Phelan held my gaze for a long moment before he tore his eyes away, focusing on his cousin. \u201cWell,\u201d he said slowly. \u201cGet on with it, then. Finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sank down beside me, sitting cross-legged and frowning. Neve\u2019s eyes fluttered shut and she took a pair of breaths before she resumed the tale.<\/p>\n
\u201cCiar went with the other druids while the hunters rode off in another direction. It wasn\u2019t until long after that we knew the full truth of what had happened, but Brigh\u00edd knew something was amiss almost immediately. She was the one that convinced the rest to return to camp prematurely\u2014and they returned to find Ciar had vanished. She knew something was wrong, and there were signs of a struggle, and with her brother gone…well. It didn\u2019t take much for her to piece it all together. She convinced Teague to truth-read the treacherous druids and through that, she and Phelan and my brothers learned the depths of their perfidy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinn was there, too,\u201d Phelan murmured. \u201cFinn actually was the one who figured out that it was the druids. Brigh\u00edd knew something was wrong, but Finn knew it was the druids that were responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for Phelan\u2019s hand, squeezing it tight. He squeezed back, so hard his knuckles went briefly white.<\/p>\n
Neve chewed her lip and glanced toward Leinth and Carolyn. Carolyn leaned forward, her eyes huge in her delicate face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve sighed. \u201cThe druids were dragged before my father and made to confess what they\u2019d done. To this day, I know my father made a mistake in not ordering their immediate deaths. For once in his life, he showed mercy, and not to anyone who deserved it. I don\u2019t know why\u2014I\u2019m not even sure I want to know why. Knowing why would likely make me think ill of him, and I think poorly enough of my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe freed them?\u201d Surprise was heavy in Leinth\u2019s voice and she looked askance at Neve. \u201cWhat kind of fool was he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBrigh\u00edd asked the same thing,\u201d Phelan said. \u201cIn front of everyone, she told him he was a fool, that those men deserved death for what they\u2019d done. Then she left. She was going to find CIar, and nothing was going to stop her from doing it\u2014no matter who tried, she wouldn\u2019t be stopped. She vowed then and there that she\u2019d save her brother and eventually, she did.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Phelan held my gaze for a long moment before he tore his eyes away, focusing on his cousin. \u201cWell,\u201d he said slowly. \u201cGet on with it, then. Finish it.\u201d He sank down beside me, sitting cross-legged and frowning. Neve\u2019s eyes … Continue reading