\u201cNo,\u201d Neve said, her voice firm. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that. If the Ridden Druid managed to leave, then you can, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not how it works, Neve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hell with how it works,\u201d she snapped, eyes blazing. \u201cTo hell with that! You belong to us and the world, not the bloody Wild Hunt! Forsake it and stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She drew a breath to protest but Phelan\u2019s tightening grip forestalled what she was about to say. She threw a questioning glance in his direction and didn\u2019t like the look she saw in his eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do we bargain you free?\u201d Phelan asked quietly. \u201cThere must be some kind of loophole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNone that I\u2019ve found,\u201d Seamus said quietly. \u201cBut then after the first hundred years or so, I stopped trying to find one. I accepted what had become of me and tried to…temper…the Hunt.\u201d He smiled a faint, weak smile. \u201cIt\u2019s different from what it used to be. Mercifully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour influence?\u201d Phelan asked, one corner of his mouth quirking upward.<\/p>\n
Seamus inclined his head, smiling weakly. \u201cYou could say so. Of course, until recently it\u2019s been difficult to operate. There\u2019s very few places in the world where a pack of riders in cloaks wouldn\u2019t be noticed before the conflagration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that what you\u2019re calling it?\u201d Phelan murmured. \u201cWe\u2019ve been calling it the end of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seamus smiled faintly and shook his head. \u201cYou know as well as I do that it\u2019s hardly the end. It\u2019s just the end of the world as we all knew it, not that it was very familiar for most of our kith and kin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more familiar than you think.\u201d Phelan\u2019s lips thinned. \u201cTeague is here, too. He has been for about ten years. I…barely left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seamus\u2019s eyes flicked toward his sister, who grimaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI\u2019ve been back for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Neve who answered, a faint smile on her lips. \u201cThe edicts died with Father. We knew where we needed to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we needed to be was here. It just took us a long time to realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch to our sorrow and regret,\u201d Phelan said softly. \u201cThough hopefully we\u2019ll be able to make up for the lost time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cNo,\u201d Neve said, her voice firm. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that. If the Ridden Druid managed to leave, then you can, too.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s not how it works, Neve.\u201d \u201cTo hell with how it works,\u201d she snapped, eyes blazing. \u201cTo hell with … Continue reading