\u201cWhat secrets do you know, Marin?\u201d Seamus asked after what felt like forever, trailing behind her like a shadow as she tended the wards. \u201cWhat have you seen that lets you know what I\u2019ve kept my own counsel about some things\u2014things that I might not have wanted Phelan to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
She snorted humorlessly, leading the way around the edges of their settlement, moving past where the wall ended and the lip of the ravine began. Her boots crunched in the snow, shattering the chilly stillness of predawn. \u201cFor starters, I know that Thom and I will leave,\u201d she said. \u201cI told your sister that, once. She was going to teach me to do something and I said to her that I wouldn\u2019t always be here.\u201d She sighed, staring into the darkness of the ravines. \u201cMy son\u2014my son will be barely old enough to look out for himself but will be far, far wiser than his years. They\u2019ll tell him we\u2019ve died because it\u2019s easier than telling him we left. He might even believe them until the day comes when he leaves with your nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would you leave?\u201d Seamus whispered, his throat tight, his guts twisting. No. No, it can\u2019t be true\u2014it can\u2019t be this, can\u2019t be them. It wasn\u2019t supposed to come while I was still alive, while any of us were still alive.<\/em><\/p>\n Then again, by most accounts, I <\/em>am dead.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTo search for something,\u201d Marin said softly. \u201cAnd someone. I know that we\u2019re looking for you for part of that time.\u201d<\/p>\n He felt sick. \u201cI have no intention of leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIntention doesn\u2019t play much role in this, Seamus, and you know that. Your brother never intended to fall in love with Thom\u2019s cousin, or become the king of your people, or bring you to grief. Things happen that we have no control over. We just deal with them as they come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s lost too much, Marin,\u201d Seamus said. \u201cYou know I can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI never said that you should tell Phelan anything,\u201d she said. \u201cI said that you should tell me<\/em>. You should tell me and trust that I won\u2019t breathe a word of it until the time comes when it\u2019s necessary and right to talk about it\u2014if that day ever comes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that day comes,\u201d Seamus whispered.<\/p>\n Marin stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. \u201cYes. When that day comes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWhat secrets do you know, Marin?\u201d Seamus asked after what felt like forever, trailing behind her like a shadow as she tended the wards. \u201cWhat have you seen that lets you know what I\u2019ve kept my own counsel about some … Continue reading