Page 69 of The Falconer

‘Enough!’ I step between them. ‘Sit down, both of you.’

Surprisingly, they sit across from one another in silence. Gavin scowls at Kiaran; Kiaran simply stares back. At least a minute ticks by and they both remain quiet. Neither one of them is going to tell me a thing.

‘What was in the blasted vision?’ I’m finally forced to ask.

‘It’s pointless to ask him, Kam,’ Kiaran says. ‘A Seer’s mind – a feeble thing such as it is – has difficulty piecing together visions too far in advance. Too many outcomes and choices that have yet to happen to see it clearly.’ He looks at Gavin. ‘I knew which connections to make to view the whole thing. Yours is a gift wasted on the useless.’

Gavin leans back on the settee, crossing his legs. Sheer bravado, but he’s quite convincing. ‘Tell me, are all the fae raised to be such arrogant cads, or does it come naturally?’

‘Try not to provoke me,’ Kiaran says. ‘Any use you might have had has now expired.’

Gavin looks at me. ‘Why is he here?’

I swipe a hand across my damp forehead and sway on my feet. If I weren’t leaning against the settee, I might have fallen. The illness is getting worse. It’s something I can feel in my bones, a heaviness underneath my burning skin.

When I don’t respond, Gavin studies me intently. ‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine.’ I want to know what Kiaran saw, but I’m having trouble forming the words. I shiver and wrap my arms around myself. ‘MacKay, what—’

‘Not now, Kam,’ Kiaran says abruptly. ‘I’ll take my leave.’ He’s already walking towards the door.

Oh no you don’t. ‘Will you excuse me for a moment?’

Without waiting for Gavin’s response, I follow Kiaran out of the room, careful to turn slightly from Gavin so he doesn’t notice the blood on the back of my dress and the undone buttons.

Kiaran is halfway down the hall. I hurry to catch up, ignoring how the quick movement nauseates me. ‘Stop right there, Kiaran MacKay.’ I reach out to grab him. His muscles tense under my fingertips.

‘Aye?’ He sounds so formal, so polite.

‘Tell me what you saw.’

He hesitates, reaching for me as if to touch my face. At the last second, he drops his hand. ‘Your friend’s head was full of a great many uninteresting things.’

Kiaran can come up with a better version than that. He’s a master at the faery half-lie. What could he have seen, that would affect him this way?

‘That’s not an answer,’ I say.

Wordlessly, Kiaran steps behind me. Before I can ask what he intends to do, he begins to button up my dress.

It shouldn’t affect me the way it does. Kiaran’s behaviour is no different from usual. Still, there was that moment before Gavin came in when I swear he was going to say . . .something. Kiaran MacKay is a mystery I wish I could solve.

He’s so quiet, nothing but the whisper of his breath to indicate he’s there. Finally, he says, ‘I saw a lot of death.’

I go still. ‘What else?’

His fingers linger in a feather-light caress at the nape of my neck. ‘Do you think knowing makes it easier?’ he whispers. ‘You would try so desperately to prevent it, and every conscious decision you make would only help the vision come to pass.’

Kiaran speaks the last words so softly, I barely hear him. I’ve grown so used to the formal, passionless Kiaran that even the slightest indication of remorse is so clear: Kiaran tried to prevent a Seer’s vision once and failed.

I have so many questions, but I decide on the one I’m only vaguely sure he’ll answer. ‘Then why did you want so badly to see it?’

‘A decision made just before the vision is complete can alter the outcome.’

‘And what if it doesn’t?’

‘That would be unfortunate.’ Kiaran fastens the last button and turns me to face him. Any hint of emotion is already gone. ‘I need to go and fetch my supplies before you die. I’ll be a few hours.’

My God, it’s as if he deliberately ruins every opportunity for an intimate moment between us. ‘Well. I’ll certainly try to survive until then.’

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