Page 39 of Kings and Monsters

"He is good company. It was easy enough to invite him. Family is important, and I want it around me. Despite how it may seem, I mean it when I say I would've come back if I had known he had lived." Bleddyn looked into Bran's wrinkled face. "If I had known you and Eirianwen were still alive, there would've been nothing to keep me away."

"I'm not the one you need to convince of that."

"I have tried convincing her, Bran! She won't talk to me about any of it." Bleddyn threw his hands up angrily. "She just wants to blame me for things and be angry and bitter."

"Bleddyn," Bran said, soft and indulgent, "did you stop to think that perhaps talking about it fills her with shame and regret? Eirianwen has always used anger as a way of dealing with her hurt. There is much you don't know about what happened."

Bleddyn exploded. "How can I make things right if she refuses to tell me what she is blaming me for? I saw her fall, Bran. I never returned because I couldn't bear to be in a world that didn't have her in it! I still don't know how she lived. She won't even tell me that!" Bleddyn leaned forward, clutching his head in his hands. "The woman is insufferable."

"I was the one that found her, Bleddyn." Bran's voice cracked, and Bleddyn looked up between his fingers. "I was about to bury her when I realized her stubborn spirit still clung to life. I thought if there were even the smallest chance that I could save her, I would risk everything. I took her to the Caves and used magic to piece her back together. Her wounds…" Branbroke off, and Bleddyn felt he was holding something back, but he didn't know why.What promise had Eirianwen made him swear?

"It took many months before she regained consciousness completely. The first thing she heard of you was that you had thwarted the queen, that you had become her lover and betrayed her, and then fled to the human world. I don't know what made Eirianwen angrier—that you stooped low enough to become the queen's lover or that you had left the Aos Si without her."

"I did what I had to do to save my brothers," Bleddyn said coldly. "I won't apologize for that anymore. I had nothing left to lose and no reason to stay. What aren't you telling me, Bran?"

"They aren't my secrets to share, Bleddyn. Give her time. They are not easy things for her to talk about." Bran tilted his head to one side. "She is coming."

"Stay," Bleddyn said. "I need a witness if she's come to run me through with a blade."

Eirianwen didn't bother to knock as she burst into the room. She wasn't in her finery today, only her customary tunic shirt and leather pants.

"Bleddyn!" she called before freezing when she spotted them watching her. "Bran! Good. You being here saves time."

"Good evening, my lady," Bleddyn said through his teeth. "What brings you rudely barging into my chambers?"

"One of my ravens just delivered this." She tossed a small scroll at him. "It's from Fintan. He's one of my Seelie spies that I recruited while I was in prison."

Bleddyn scanned the contents of the hastily scratched note, his heart heavier by the second. "Oh, Bal, what has she done to you."

"She might have turned him into a creature, but he still lives, which means there is still hope," Eirianwen said. "Fintan'smaking sure Nimue is being fed and looked after the best he can while she's in the oubliette."

"And you trust that this Seelie guard is telling you the truth?" Bleddyn demanded. He stood, thrusting the parchment back at her. "He could be your spy under the queen's orders."

"I trust him because he did the same for me while I had my own stay in the pit," Eirianwen snapped. "I thought the news of your son still living would please you. It will give Rosa hope."

"Rosa can't know anything about this. Aeronwen has turned him into a monster, a creature that has no will except hers. That is almost worse than him being dead."

"No, it's not. There will be a way to bring him back?—"

"You aren't a parent," Bleddyn hissed. "I don't expect you to understand what I'm going through."

The blow that hit him was so hard that he staggered backward, blood pouring from his nose. Eirianwen was breathing heavily with fury, unspilled tears in her eyes. She spat at him in disgust before storming from the room.

Bran steadied Bleddyn with one hand and then shoved him towards the open doors.

"Go after her, Bleddyn. Right now. Don't let her leave this palace or you will regret it."

Bleddyn didn't need to be told twice. He ran after her, his anger a living shadow as it flew ahead of him, stopping her in the main hall. He caught her from behind, his arms wrapping around her and locking her arms to her sides.

"Let me go, you bastard!" she struggled, her legs kicking out.

"No! I'm not letting you go until you talk to me." The predator in him was roaring. Her back pressed up to his chest, and the small wriggling movements she made only made him tighten his grip. "I swear by the gods, if you don't tell me what you're hiding from me right now, I'll bite you and take the memories right out of your stubborn head," he threatened.

Like a deer finally submitting to the wolf, the fight seemed to go out of her, and she stilled in his arms. He couldn't see her face, but he could feel the small tremors running through her as she wept.

"Do it," she whimpered, dropping her head to one side, exposing the side of her neck to him. "I don't…I don't have the words. I know you can find my memories through my blood. So take them, Bleddyn."

He bent his head, a growl reverberating through him. He brushed his nose down the soft skin behind her ear, breathing in her scent of war and woman, her magic and blood singing to him.

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