Page 21 of Cathmoir's Sons

Their gaoithe sidhe tears through the westernmost Crow Queen’s court, dissipating the toxic fog, snuffing out the last guttering fires, which must have been burning for a thousand years. Heavy clouds roll in. I stretch out my hand. Lightning flickers between the clouds. With a deep boom of thunder, they unleash their wet burden. Veils of rain sweep across the black lands. A faint, green blush rises in their wake.

Together, we watch life return to those burnt, broken lands until the mists blot out the sunrise.

“Come with me to Cait House,” Caileán says.

“Our parents will be happy to see you, but why?” Luca asks.

“I want their advice on how to deal with the Holly King. Lying with you two softened my mood this morning, but overnight, the need to taste his life’s blood filled my mouth. My brow itched for the crown he wears. I wondered hour after hour if the Mother saved him only as a gift to me, to carry my crown until I could return to claim it. When my mind’s not overcome with midnight thoughts, I recognize killing him would be wrong on several levels. I don’t want to be overcome by my blood lust some dark night. We need a plan for how to deal with him.”

“A plan that doesn’t involve him becoming your consort,” I grumble.

Caileán curls her palm around my jaw, tapping her claws on my cheek. “My love, I belong to you and your brother and your brother’s love, as you three belong to me. There’s no space in my heart or my bed for any other.”

I press a kiss into her palm. “Should we go first and clear the way? It’s a holiday. Aine will be home. Seeing you will confuse her.”

“No, I owe her an explanation.”

I nuzzle in and kiss her ear. “She misses you. We all do.”

She strokes my cheek. “You will see more of me now.”

Luca’s arm snakes over her shoulders, under her mantle, and pulls me in close. We cuddle in tightly before Caileán grabs the aether with her claws and drags us to Cait House.

Chapter 7

Interview with the Capricorn

RHODES

Cait House is quiet on the last night of Yule. Luca and Law are in Scotland. Cath and Allie and most of the cousins are off observing what they call the Blue Cat Moon, the moon at perigee, which is just another excuse for a party. Cait House is deserted except for a few soft-footed servants and me.

That means I get pampered: a bath, a massage, surf and turf for dinner in bed. It also means I have time to catch up with the people I’ve ignored while I’ve recovered. I video call with my parents and sisters. I update Coach on my recovery. I call Yan and leave what must be my hundredth voicemail.

As I’m ending the call and picking up the textbook I’d planned to read tonight, Aine opens the bedroom door and pokes her head in. “Rhodes, there’s someone here for you. He says he’s the Capricorn. Should I tell him to go away?”

I startle. I didn’t realize Aine was here. I thought she’d gone into the woods with her parents and extended family. And the Capricorn? My mind does a wide circle as I try to place the name. Then I remember the green-cloaked man in the standing stones at Jedburgh Abbey.

“Did he say his name is Evan Lords?” I ask, remembering how the man introduced himself.

Aine flushes. “I think so. I kind of missed his name. I shouldn’t have answered the door. I thought it might be a friend.”

I raise my eyebrows at her. “Did you invite a boy over while everyone’s out?”

“Would I?” Her eyes widen in a simulacrum of innocence.

Yes, she would. “Aine, don’t do it. If I hear anything, I’ll have to tell Luca.”

She pouts. “We’ll be quiet.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I kept your secret!”

“Look where that got us. No more secrets. No more sneaking around. I mean it, Aine. I’ll tell.”

“Party pooper.” She pouts. “If I just meet him out in the garden?”

“Big no. Bring him in here and I’ll chaperone but you’re not having a boy alone in the house. Your brothers would kill you.”

---