Page 71 of The Seer

He sighed in frustration and shifted away, tempting Taryn into peeking to see where he’d gone.

He’d selected a spot beside her, but she refused to acknowledge him.

Again, he waited her out.

It appeared Ardghal was the master of patience.

“Only when it comes to you, love,” he said absently. A flickering in the pool pulled his focus. “Dissent between us will close the sigils. They require our souls in harmony.”

“Who made up that bullshit rule?”

“You did.” He whipped back to look at her, and his gaze bore into her. “You’ve always had a measure of self-preservation when it came to my power.” Holding up a hand, he smiled warmly. “No need to defend the action. You were smart to.”

“I wasn’t going to defend it. Iintendedto say, stop saying it was me. It wasn’t.” Sure, she didn’t want to piss him off, because like his wife, she possessed a measure of self-preservation. Yet hers was likely ten times that of Elizabeth’s. Taryn had major trust issues.

“They’re ingrained,” he said dryly. “I had the devil of a time getting you to trust me the first time.”

“If there’s a way to murder you, I’m going to take it,” she growled, frustrated by his continued insistence that she was Elizabeth.

Ardghal surprised her with his deep laughter. When he sobered, he smiled at her with great affection.

“Should I not say yours was Elizabeth’s favorite threat?” he teased.

“Ugh!”

“To answer your question, Fintan in human form, is also me. Reincarnated from the man I was. He chooses to deny it, but he can’t when the Siren takes over. That’s when I’m in charge.”

“One soul, split personalities. Great. I’m back to the whole psycho thing.”

“Would you like me to restore your memories of our time together?” he offered, clasping her hand.

Did she? That would mean she believed the ridiculous story of being Mrs. Bloodstone. And if it was the case, why did that fucking necklace hate her so much?

“Objects cannot have emotions, love.”

“It doesn’t like when I touch it.”

“There’s a reason for that. You stole it from my neck, where its magic thrived, and hid it. It’s designed to protect me.”

“Not me.Elizabeth,” she stressed. “And why would she do that?”

“So I would die.”

CHAPTER22

Fintan was enraged. Trapped, he was privy to Ardghal and Taryn’s conversation, and he despised how uncomfortable the creature was making her. If the bastard wasn’t careful, he’d scare her away for good, and Fintan couldn’t abide that. He needed her in his life, more than air to breathe or food to eat, she was essential to him, body and soul.

The Siren had been spouting shite about Ardghal for as long as Fintan could remember, claiming it knew where those bleedin’ artifacts were to boot the ancestors out of his head. But he’d ruthlessly ignored the creature, believing it was a power grab and holding it in check whenever it tried to break free. In addition to pining for Taryn, Fintan hadn’t truly desired another woman, so he’d assumed denying himself sex meant denying the Siren, hoping to weaken the beast.

It didn’t.

Or if it did, he’d fucked up when he broke his two-and-a-half decade drought. Fintan’s fear was born primarily from the skill with which Ardghal could ease her objections. By waiting her out, he gave her the space she needed to see things from his perspective. One of Taryn’s best traits was her capacity to reason. If allowed to draw her own conclusions, she’d weigh the information against the facts and see the truth of a matter in due course.

Such was the case now.

Displaying equal amounts of charm and respect, Ardghal fed her information, thereby gaining ground. Taryn’s main reason to resist his sway was Fintan. Caring for him held her back.

“I could kill him if that would make you feel better,”his creature had said.

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