He looked up at me and something fierce passed through his dark eyes. Was it anger, or fear, or desire? I was too far away to tell.
Sorry, pardon my American – you look likeshite.”
Emboldened by his silence, I stepped forward, moving to the front of the desk and placing my hands on the open grimoire. A different volume from the one we’d first shagged on, but it brought all the memories back.
I’m getting good at these British sayings. I’m starting to think in terms of shagging and wankers and gobshites.
“Corbin, listen to me. You aren’t sleeping. You’re snapping at people. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He shook his head. “Please don’t worry about me. I’ve just had a long day is all. I’m tired and?—”
“That’s nonsense and we both know it. Maybe you were on your own before and you had to look after yourself. But you’re not on your own now. Arthur and Rowan and Flynn and I and yes, even Blake…we’re stronger when we work together. You don’t have to carry this burden all on your own.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice resigned. This wasn’t the first time he’d argued this point. I bet Rowan had tried to talk some sense into him.
However, Rowan would give up as soon as Corbin flashed him thatdon’t fuck with mestare. I was not Rowan and I knew just how to get our fearless protector to talk.
“You’re right,” I folded my arms across the front of my dress. “I don’t understand. But I’m going to. I need more, Corbin. I am your high priestess, and your landlord, as well as your friend. Remember when I first came here and you didn’t tell me everything about who I was and because of that, I ended up in a dangerous situation? You thought that was the right decision, but you were wrong. Do you hear me?You were wrong.”
The words shuddered against Corbin’s body like blows. He deflated in the chair, his eyes dropping to his hands.
I pressed my advantage. “I am not having any secrets in my castle. You can start by telling me where you went today. And if you say you were visiting some archaic wizard library, I’ll know you’re lying. You’d never go to a library without coming home with a huge stack of books.”
“I wennoo seema errants,” Corbin mumbled.
“A bit louder. I can’t quite hear you.”
“I went to see my parents!” Corbin yelled, snapping his head up. “I asked them to take their heads out of their bloody arses and help us, but they’re too afraid to do it.”
As soon as the words flew out of his mouth, Corbin’s eyes widened.
“Maeve, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
“It’s fine.” I leaned over the desk and placed my hand on top of his. He stared at my hand as though it were an alien thing. “Can you elaborate a little? Your parents were both in the last Briarwood coven. They both survived, and they lived here in the castle until five years ago, and then it was just you. Does that have something to do with it?”
“My parents were the only witches left after the battle still willing or able to use their powers. They stayed here at Briarwood to watch over the gateway and make sure the fae couldn’t try anything again. We all grew up here – me, my brother, and my twin sisters – playing in the garden, baking cakes in the big kitchen, creating make-believe spy games with the secret staircase and the other hidden places. I spent every evening curled up in this library, reading books to my brother Keegan.”
“It must’ve been amazing.” I couldn’t imagine growing up in a house like this, surrounded by siblings and love and books and magic.
That could have been my life, my family, my siblings – if Daigh hadn’t taken it all away from me.
Corbin nodded. “My parents were open about our powers, and they taught us all from a young age how to control them. Dad home-schooled us, although when I got older, I did most of my schooling myself. He had his hands full with Keegan. My younger brother was…different. They didn’t tell me a lot about what was going on with him, but they took him to see a lot of doctors and psychologists to try and get a diagnosis. I don’tknow if they ever got an answer that satisfied them. Keagan had these terrifying mood swings – from happy to raging to the depths of despair in a blink. Arthur and Rowan remind me of him, sometimes, in different ways.”
“So what happened five years ago? What changed everything?”
Corbin shook his head.
“I will tell you, Maeve. Iwill. But please, not today. I can’t deal with it today after everything that just happened and is still happening. All I can tell you without falling apart completely is that there was an accident, and Keegan died.”
Shit.
The blood rushed to my head. Corbin’s words pounded on the inside of my skull.
Keegan died.
Corbin lost his younger brother here at Briarwood. Both Corbin and Arthur lost people they loved. No wonder they closed ranks around me and remained fervently patient with my moods, my tears, and my snap choices. They’d been through it all before and were still going through it – because I couldn’t see how grief could possibly end.
“After he…” Corbin cleared his throat. “My parents couldn’t bear to be at Briarwood anymore. They stopped using their magic and forbade me from using mine. My sisters were only three, so they hadn’t even learned what they were yet. They still don’t know. My parents decided that they could no longer be the guardians of Briarwood, so Dad took a job teaching medieval Latin at Oxford University and they bought a tiny house in the Cotswolds and they packed up all our stuff and moved us away.
