\u201cSo what\u2019s he like?\u201d Gray asked as he squeezed her against his hip.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho, my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray laughed. \u201cWho else would I be asking about, Aoife? God?\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled wryly and shrugged. \u201cThere are other possibilities.\u201d She went quiet for a few long moments, gathering her thoughts as she stared down the pathway ahead of them. \u201cPhelan…Phelan is an experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her arched a brow, peering at her. \u201cReally? Is that all I\u2019m going to get?\u201d<\/p>\n
Chuckling, she shook her head. \u201cNo, of course not.\u201d She exhaled a sigh and shoved her hands into her pockets. \u201cHe\u2019s a few years older than me\u2014not much in the grand scheme of things, but older. He\u2019s younger than Seamus, of an age with Teague. Neve and I are the youngest. I\u2019ve told you a little bit about the five of us\u2014about me and my brother and our cousins. We were almost inseparable back then, back before…before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you all right?\u201d Gray asked softly, apparently taking note of the sudden distance in her eyes and the wistfulness of her tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she said softly. \u201cI just miss the old days sometimes.\u201d Before Seamus stopped being the Taliesin and my brother took on that burden. Before Seamus left us and Teague retreated to bitter anger at his father. Before the worst of the wars.<\/em><\/p>\n Before we fled the world that was our home for another because one king\u2019s fear became our collective fear.<\/em><\/p>\n She leaned into him and Gray held her close for a long moment. \u201cWe were always together, even when we were apart,\u201d she said softly. \u201cNow it\u2019s different. Now we\u2019re all too distant, too far. I can\u2019t feel them the way I used to feel them. That gets hard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re walking,\u201d Gray murmured.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d she whispered. \u201cYeah, it is.\u201d She refused to regret the choice. She needed <\/em>to see her brother\u2014needed to touch<\/em> him, to assure herself that he really was going to be okay. She didn\u2019t think he was yet, but in time he would be.<\/p>\n Somehow, he always was, always came out of things okay, but it felt different this time.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s because we\u2019re vulnerable somehow. Maybe it\u2019s because of everything that\u2019s been happening. It just feels different. Nothing\u2019s the same anymore. Nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAoife?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n Gray kissed her temple. \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n A blush crept up, leaving her cheeks hot. She smiled and nodded, throat tightening so much she couldn\u2019t speak. Gray smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d he said, and that was all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cSo what\u2019s he like?\u201d Gray asked as he squeezed her against his hip. \u201cWho, my brother?\u201d Gray laughed. \u201cWho else would I be asking about, Aoife? God?\u201d She smiled wryly and shrugged. \u201cThere are other possibilities.\u201d She went quiet for … Continue reading