Page 73 of The Vanishing Throne

Then his lips are on mine and it might as well be a declaration. For a moment, his past fades away and so does mine. As I let myself lean into his touch it suddenly feels like nothing else matters but this. Just him. Just us.

I soften the kiss until it’s barely a brush of my lips against his. With each touch I tell him,Thank you.AndI care for you too.Andgod help me, but I trust you.

When I pull away, I swear he understood what all that meant. ‘I have to go,’ I whisper.

I watch the struggle in his face as he steps away. ‘If they try anything, send the pixie.’

I nod and start to climb the stairs. When I turn back again, he’s already gone through the faery door.

Chapter 25

The streets are quiet. A few people have ventured out of their homes, but the lights are still down. The clouds are back, this time with a moon shining between them. The cobblestone streets glisten in its light, still slick from the earlier rainfall. I retrace the path Kiaran took earlier, through the dark closes that lead to the room full of tapestries of pixie victories.

I take a breath and enter, and everyone immediately quiets and turns. God, it feels as though I’ve done something horribly wrong. The door shuts behind me with a heavy clang. It’s like a gunshot.

In the back, Lorne and Tavish look at me in blatant suspicion, perhaps a bit of fear. Gavin’s expression is unreadable, with a hint of something else –regret? In contrast, Catherine seems both irate and concerned. The second she sees me she hurries across the room.

‘Catherine,don’t.’ This from Daniel. Surprise, surprise.

She ignores him and takes me by the elbow. ‘Come with me. Ignore the idiots in the corner.’

Ignore? I see Kiaran’s concern wasn’t entirely unfounded.

But Daniel is already heading toward us. ‘Let me handle it,’ he says to her.

Catherine scowls. ‘I think not. Step aside.’

Daniel sighs. This time, he looks at me. Not with the suspicion and accusation that I’m used to seeing, but he seems tired. So tired. He hasn’t even changed out of the clothes he wore when he went out riding.

‘May I speak with you?’ he asks me directly. Catherine opens her mouth to protest, but he puts up a hand. ‘Alone, if you don’t mind.’

I step back from him. ‘Surely you understand why I’d rather not.’

Daniel runs a hand through his hair. ‘Look, I’m not going to hurt you,’ he says. ‘I just want to talk.’

I glance at Catherine. She hesitates before indicating that it’s all right. I suppose Daniel and I ought to have a civil conversation in any case.

Catherine releases me and rises on hertiptoes to whisper something in Daniel’s ear. Daniel raises his eye heavenward as she smiles at him and presses a kiss to his cheek.

Well … well …

I can’t control the sudden blush that creeps up my face at their very public display of affection. It feels so intimate.

Catherine gives me an encouraging nod as her husband escorts me out into the dark close. I open my mouth to speak, but Daniel interrupts. ‘Not here,’ he says in that deep burr. ‘My wife probably has her ear pressed to the door.’ At my reluctance he says, ‘I promised I wouldn’t hurt you. Please.’

‘Very well.’

Without another word, he turns and starts down the alley and I have no choice but to follow. I can barely see where I’m going, it’s still so dark. Even the light from the false moon above doesn’t entirely break through the shadows cast by the tenements around us.

‘What did she say to you?’ I ask, keeping my movements careful lest I trip.

‘She told me to behave myself.’

I smile. That couldn’t have been the only thing she said. ‘Or?’

‘That part was meant for me only.’

He leads me to a heavy oak door surrounded in ivy. It groans on its hinges as he opens it. Nothing is visible on this side; only thick, impenetrable darkness. I don’t trust him enough to go into a room I can’t see. For all I know, it’s another wisp ambush.

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