Page 121 of Across an Endless Sea

Rhoswyn

My walk isn’t lonely. Wraith makes for surprisingly good company, though he keeps bounding out of sight, then returning minutes later as I meander aimlessly through the forest around the castle. My grandmothers are there too, though they stay silent as they follow my lead. It’s weird. Maeve is never quiet, and finally, I can’t take it anymore.

“Did any of your Guards cause so much…?” I trail off, waving a hand in the air as I search for the word.

“Drama?” Maeve finishes, as Wraith freezes, cocks his head to the left, before taking off into the undergrowth again. “Nah, mine was way simpler and smaller. I had some females in the mix which evened things out.”

I frown at her. “Female mates?”

Titania rolls her eyes. “I forget sometimes how backwards the mortal realm was. Relationships and matings between the same sex are natural and accepted in Faerie,” she explains. “Both Maeve and I had female lovers as well as male, although my Guard was much larger.”

“Show off,” Maeve retorts. “Not everyone can handle eight Guards.”

Titania grins. “I’m special.”

“Mine were all hotheads,” Mab says. “But there were only three of them. Five males? Your mother and I only had three each.”

I sigh, thinking of my mother. “Why do I never see her?” I ask, suddenly. “If Danu made you three my guides, why not make my mother one as well?”

The three of them exchange looks and shrugs. “I’d say ask her yourself,” Maeve begins. “But if you die now…”

Caed dies.

“Only if it’s his fault,” I mumble.

“The Goddess is just as apt to decide it’s his fault for not preventing your death…” Maeve cautions.

I rub at my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. “So either way, if I die, Caed dies?”

That thought should not make me as conflicted as it does. I’m furious with him—and I intend to remain that way for a long while—but do I really want him to die? Leaning against a tree for support, I sigh.

Caed tricked me once already. I thought we were getting somewhere when he protected me so fiercely in Fellgotha, and then he chose Elatha over me. Am I really considering allowing him another chance to do the same?

Not that it matters. My Guard will never accept him now. I kept Elatha’s threat to myself because I knew it would hurt them, then I blurted it out in anger, anyway. Whatever hope Caed had before, those words stole it from him.

A flash of red in the corner of my eye makes me whirl, but by the time I’ve turned, Lore is there, tapping at my shoulder.

“You shouldn’t go off alone, pet.” His mock scolding tone is a good imitation of Jaro’s deep growl, and I smirk. “Worse, you left me all alone with a bunch of dicks.”

I snort before I can stop myself, slapping him lightly on the arm. “They’re not dicks.”

“But they’ve all got them. Which reminds me, I saw Drystan’s the other day, and there was so much metal in it, I thought it was armoured for—”

I press my hand over his mouth to stop him, cheeks heating. “I’m not even going to ask why you were spying on Drystan’s…”

Lore’s mouth creases, and he pulls my hand away. “Say it, pet. Say ‘dick’. Better yet, say ‘please can I suck your cock, Lore?’”

In the background, Maeve grins, but Titania grabs her by the collar and physically—spiritually?—drags her after Mab and out of earshot.

Leaving us alone.

“Can we just continue walking?” I ask, breathless.

“Nope.” He pops the ‘p’ with relish, and his hat morphs from a beanie to a tricorn. “It’s incredibly important that you be able to ask for exactly what you want, so no one gets confused.”

He’s not going to let this go, I realise, meeting his red, smiling eyes. Perhaps I don’t want him too. If anyone can distract me from everything that’s going on, it’s Lore.

The redcap steps forward, sandwiching me between him and the old pine I was leaning against. His breath fans over my face, and his lower body presses against mine, grinding against me.

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