Page 58 of Her Irish Treasures
I blinked, trying to figure out his angle. How should I play this? Maybehedidn’t know thatIknew he wasn’t human. Did he know about the treasures? That Doran was free?
“Fine,” I finally said, trying to play dumb. “What happened?”
He grimaced and brushed at a speck of mud on his thigh. “Well, it seems as though you returned to our previous home.”
“Yeah. I was going to key your car. How did I get here?”
His eyes flared, his lips curling with amusement. A break in his careful mask. Jonathan Blake would never have been amused at the thought that someone might damage his Porsche. “I think you fell and hit your head on some ice.”
Playing along, I frowned. “Really? I don’t like it here. I want to go home.”
“Of course, honeybun.”
Instant revulsion washed over me. That horrible pet name struck a raw nerve that jangled from my injured leg to the top of my head. I couldn’t believe that he’d called me that for years, and I hadn’t immediately run for the hills as fast as I could go. Absolutely ridiculous.
Unfortunately, I’d betrayed myself. Riann Blake wouldn’t have looked at him with that kind of instant disgust.
“Ah.” His smile changed, somehow managing to look regretful. “I see that we have a bit of a problem after all. How much do you remember, honeybun?”
I tipped my chin up and crossed my arms over my chest. “Everything, snookums.”
Which was a lie. We both knew it. Though he twitched at the equally dumb pet name I threw back at him.
“Excellent. I’m relieved to know that you’ll cooperate fully.”
I arched a brow at him. “I never said that.”
“Oh? Well, I’d hate to wake up the guardian of this little oubliette I set up for you. But I will if I must. I’m sure he’s extremely hungry. I’m surprised that he hasn’t already woken, but I did want to ensure I had time to question you before he feasted.”
I resisted the urge to look around the grassy island in search of this guardian. Maybe it was out in the water? Some kind of swampy tentacle thing like that disgusting kelpie in Lake Taneycomo? Great. What I wouldn’t give for my treasures to suddenly fall through a magical portal with their swords and blazing light, ready to tear off the horse creature’s head.
Hairs prickled on my nape and my spine itched with the urge to jump up and defend myself. Even though I couldn’t walk. I didn’t think Jonathan knew that. Yet.
I gave him a suspicious glare. “What do you want?”
“You have certain information that I need. Despite my best efforts, you’ve been able to hide that knowledge from me.”
“Is that why you destroyed so many of my memories?”
He swept his hands out before him, his shoulders shrugging. “Staying on the mortal plane takes a great deal of energy. Your memories served me well, and yes, I enjoyed flipping through the mental scrapbook of images and events from your past. Worthless little bits, granted, but amusing just the same. You won’t miss them.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes burning. I did miss those memories. I barely remembered my childhood with Vivi, playing in the hills looking for the lost prince. If I’d been able to remember those summers when I first found the gargoyle statue…
“You knew,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “You knew about Doran all along.”
“Of course. That’s why I found you in the first place, treasurekeeper, and why those memories were destroyed first.” He squatted, his brown eyes warm with entreaty. “You have the knowledge buried inside you.”
I swept away angry tears. “What knowledge?”
“How to defeat Evil Eye once and for all. The key to his ultimate defeat is written in your very soul. That’s why he’s always so determined to kill the treasurekeeper as quickly as possible. Why Stoneheart was captured and imprisoned. Not to weaken the treasures. To weakenyou.”
“Me? That’s ridiculous. I don’t have any power.”
“Compared to the original treasurekeepers, yes, that’s true. Very little of the original magic is left. But there is power in you. It calls to every fae in this bloody city. Why, I did you a favor.”
“Give me a fucking break,” I snapped. “Feeding on me was nofavor. Keeping me miserable and unable to figure out why for five years…”
His deep-throated chuckle cut through me like a razor-sharp knife, revealing the true creature hiding beneath the human suit. His eyes glittered with mirth at my suffering. Sharp white teeth flashed. Outwardly he still looked the same, but chills crept down my arms. “Oh, honeybun. Truly, I forgot how amusing you are. Of course, you were miserable. Misery makes for a delectable feast and doesn’t leave a single scar.”
