She relaxed and rested a hand on his arm. “All we want is to return to Taroc Na Mor. Now that Esme is safe, we need to see to theother eggs.” She accepted a tankard from Isla and sniffed it. The fumes burned her eyes. She couldn’t imagine what a taste might do. Without taking a sip, she held the cup lower and concentrated on Isla. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the Draecna fighting with Taggart to save me. I’m sure they need to return to their portals or wherever they came from before he called for them.”
Isla slid her gaze to him, a golden brow arching higher. “You failed to share where you got your forces? Have you told her nothing about what transpired while she was imprisoned?”
He resettled his stance while clearing his throat. “I havena had the chance to tell her much of anythingyet.”
“Taggart?” Hannah risked a sip, then almost choked as the fiery fluid seared its way down her throat. “What is she talking about? What did you do?”
He waved away the wine his mother offered and knelt in front of Hannah. “All that matters is that ye are here. Safe.” He took her hand and kissed it. “But I can no longer turn my back on my people. Please try to understand. We must stay here. Save Erastaed from Sloan.”
While what he said made sense, especially after her own experiences with Sloan, she struggled to remain calm. She set her glass on the low marble table in front of the seats and eased her hand free of his grasp. Absolutely not. Not another war. War had stolen one love from her. She would not lose another to violence that could be avoided. “No,” she said, sharper than she intended. She swallowed hard and adjusted her tone. “We can return to Taroc Na Mor and seal the doorway. Let the Draecna battle Sloan. I want to leave here and never come back.” She locked eyes with him. “And you know exactly why I’m saying this. I sacrificed once. How many times am I expected to give?”
“I understand, m’love.” But he shook his head and took her hand again. “I canna desert my people again. I left them once when my father took my birthright. They have suffered greatly under Sloan’s rule. Ye ken it as well as I. Ye tasted his cruelty firsthand. If not for the people of Erastaed, we would not have succeeded today. They helpedus, Hannah. Now, we must help them. I willna turn my back on them.”
She searched his eyes, her heart breaking. But how could she argue? Sloan’s ruthlessness . . . she shuddered and touched his cheek. It was then she noticed. Taggart’s eyes had changed. Pride and determination shone in their depths. All the humiliation and loneliness was gone.
“I cannot bear to lose you,” she whispered. He needed to understand that. Her very being ached to keep him safe in her arms and never have him leave her again. She had risked opening her heart. How could he ask her to do this?
He brushed her hair back from her face and smiled. “I have lived well over seven hundred years, dear one. I am as close to immortal as anyone gets. Ye willna lose me. I swear it.”
At war with herself and what she knew was the right thing to do; she eyed Isla, then Esme, then returned her focus to Taggart. All of them watched her without blinking an eye, holding their breath. What choice did she have? She had seen enough of Sloan’s barbarity to know that she had no choice. Who knew what the people of Erastaed had suffered? “Fine. We stay long enough to get rid of Sloan.”
With his forehead touching hers, he framed her face between his hands. “I canna ask for more, my dearest love. I and the people of Erastaed thank ye.” He drew back a bit and smiled. “Now, what say we get ye to your bath? Lest your fragrance give away our position?”
She planted her foot in his chest and shoved, sending him toppling backward. With an irritated huff, she stood and marched around him. “You are an ass,” she tossed back while refilling her tankard. She had the distinct feeling she was going to need fortification for what lay ahead.
“The ass shall stay here whilst you relax and refresh. Gilda will show you to your bath.” Isla motioned toward a much smaller, gray Draecna waiting at the mouth of one of the many hallways.
Hannah cut her gaze back to Taggart who now sat on the floor. “Thank you, Isla. I appreciate your hospitality. Obviously, you attempted to teach your son manners. He just forgets them.”
“I was teasing, m’love,” he called after her while enjoying the sway of her hips as she followed the meek Draecna into the hall. He thumped a fist to his chest, silently pledging himself to his precious Hannah all over again.
“You lied to her, boy. When will you learn to be honest? Can you not see how you complicate your own life? I swear you are your own worst enemy. How many times must I tell you?—”
“Mother!” He hauled himself up from the floor and glared at her. “How do ye nay suffocate during your rants? Do ye even draw a breath during them?” They had not seen each other in over a hundred years, and yet she had already started.
“You dare speak to me in such a way?” Isla’s roar echoed through the cavern, making the gemstone chandelier tremble like wind chimes caught in a storm.
“Forgive me.” He forced a more respectful demeanor while rubbing the weariness from his eyes. Mother cared not that he was seven hundred years old. Some things never changed. He should just let her rant and get it over with.
“When do you plan to tell her you already destroyed the gateway at Taroc Na Mor?” Isla circled him as though ready to pounce if he dared answer the wrong way.
“I can still send her back,” he said, turning to keep facing her. He had learned long ago: never turn your back on Mother. To do so proved unwise.
“That is true. However, you know as well as I that if you do so, you must send her back alone. Will you tell her that? And if she returns to the only world she has ever known, will you also tell her she can never come back here?” Isla cuffed him on the back of the head before he turned to face her in time.
Flinching from the sharpness of the blow, Taggart rubbed his throbbing skull. Holy blazes; he had infuriated her more than usual this time. “It is my hope she will choose to stay here with me. Then the point will be moot.”
“Your hope.” Isla rolled her great golden eyes. “I cannot believe Iprovided the sacred egg to bring such a blithering idiot into this world.”
“Mother!”
“The woman is intelligent. Tell her everything. She accepted you as a hybrid. Did she not?”
There was that. “I will tell her soon. As soon as she is rested. Ye have to admit, she has had a very rough time of it of late.”
Isla flicked a razor-sharp claw within inches of his nose, growling until the chandelier started rattling again. “You will tell her as soon as she finishes her bath. I want no more secrets between the two of you before this battle is waged. Your mating ritual is not complete even though she bears your mark. Make me proud, Taggart! We both grow too old for this type of nonsense.” She clicked her claws and disappeared into a mist of shimmering droplets.
Taggart turned and noticed Esme waiting quietly in the corner.
