“Well, that’s just fine and dandy,” I growled. “What if I want to do something personal? What if I want to be with Eljin at some point?”
His eyebrows rose. “At some point? Does that mean your relationship with him has cooled?”
“It does not.”
“Shame.”
I scowled at him.Helooked totally unperturbed.
“To answer your question,” he continued, after a beat, “you can do as you wish. The Bruadar is not a tracer, and it will not spy on your activities. It was developed to do nothing more than bring you to this liminal space.”
I glanced down at it for a moment. “How does it work if you’re trying to contact me?”
“The stars will spin. If you wish to accept the call, simply say so, and we will meet here.”
“And if I want to refuse the call?”
“You simply say ‘reject call.’”
I hesitated. “And this place? Are there any restrictions on how long we can stay here?”
“Aside from the fact that there is neither food nor water here aside from what we might bring in, no.”
“There’s no bed, either, from what I can see.”
His soft chuckle held the faintest edge, but it nevertheless had delight skittering down my spine, warming me in all the right places. “As I have said, we have not yet fashioned it to our wills. I suspect you are not quite ready to do that yet.”
I wanted to. I wantedhim. But the fear remained. While I had no doubt our sexual relationship would continue sooner rather than later, if for no other reason than the fact I was an absolute idiot, I just… wanted to delay the inevitable heartbreak just a fraction longer. I doubted I’d ever be able to harden my heart to it, though. Or to him.
When I didn’t answer, he added, “I shall begin investigations into those who attended and work up a list of suspects. It may take me a day or so, but once a day, we shall meet here, if you wish, and discuss the matter.”
I couldn’t help arching an eyebrow. “Just discuss?”
“That, my dearest Bethany, is entirely up to you.”
“I have dinner with Lugh and Darby tomorrow night, so if it is done by then, don’t call early.”
He bowed in formal acknowledgement of the request then stepped back and said, “Leave.”
And with little fanfare, he did so, leaving me alone in the darkness and cursing the fucking fear that had stopped me taking what I so desperately wanted.
I drew in a deep, shuddering breath, then, like him, said, “Leave.”
And found myself back in the bedroom, alone and aching.
Serves me right,I thought.
I stripped off, climbed back into bed, then tried to sleep.
It took a long,longtime to find me.
But when it did, it came with dreams. Or maybe they were nightmares, because they were filled with the bitter taste of deception and death. Nothing was really clear, nothing beyond two things. A knife, flashing down into the flesh of a red-haired woman—a woman who now had a face. Mine.
But that wasn’t the worst of it, because this time the dream included a calendar clock, ticking down.
If it were to be believed, death would find me in a little under nine months.
Chapter
