Page 45 of Highballs & Hexes

Goddess, she hoped so!

In the hours since she’d learned he was the one responsible for reconstructing Loman’s island prison, she had time to consider his actions and the motivation behind them. The only conclusion she arrived at was he wasn’t a cruel man. He’d done what he did with a purpose in mind, but she’d be buggered if she knew what that was.

“Yeah, and why are they fighting so hard to save a man who’ll end up dead by the Witches’ Council?” her brother said, not finished heaping abuse upon Patrick’s head.

“Shut the fuck up, Tadhg,” Noah snapped as Fi was rushing to escape the room’s heavy hate-filled atmosphere. “Or better yet, go the feck home with ya. No one asked you to remain or for your asinine commentary.”

“I’m not leaving me sister here! That man’s madder than a March hare!”

“He’s not likely to wake anytime soon,” Bridget said coldly. Apparently the raised voices had caught her notice from the kitchen, next door.

Hoping to placate her, Fi approached. “He didn’t mean?—”

“I feckin’ did, so don’t be sayin’ I didn’t.”

“Tadhg, I swear to the Goddess, if you don’t shut up and leave right now, I won’t be responsible for what I do to you,” she ground out through gritted teeth. “Not one morefuckingword.”

“I’d prefer you all to leave,” Bridge said in a haughty tone. “When Da is better, we’ll… I’ll…” She appeared at a loss. Perhaps because no one knew what to do with Patrick. Soon, if they hadn’t already, his victims would appeal to the Witches’ Council for justice, with Tadhg among them. It wouldn’t matter if his brains were scrambled or not. The Council would call for restitution in some form or another.

“He’ll get better,” Fi found herself saying, praying to Anu he would. “He has to,” she whispered.

Noah approached her from behind and settled his hands on her shoulders. “Come, love. I’ll take you home.”

Any touch, other than Patrick’s, was repellent, and she twisted away.

“I’m staying.” When her brother protested, she dug in. “I’m staying, Tadhg. I’ll not be debating the issue with the likes of you.”

“You’re as stubborn as the day is long. What am I to tell Mam and Da when I get back?”

“Whatever you want,” she replied tiredly. “I don’t rightly care now, do I?”

“You’re as mad as he is!”

“Get out! Get out! Get out!”thrummed her heartbeat as a clawing sense of claustrophobia struck. Odd, how she’d not felt a second of that locked up with Patrick, but having freedom in a roomful of strife was suffocating. It didn’t help that her fury for Tadhg had reached the boiling point. If she remained, it would become a bloodbath, with her brother’s broken body at the center of it.

Pivoting on her heel, she ran for the staircase.

“Fi!” Noah called out, but he didn’t follow. Maybe he sensed her need to get away, or perhaps it was empathy for what she’d been through, but he let her flee.

Bridget, however, was hot on her heels and overtook her in the third-floor hallway. “You’re not to see him,” she said. “I’m asking you to leave him be.”

“I just want to make sure he’s all right. Then I’ll go, yeah?”

With a toss of her bright auburn hair, Bridget crossed her arms and blocked the door to his room.

“Please,” Fi begged. “Please let me see him.”

“The Aether is inside with Ronan and a healer.” Heaving a frustrated sigh, Patrick’s eldest shook her head. “He doesn’t know you’re here, Fionola. He doesn’t recognizeanyof us.”

Hope crushed, Fi nodded, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the wooden door panel behind Bridget’s head.

“Thank you for caring for Da.” The woman’s voice was strangled, as if it was difficult to offer up gratitude.

His children couldn’t have known about their relationship and likely assumed she was a stranger worried about a quasi-friend. How did Fi tell them differently? Tell them, in a handful of days, she and Patrick had bonded? That they’d found something worthwhile to build a relationship on? They’d think she was as mad as Tadhg believed her to be after what Patrick had put her through.

And perhaps she was. Maybe, like Patrick, her time spent on the island had driven her over the proverbial edge and stolen her sanity. Why else would she desire to shove Bridget aside and force her way into his room merely to stroke his brow during a magical healing?

“Will you let me know when he’s recovered?” She met Bridget’s brilliant green eyes, noting they were duller than the first time they’d met. Unsurprising when worry was weighing her down. “Please?”

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