Ander gave me a disbelieving look. “Do younotthink he’s a fucking asshole?”
“No, I agree. But why would you care? We never even spoke before until I sought you out tonight.”
He scoffed. “You could ask Maura why I wouldn’t speak to you in front of Fieran. Or don’t, because she’s besotted with him.”
“Maura’s in love with him?”
“The whole clan is. He brings people under his control; that’s what he does. Of course, he went a bit more blunt-force with you, didn’t he? Holding your brother hostage for you to do what he demands?”
“Hostage,” I echoed, hating that one word. But I needed to keep him talking. “You make it sound like a plot.”
“Isn’t it?” Ander’s gaze softened with sympathy that made every word feel more painfully like a blow. “Let me guess. He’s keeping Tay in that castle of his. You can’t even reach Tay without him, and you certainly can’t save him. But Fieran has promised to be your savior.”
My fingers had tightened on the back of the couch until they sank into the fabric.
Ander’s expression turned grim. “And how would you ever get him back to your village without Fieran’s help?”
The truth of that statement bristled on my skin like nettles.
“Hence why I’m trapped,” I said crisply. I’d created this mess, too.I’d asked Fieran for his help. What choice did I have? “Besides, you know the rules.”
“What rules apply to you?” His voice was quiet but cutting. “Mortals aren’t bound like we are.”
“Has there ever been another mortal…” I couldn’t bring myself to saydragon-marked.It was a secret I’d guarded so long.
“Not that anyone has heard of.” His lips turned down at the corners. “He shouldn’t have brought you here. You need to keep your mark a secret, and you need to go home.”
“Fieran told me I would burn if I went home.”
“I’ve never heard of the curse claiming anyone. And even if it is more than superstition, you are mortal.” He studied me, shaking his head. “Are you sure you’re marked? You’re so…”
“Small? Fragile? Unremarkable?” I turned my back to him, sure he already knew, and unbuttoned the first few buttons of my dress so I could let the neckline fall in the back. The fabric brushed down the knobs of my spine as I swept up my hair. I’d barely even seen it myself, glimpsing it with our shadowy hand mirror and our one good mirror as I craned my head. “I’ve never seen another mark to compare.”
“You’re marked, all right.” His voice was gruff, regretful. He turned his back to me, raising his shirt. His back was powerful, carved with muscle, his torso lean and taut. His mark was also a dragon etched between his flexing shoulders.
He let his shirt drop as he turned back to me. “I’m sorry you’ve been alone carrying that all these years.”
His sympathy felt like a knife slipping under my ribs, and I wasn’t even sure why it hurt.
“I can’t be the only bastard child of a shifter to have inherited a fragment of their power.” I yanked my buttons back together as I turned to face him, feeling far too vulnerable and naked for two lousy buttons. “This has to have happened before. Villagers practically lined up hoping you’d fuck them back in Stonehaven.”
He winced at my language. “You’re certainly not the only child of a shifter and a mortal, but the magic doesn’t root in…” He trailed off, clearly choosing not to speak whatever slur shifters used for someone like me. “Who’s your father?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” I didn’t want to get into the intricacies of why, and from the way he pursed his lips, he was brewing another question, so I headed him off. “Why does Fieran want me here?”
“I don’t know. But I intend to find out.” He studied me. “And I imagine you’d like to know as well.”
“You hate him.”
He looked at me with so much sympathy, but I didn’t trust Ander any more than I trusted the asshole who’d brought me here.
“Do I hate him?” He mused, leaning in the doorway as he absently pushed up his sleeves, revealing corded forearms. “I used to love him like a brother. But there’s something you should know about Fieran.”
“I’m listening.”
“Ah, but will you hear me?” His lips quirked, as if he expected to be ignored. “He’s a manipulative, cunning, charming shit. Don’t forget it for a moment. Don’t be blinded by the people around you, Cara. Because they’ll make you think you should love him too.”
“No chance of that.”
