Page 186 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“Oh, do notworry, Rian! I promise to still let you tell me what to do sometimes. But right now,Iam tellingyouthat it is important for me to come with you,” she stated.

I was not winning this argument. I could see it in the set of her jaw and the arrogant tilt of her head.

“Sweet Elements,” I hissed in aggravation as I moved around her to walk toward the anteroom at the front of my tent where I kept all of my heavier clothing. Along with what remained of Aodhan’s that I had not burned.

“Where are you going?” she asked me.

“To get you a cloak! It is cold in Aes Mirr,” I yelled.

“He is grumpier than I thought he would be,” I heard her mutter to Éadrom, clearly underestimating the power of my fey hearing. Or perhaps she wanted me to hear…

Several moments later, I returned to where she stood petting Éadrom, and I tried to ignore how she stroked his ears the way I knew he loved best.

“Here,” I said, getting her attention so I could sweep one of my cloaks over her shoulders. I was sure to tie it up fully at the front to cover the blood stain on her dress.

“Are you worried what people will think?” she asked, looking surprised by this.

“My aunt would box my ears if she knew I was toting a female around in a bloody dress, but there is no time to get you anything else. I will try and take you to Mionlach tomorrow for some clothes,” I told her more calmly.

She did not answer as I knelt to wrap her slippered feet in a silk scarf to help fill up the rest of the men’s riding boots that I then began to lace them up her legs. Her skin was so smooth and flawless now, it was almost like she was a different person, except she was still terribly gaunt.

Once she was dressed, I tugged her back to Éadrom whose ears were perked up slightly. I didn’t even have to ask his permission, I could tell by his body language that he was eager to have Nuala ride with us.

“Ready?” I asked the witch, and I hoisted her up onto the vargr when Nuala gave a nod. “Hold onto the horn.”

“I know,” she assured me, looking delighted as she got herself settled into my saddle with easy confidence.

She looked like she had ridden in it before.

“How is it possible—” I stopped, suddenly unsure if I really wanted the answers, but she raised her brows at me. “How much do you know? About me? About the future?” I made myself ask after a moment.

Nuala gave me a strange look as if she were taken off guard or uncertain how to respond before she lowered her eyes to her hands resting on the swell of the saddle.

“I will always tell you all I can about the coming war, but the future is a strange beast. My Sight is ever limited by unmade choices and the volatility of fate. And while some things are as vivid to me as you are standing before me right now, such as the name of your vargr or the smell of your favourite soap… I did not know exactly what you would look like. And some of what I’ve Seen might never even come to pass, but they still livein my head. Even if they never become… real, I still carry… the memory and emotion from all of it,” she revealed hesitantly.

“Are you telling me that I will just need to trust you to decide which fantasies are real and which are not?”

“I am telling you that I should not tell you anything unless I know it is certain,” she insisted, raising her gaze to mine in earnest. “Sometimes the future is a process that can only be achieved through the natural rhythm of things unfolding so I cannot tell you about it at all.”

I eyed her doubtfully for a moment before I decided to let it go for the time being and formed a portal. We would be discussing this more after I had time to think about it.

We stepped out of my portal at the top of Tràigh Tùr where everyone else awaited except for Sage and Ornella. I had a distinct feeling that the rider who had previously been my most punctual was now going to become my least dependable.

You are bringing the witch?Ciaran verified in disbelief when Nuala appeared behind me astride Éadrom. I could tell he was annoyed but did his best to hide it after my clear warning earlier.

She would not be left behind.

She cannot be more than six stone, Rian. Surely you could have managed to leave her behind,he berated me.

Are you suggesting that I could physically force her to stay wherever I want her?I verified.

He did not respond, but I could tell I’d made my point. Ciaran said things sometimes without thinking.

“Nice of you to join us,” he could not help quipping as soon as Sage and Ornella arrived through another portal with their vargr and Carrick in tow.

The sight of Pyrope, so different from how she had looked when Aodhan rode her, still sent a sharp pang of sorrow through both me and Éadrom.

“Aww. Missing me so soon, Ciaran?” Ornella snarked back at him with one of her razor-sharp smiles. She had removed my scarf and was now proudly displaying what I’d already guessed would be beneath it: a myriad of love bites and bruises.

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