Page 113 of Realm of Nightmares
“You made adealwith that bitch of a fae?” Rowan groaned, his head lolling back to the ceiling. “And what did she give you in exchange for this book?”
Bitterness scalded her, for she knew she’d been fooled. “Laurel told me how to get to Diarmarvh.”
“I would’ve given you that information freely!” Rowan snared her wrist, then raised her arm, so the light of the fire cast flickering shadows against the Strand. “No strings attached.”
“Yes, well.” She pulled herself free from his hold, tugging the sleeve of her blouse back into place. “We’ve already discussed why I didn’t ask you.”
“So we have.” Rowan’s face shuttered. “And did the Wild Hunt agree to aid you?”
She had yet to recover from the blow of Dubhan’s rejection.
“No.” Her confidence slipped. “The Lord of the Hunt told me no.”
Disbelief washed over Rowan’s face, and his brows lifted in surprise. “Did he at least give you a reason?”
“Yes. He told me the tides of fate weren’t in my favor.” In other words, Dubhan thought they would lose.
“That’s bullshit.” Rowan crossed his arms over his chest, his cloak of shadows swirling around him. “We’ll figure this out…that is, if you want my assistance. I am, as always, more than willing to help you.”
Despite everything, Maeve appreciated Rowan. He’d done much for her, and she would be forever grateful, yet at the same time, she had to be careful. She didn’t want him to misconstrue her gratitude for affection. Love was not an obligation. Just because he cared for her did not mean she returned the sentiment.
The smile she offered him was full of kindness and respect. Nothing more. “Right now, I need to find this book so I can give it to Laurel and tell her she’s absolutely awful for withholding the fact that I could’vefadedto Diamarvh in the first place, without going through the Stygian Spine.”
Rowan chuckled.
“What?”
“You couldn’t havefadedthere.” He shook his head and for the first time in a long time, his smile reached his eyes.
“Yes, I could have,” Maeve corrected. “Ifadedfrom there to here, which means—”
“That’s not howfadingworks, Princess.” Rowan lifted his hands, palms up to demonstrate. “You can onlyfadeto a place you can picture in your mind’s eye. And since you’ve never been to Diamarvh…”
He trailed off, letting her figure out the rest of the puzzle on her own. Because she’d never been to Diamarvh before, she couldn’t have possibly pictured it within her mind’s eye. Which meantfadingthere was impossible, butfadingback to the House of Death was entirely achievable. She wasn’t about to admit that she’d completely forgotten about her wings.
A blush of embarrassment bled into her cheeks, causing her skin to warm.
“Sometimes I forget,” Rowan mused and Maeve’s gaze snapped to his, “that you’re so young. You’ve absorbed and taken on so much in such a short time, it makes me forget you’re not two hundred years old instead of only five-and-twenty.”
“Yes, well, some of us were forced to grow up rather quickly.”
“Indeed.”
Strange silence filled the space between them, haunting them with echoes of the past.
“The book is housed in the library of the Ether.” Rowan extended his hand. “Let’s go, Princess. Then, once you give it to her, you’ll be free from the Strand that binds you.”
Maeve smiled. “One more thing. Did Aed notice my absence?”
“Are you kidding?” Rowan’s laughter rang out. “He went on a rampage, nearly snapped Laurel’s neck once he realized where you’d gone. He would’ve come after you himself, but the goddess of life beat him to it.”
“Lovely,” she muttered.
Piss off the Lord of the Hunt? Done.
Infuriate the god of death? Done.
Maeve let Rowan take her hand, wondering who else of great importance she could possibly incense? After all, it seemed to be one of her most noteworthy qualities.
