Page 4 of Throne of Dreams
“You would.” She rolled her eyes but kept her arms out, ensuring her little bubble of protection held. He drifted closer and the shield wavered. “What are you doing?”
“Cooling off.” He pointed to the scorch marks on the wall of the cavern behind him. “You almost set me on fire.”
Deciding he’d had enough small talk, he dove under the water and relished in the way it calmed his raging desire to kiss that smart little mouth of hers. He moved through the lagoon with ease, bringing himself closer and closer to her. Without warning, Maeve’s panic crawled along his skin again. It scraped against his mind and ripped through his thoughts. She thought he was going to drown. She was afraid for him, and her fear heightened with every second he remained underwater. For a female who loved nothing more than to antagonize him to the fullest extent possible, she was a riveting complexity when it came to her actual feelings toward him.
He popped up through the surface, just on the inside of her pearly bubble.
Maeve yelped.
Tiernan smiled.
And her magic fell away.
She wrapped her arms around herself, covering her beautiful body—the one tattooed by him. There was another shift, another boil of his blood. His jaw clenched at the sight of the rose gold markings concealing her scars, and he remembered the way he’d nearly succumbed to his rage when Lir appeared with her, bleeding and broken, in his arms. He would never forget when she’d called herself a monster after Fearghal had carved her up. He wouldn’t forget the single tear he’d wiped from her cheek while he’d painted the image of a rose around her breast. No, he wouldn’t forget any of it.
But hewouldkill Fearghal. He’d torture him slowly and with painstaking accuracy, just as the prick had done to Maeve.
She drifted away from him, and the movement snagged his attention, drawing him back to reality.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Nowhere.” She continued to cover herself, like he hadn’t already been privy to every inch of her. “I just…”
“Just what?” Tiernan moved his hands through the water, creating small, incandescent waves. “Do I make you nervous?”
“You know you do.”
Yes. He knew all too well. Still, he asked, “Why?”
Her gaze cut him down. “Why don’t you listen to my thoughts and find out?”
The slight hit home. He did make a habit of doing such things. But then he shrugged and rolled her concern off his shoulders. “That’s cheating.”
“Like that’s ever stopped you before.”
He had the perfect retort on the tip of his tongue, but then her expression shifted to one of despondency. Something was making her unhappy, and the thought of it bothered him far more than necessary. The faintest line creased her brow, and he realized she wasn’t looking at him, but beyond him, to a far-off place. Somewhere he wasn’t invited.
“What is it?” He kept his tone gentle. Ceridwen had told him he came across as too demanding and that was likely why Maeve refused to talk to him about anything. Why she kept herself closed off from him. He seemed to think there was another reason tied into that as well, but he’d taken his twin’s advice and tried to show more compassion.
Maeve looked up at him, and when she did, when those endless eyes met his, he knew he would move mountains for her.
“Can you help me find a memory keeper?”
Tiernan froze. Tension speared him, and he released a slow breath. He searched the High Princess’s face for any kind of tell.
“That’s a dangerous thing you ask, my lady.” He carefully waded closer to her. “Why?”
“There are things I don’t want to think about anymore.” A cloud passed in front of the sun, and the air took on a chill. It left her in the shadows, and Maeve shivered.
Tiernan closed the distance between them in two strides. She held her breath at his approach; he heard the distinctive catch. With slow, deliberate movements, he reached out and rubbed his palms up and down her arms to warm her. She didn’t flinch, but she didn’t relax either.
“No memory is worth forgetting if it means bargaining with a memory keeper. You don’t always get to choose which memory they take, or how much of one is left behind. Such deals require extreme vigilance and care. Most Archfae wouldn’t consider entering into an agreement with a memory keeper, even if their lives depended on it.”
“I understand.”
“But?” Tiernan prompted.
“But I don’t sleep well at night.”
