“Oh, that’s not a problem,” chuckles Carian.
He offers his arm, and after the briefest of hesitations, Dyfri takes it. They walk away with Gwydion hot on their heels.
I turn back to Mabon. He is staring after them with a look that can only be described as devastation. But he quickly rouses himself and grabs another drink.
I open my mouth to say something, anything, because this can’t be good, but suddenly Jamie appears.
“Why was Dyfri here and what the hell is he doing leaving with those two asshats!” he demands.
Mabon winces and downs another brightly coloured drink. “Helping me.”
Jamie looks stunned. A little bubble of silence forms, here by the drinks table in the middle of a ball.
“I don’t understand,” he finally says.
“You wouldn’t.”
Jamie huffs and places his hands on his hips. “Well then, explain it to me.”
Mabon gives him a dark look. “You know secrets cannot be shared.”
Jamie pales and falls silent again. The sounds of the ball continue to dance around us.
“Your magic is really strong,” Jamie says quietly. “If Carian challenged you to a duel, you’d win?”
“Of course!” Mabon says far too brightly.
I frown at the same time as Jamie does. Our eyes meet briefly in solidarity, but he keeps his attention fixed on Mabon.
“Are you sleeping with them to keep them happy so they don’t challenge you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Mabon’s voice is high and reedy as he reaches for another drink.
Jamie sucks in a breath. Concern is filling his brown eyes. “If you don’t say no, they won’t know that you can’t.”
Mabon looks sharply away and sips his drink without saying a word
“How can I help?” asks Jamie.
“You can’t,” snaps Mabon.
“But…”
Mabon puts his empty glass down rather forcefully. “You may be married to my brother, but there are limits to your power.”
Jamie pulls a face, but he doesn’t argue the point. Instead, he sighs deeply and runs a hand carefully over his beautifully done hair.
“Is Dyfri going to be alright?” he asks quietly.
“I don’t know,” says Mabon in a small, sad voice that doesn’t sound like him at all.
This is awful. The cruel injustice of it all is gnawing at me. I hate that there is nothing I can do. I’m helpless and this rage is impotent.
Suddenly, Mabon reaches down and unwraps my long leash from the table leg.
“Since I’m unexpectedly free this evening, I’m going to play with my pet!” he announces.
Jamie shoots me a worried glance and I give him a sheepish, embarrassed shrug and smile combo. I don’t know how to explain that I don’t exactly object to being Mabon’s plaything. The nuance of it is far beyond my limited vocabulary.
