Page 14 of Realm of Nightmares
“I’ll find you…”
Maeve blinked and found herself back in the library surrounded by books. The ethereal scene before her had vanished. She stumbled backward and Rowan’s arm shot out, his hand gently grazing the small of her back to keep her upright.
She straightened and his hand fell away.
“That’s enough for today.”
Maeve stole a glance at him. “There’s more?”
His face was a mask, void of all emotion. He didn’t answer her and she didn’t press him. Beats of heavy silence passed between them, and Maeve found her gaze drawn to the windows, where rain continued to fall. It rained more in the Ether than in Kells, it seemed.
At Rowan’s continued silence, Maeve dropped into one of the leather chairs, tucking her leg beneath her. He faced the hearth with his hands tucked behind his back. A line of frustration marred his brow, the soft glow of firelight played off his drawn features. Something was bothering him, and she found it irritating that he wouldn’t tell her what, though she imagined it had to do with the vision they’d just witnessed. Whatever he’d seen hadn’t been good. Perhaps the story from his youth was not quite as he remembered.
She studied him a moment longer before speaking. “You created an illusion.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.” Finally, he sank onto the sofa, his body slowly relaxing. Except for his eyes. They looked…anguished.
“How?” Maeve prompted, hoping to draw him out of his troubled state of mind.
His lavender gaze latched onto her, but his face remained blank.
She would try again. “How did you do it?”
There was an almost imperceptible uptick to the corner of his mouth. “Magic.”
Rolling her eyes, Maeve groaned. “Obviously.”
He grabbed a random book from the coffee table and flipped it open, pretending to read, a clear dismissal.
Annoyance fired through her. She wished he would’ve told her, or at leastshownher, more about the Dawnbringer and Nightweaver. It had been so interesting to see them, to see how they came into existence. And the image Rowan created had been fascinating. Her knowledge of the demigod and demigoddess was lackluster at best. She’d not found any stories of them written in any books—it seemed the lore surrounding them was passed down verbally through generations instead. Try as she might, she couldn’t erase the vision of their joining from her mind. There’d been such power. Such intensity.
But then the illusion had vanished, like it never existed.
She glanced over at Rowan once more. There was a chance he could actually be reading the book in his lap, and she snuck a peek at the title.
The Faerie Princess Bride.
Maeve almost snorted but reached for the book on Diamarvh instead. She opened it to the page she’d bookmarked and skimmed the words before her. She hadn’t read as much of it as she wanted, and though she told herself it was because she needed to train, she actually was terrified of what she would uncover. The home of the eternal warriors was a sacred place. Hallowed ground. One had to be deemed worthy to even make it to the base of the mountain path leading to Diamarvh’s entrance before the Lord of the Wild Hunt would consider entertaining them.
All things considered, she could probably ask Rowan for help. But he’d likely only try to stop her and convince her it was a bad idea.
Which was fine.
She was perfectly capable of figuring it out on her own.
“Care for a drink?”
Maeve jumped and snapped the book shut, looking up to see Rowan standing over her, a small glass filled with amber liquid in his hand.
She accepted the drink, swirling it.
“You might need it if you’re thinking of going there.” He nodded at the book in her lap.
“I’m just researching.”
“Mm.” Rowan knocked back his shot, and she knew he didn’t believe a word she said.
