Page 88 of The Seer

“Clever woman.”

He came into view, and Taryn cursed herself for not noticing the resemblance to Fintan earlier. The coloring had thrown her off. This guy’s hair was short and blond, unlike Fintan’s multi-dimensional mane. His eyes were a dark shade of brown, vastly different from the sea-foam green she loved. But the features? Yeah, they belonged to her man.

“You’re related to him,” she said flatly. “How?”

CHAPTER27

“Why would you believe that?” Micha asked.

Taryn swatted away the question, irritated that he believed she was that stupid. “Don’t play games with me, dude. I’ve had a long twenty-four hours and want to go home.”

He studied her, watching, waiting. But she’d be damned if she knew why.

“Are you expecting me to figure all this out?” she snapped.

“I’m sure you could if you thought about it long enough and provided you had all the information.”

“Well, I don’t. Is it a family grudge? Did he piss in your Wheaties as a kid? Because that sounds like something Fintan would do.”

“Ouch, Taryn-Taryn. Sure, and it hurts you’d think somethin’ so vile of me.”

She tried not to react—she really did—but against all odds, Fintan was there, inside her dream state or whatever the hell this place was. Their bond simply reappeared, like a snap, and through their connection, she could feel his palpable relief.

“You might as well welcome him to the party, Taryn. He should be aware of the stakes.”

“What stakes?” Fintan asked, stepping from the shadows.

The urge to run to him was as strong as she could ever remember having, but she couldn’t trust that his spirit’s presence was real and not some trick. Not yet.

“Micha Forsyth, yeah? My half-brother from da’s side?”

Other than a sneer, Micha didn’t respond. His disdain, more than anything, convinced Taryn that Fintan was truly there.

“What took you so long?” she asked him.

“I was brokering the peace between my Siren and boss, so it took a wee bit to realize you were in danger, love.” He flashed a grin, and she couldn’t prevent an answering laugh.

“We’ve both stepped in it now,” she warned. “Apparently, I’m to be used as a weapon against you.”

“Not a weapon,” Micha corrected. “The fuse to his bomb, and we control that fuse. If we hold you, he has to keep it together and continue to do as he’s told. He can start by turning over Bloodstone’s necklace.”

Fintan was taken aback, as was Taryn.

“And if he doesn’t?” she asked.

“We’ll take you out of the equation. Permanently,” Micha said coldly. “We’ll break him one way or the other.”

Fintan’s cold rage was instantaneous, and all his sweet Irish charm went out the window as he stepped between her and Micha. “You keep sayin’ ‘we’ as if you’ve an army at your back, boyo. But Taryn has an army at her side. The primary being Damian Dethridge. You may know him as the Aether, yeah?”

“Damian is contracted to the Authority and serves the Fates. He’ll do as he’s told.”

A bark of laughter escaped Fintan. “Have ya met the man?”

Leaning around him, Taryn held up a hand. “Uh, I think you should check your facts, dude. He’s agreed to consult. He’s not contractually obligated to anyone.”

“But this isn’t about Taryn, is it?” Ardghal’s deep, lyrical voice rang out. “It’s about you, Micha Forsyth, descendant of the original founders, and your hatred of those different from you,” he concluded on an accusatory note.

“No!” And for the first time, Micha displayed true anger. “No,” he said more calmly. “This is about order. There are rules, which the Aether and his motley crew of Sentinels refuse to follow.”

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