\u201cThat didn\u2019t sound ominous at all,\u201d Mat said, crossing his arms and glaring back through the darkness toward the tent\u2019s flap, toward the ravine where the others were. \u201cAre you going to tell us more, Neve, or should I not bother asking?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve sighed and shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s complicated and I\u2019ll tell you later, but what I want to know is why the hell she\u2019d be looking for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething tells me that the only one who even might know the answer to that question just walked away,\u201d Cameron muttered.<\/p>\n
Tala tugged on Matt\u2019s sleeve. \u201cC\u2019mon. Let\u2019s get those blankets before Jac goes sideways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease do,\u201d Jacqueline said, her voice just barely on the gentler side of a snarl. The wounds looked bad, worse in the light than they had in the dim, oozing dark blood sluggishly to track in purple-red rivulets down Phelan\u2019s shoulders and back.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaws,\u201d Neve said. \u201cIt must have been. If I know them both, Phelan tried to do something idiotic and heroic and Seamus had to rescue him. It\u2019s par for the course when it comes to the men in my bloody family.\u201d She eased a dribble of water from the kettle into the mortar and kept working. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Jac, I really am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like it\u2019s your fault,\u201d Jacqueline muttered, quickly cleaning the wounds and trying not to bite through her lower lip while she did it.<\/p>\n
He hasn\u2019t moved. He hasn\u2019t even made a sound. That never happens. What\u2019s going on?<\/em> She sucked in a rasping breath and struggled to master herself again. God, Phelan, don\u2019t do this to me. You promised.<\/em><\/p>\n Damn you, you promised.<\/em><\/p>\n Thordin\u2019s sudden roar shook all of them. Cameron nearly dropped the lamp, his head jerking up.<\/p>\n \u201cThat didn\u2019t sound good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d Jacqueline whispered. \u201cGo. Find out, come back\u2014or stay if they need you. But hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t need to tell him twice. He was gone a heartbeat later, leaving the lamp flickering silently by her knee.<\/p>\n Neve met her gaze with a worried one of her own.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is worse than I\u2019ve imagined, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Jacqueline asked with a terrible, sick feeling growing in her stomach.<\/p>\n Neve swallowed hard and looked down into the mortar. \u201cD\u00e9ithe agus arrachtaigh<\/em>, I hope not, Jac. I sure as hell hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThat didn\u2019t sound ominous at all,\u201d Mat said, crossing his arms and glaring back through the darkness toward the tent\u2019s flap, toward the ravine where the others were. \u201cAre you going to tell us more, Neve, or should I not … Continue reading