her elbows against her knees.\u00a0 \u201cI know that you didn\u2019t exactly view me favorably before, but I\u2019ve come to ask your forgiveness for whatever wrong you believe I\u2019d done in the past.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t betray anyone then.\u00a0 I was trying to save us all\u2014Seamus most of all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d\u00a0 Neve asked, her whisper strangled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I knew.\u201d\u00a0 One diamond tear tracked down Leinth\u2019s cheek.\u00a0 \u201cIf he lives, I can\u2019t see where.\u00a0 My power wanes with the fading winter and fighting Hecate…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 Neve looked at him sharply and he touched her shoulder, squeezing gently.\u00a0 \u201cTruly.\u00a0 We can\u2019t change what\u2019s gone before.\u00a0 All we can do is move forward.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at Neve.\u00a0 \u201cI heard a wolf call a little while ago.\u00a0 Did you?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded slightly.\u00a0 \u201cThordin and Matt went to check it out.\u00a0 We\u2019re thinking it\u2019s nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan\u2019s lips thinned.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s never nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned to go and fetch his staff.<\/p>\n
Something\u2019s coming.\u00a0 <\/em>He could feel it in his bones.\u00a0 We just don\u2019t know what.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cLeinth?\u201d Dark circles ringed the Otherworlder\u2019s eyes as she clutched her dark cloak around her body, her shoulders slumped and her hair hanging in ragged tangles around her face.\u00a0 Neve let go of Phelan and tentatively approached the newcomer, swallowing … Continue reading