Page 98 of Tin God

Brigid lifted her hand. “Hello.” She wanted to cry. She wanted to leap into his arms. She wanted to hide in the safety of him, and he was cold as ice. “Carwyn?—”

“Do you need to feed before daylight?”

That was the first thing he asked her?

“No.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve been feeding regularly. I haven’t been skipping. I’ve been?—”

“Good.” He looked her up and down. “You flew.”

“I did.”Please don’t do this. Please don’t shut me out.

“I wondered where Ben disappeared to.” He glanced up. “I should have known it was her.”

“Carwyn—”

“It’s almost dawn.” He started walking toward the house. “There are rooms on the ground floor that?—”

“I’m sorry!” Brigid choked on the sob that erupted from her throat. “I’m sorry. I love you so much, and I’m sorry, mo chroí. My heart, tá brón orm. So very sorry.”

He spun on her. “You left me!”

The ground beneath Brigid shook with his anger. “I know.”

“I begged you not to leave me behind. I called you and Ibeggedyou to let us do this together and you left me, Brigid.” The corner of his lip curled up and his fangs fell. “You are mymate.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Oh fuck off!” The ground shook again. “I’m not a saint. I’m not a savior. I’m as selfish as the next bastard, and you left me.” He stomped toward her, the ground firming under his feet, lifting up to meet him as he stalked her. “Why?”

She whispered, “I wanted to protect you.”

“But you can go to Oleg?” He threw out an arm. “You can call on Tenzin? You can call in favors from any number of the worst criminals in our world but?—”

“Yes!” She lifted her chin, not caring if he saw her cry. “I will call in any favor and rake the absolute muck of our world if that means keepin’ you alive and away from Zasha Sokholov.”

“I’m not weak, Brigid.” He stood up straight and lifted his chin. “But apparently you think I am.”

ChapterTwenty-Three

The look on her face made Carwyn feel as if he’d slapped her.

“No.” Brigid shook her head. “Carwyn, that’s the last thing I could ever think. I know you’re not?—”

“Then why the fuck would you leave me when you’re hunting one of the most psychotic immortals we’ve ever come across?”

Anger was still burning in his gut even though she’d apologized. It wasn’t a pretty thing, and he knew it. It wasn’t one of his finer qualities, but pushed to the edge, he had a very hard time letting go of resentment.

And this time his mate had pushed him.

He could see the sky changing color. The dawn would come soon, and he saw that she was exhausted. He couldn’t bear to be parted from her for another day, but he wanted to shout at her and shake her until she realized how reckless she’d been.

“Carwyn,” she stammered. “I… I know what I did was hurtful, but I was trying to?—”

“Shut up.” He spread his arms, and the ground beneath them opened up, pulling them both in. He caught her in his arms as the earth took them under, then tunneled toward drier ground.

The earth around him was fragrant with moss and organic matter, lush with scent and life. He held Brigid curled into his chest and carried her to the burrow he’d carved out two nights before when sleeping for another night by the crashing water had raked on his nerves.

He tunneled past the shelter he’d created for the elder, sensing the man’s amnis as it worked to keep the old one alive and heal him from his burns.

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