Page 101 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“I’ve never met another dryad who was fun,” I said, trying to at least appear at ease as I moved to sit closer to the Autumn Prince. “Most of us are pretty awful.”

I did not expect Darragh to laugh, but Ciaran scoffing at me was certainly expected. I tried again to understand Rian’s expression before I sat close enough to him that his armbrushed mine when he pulled his pipe closer to me. But he was unreadable.

“Perhaps just a family trait then,” he responded, and it felt like everyone in the tent suddenly stopped breathing, but Rian either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He merely blew into the mouthpiece of his pipe, causing the water to bubble and forcing the old smoke out of the glass vase through the purge valve.

He was trying to put me off guard. I sensed it.

“You clearly never met our father or any of our uncles. The appreciation for fun didnotrun in the family.”

I was not trying to antagonize him, I was matching his blunt and apathetic attitude. Although I was very relieved that Sage had told me about Aodhan before I met with the Autumn Prince or I certainly would have spiralled.

I could almost sense the others were having a private conversation as they worried about his reaction, but I was focused on Rian who finally betrayed the hint of a smile.

The Autumn Prince returned his attention to the pipe and opened the lid to remove the coal grate. I knew from experience that it would have been hot, but similarly to how Ciaran could handle steaming bandages, Rian was unaffected by heat. He set the grate and dim coals on a silver tray on the table before retrieving a small box from his jacket. I saw the decorative designs on the container matched the pipe and tray as he unclasped the lid.

I could not help inhaling deeply when the sweet scent of thecneasúfrom in the silver box perfumed the air with a distinctive flavour. The smell was unmistakable.

“Galahain,” I said confidently but with great surprise, and Rian grunted in confirmation.

“The only city in all of Sumarra that your brother did not utterly loathe,” he revealed.

I tried not to allow this disclosure to affect me visibly, but there was no stopping the way it made my stomach feel like it was falling. And I was sure that my damned ears would betray me as they often did.

“Me too,” I admitted softly. “How long—”

I broke off because I was not sure if I really wanted to know the truth or if I even had any right to ask at all.

“I was with him almost two decades,” Rian answered, his voice unchanging, but I could tell his expression had become much more serious, and he was very focused on putting freshcneasúinto the pipe bowl.

The urge to apologize swelled within me, but he had told Sage that he didn’t want to discuss all our grievances. Besides, there was no apology that could change what had been done or alleviate the hurt that altered a person down to their soul. Apologies really only made the offending individual feel better about what they had done.

Rian had finished lightly packing the bowl and relit the coals with a spark of his fire magic before placing them back into the pipe. He closed the lid to let it smoke for a moment and then grabbed the uncorked bottle of wine off the table. He took a swig and handed it to me, pushing it into my hands with an annoyed glance at Sage who still had not taken a sip of his bottle.

He wanted someone to drink and smoke with. He had lost his lover, his family, his village, and his foundation of trust in his cousin. I knew well the deep-seated ache he was undoubtedly trying to stifle.

So I raised the bottle as if to salute Sage who raised his brows at me skeptically before I took a deep swill of Rian’s wine. I was impressed by the rich flavour that was a perfect balance between the sweetness of apples and the dry spice of clove and cinnamon. It seemed to burst on my tongue and warmth bloomed in my stomach.

“Wow. You’ve got good taste,” I muttered once I had swallowed the mouthful. I raised the bottle to look at the label but could not read the Autumn dialect.

Rian had leaned away from me against the cushions behind him with his head tilted against his palm and his elbow planted on the top of the couch. He looked contemplative as he gazed at me with those stunning emerald eyes.

“Your brother admired you,” he revealed, and I almost choked on a second swig of the wine.

“He didn’t know me. He was a baby,” I reminded him, unable to help the sharpness that came into my tone.

“He grew up hearing all about you and what happened in the arena. And he ended up following in your footsteps. Fell in love with the wrong person, publicly mutilated someone who hurt him, and was exiled for it,” Rian listed some of the most painful events of my past with entirely too much nonchalance. And the apple wine abruptly made me feel sick when it soured in my stomach. “He searched for you after he was exiled and heard about the battle with the Foraoise. He captured one of your father’s men on the way home and was told you were killed.”

We had been hours apart.Hours. How different would my life have been if Aodhan found me that day?

I knew I should change the subject and redirect Rian, but he did not sound bitter. I did not get the sense that he was telling me this to try and hurt me, but that he was genuinely sharing information about my brother.

“Why would he look for me?” I asked against every instinct that screamed for me to get up and run from him and this conversation.

“I told you, he was inspired by what you did. In that morbid way that your people have, of course. What you endured is not enviable by any estimation, but you stood for something againsta system intent on subjecting you. He thought the two of you could take the Rowan Wood.”

He was watching me so closely, especially my ears as they flinched against my every attempt to conceal myself. He would be able to read them easily after a twenty-year relationship with another dryad. Every fucking one of my emotions and thoughts was translated for him.

I did not respond as he sat up again and offered me the mouthpiece of the pipe. I took it wordlessly and leaned forward to take a long draw, pulling the smoke down the stem of the pipe, and the flavoured smoke filled my lungs. It was quiet as I savoured the familiar scent and taste of thecneasú,holding it in my chest until it began to fog my mind and dull my senses.

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