\u201cTwo?\u201d Neve\u2019s voice shook as she stared at her brother, at the expression of wonder and bewilderment on his face. \u201cTwins?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded, his eyes distant, shining in the dim. \u201cTwo,\u201d he breathed. \u201cTwo, deirfi\u00far beag<\/em>, mo dheirfi\u00far milis<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he crushed her against his chest. Her eyes stung and she buried her face against his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cSeamus,\u201d she whispered. \u201cOh gods, Seamus.\u201d<\/p>\n Phelan stood over them as they sat in the snow, brother rocking sister back and forth, back and forth as hot tears slid down her cheeks\u2014tears of anger and pain, because by now her leg had begun to remind her of how badly she\u2019d just abused it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re hurt,\u201d he murmured at last, drawing back and drying her tears with the placket of his cloak. \u201cI can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d she said, her voice suddenly raw and rasping. Phelan offered her a hand up and she took it, climbing to her feet and leaning against her cousin. \u201cWhere have you been?\u201d<\/p>\n Seamus shook his head. \u201cLeading the Wild Hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou said Albina sold you out to them,\u201d Phelan said, his expression grim. \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the ink was dry on the treaty and the marriage contract.\u201d Seamus rose slowly, shaking the snow from his dark cloak. \u201cBut she didn\u2019t hand me over right away. She had to wait a time. If she hadn\u2019t, it would have looked too suspicious.\u201d His lips thinned for a moment and his eyes grew distant. \u201cThey made me their leader after the Ridden Druid slipped the noose and escaped, after I inadvertently killed their leader when I was brought into the Hunt. The druid\u2026he\u2019s the only one ever to have left the Hunt alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeamus.\u201d Neve had to swallow before she could find herself able to speak again. \u201cHow did it happen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019d planned it all along,\u201d Seamus said, sounding sad. \u201cConspired. My only consolation is that it seems her plans didn\u2019t come to full fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow do we free you?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no escape for me now. I belong to them.\u201d His eyes slid shut and he sighed. \u201cI\u2019ll always belong to them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cTwo?\u201d Neve\u2019s voice shook as she stared at her brother, at the expression of wonder and bewilderment on his face. \u201cTwins?\u201d He nodded, his eyes distant, shining in the dim. \u201cTwo,\u201d he breathed. \u201cTwo, deirfi\u00far beag, mo dheirfi\u00far milis.\u201d Then … Continue reading