“It’s okay.” Her voice sounded flat. “I know that it’s true. I was the disappointment to them – their own flesh and blood who could never measure up to the miracle baby they saved from the orphanage. And then they died and I never got the chance to make them proud of me. Well, maybe I’ll be able to do that now.”
“Kelly, they were always proud of you?—”
“I’ve got to go.”
“Kelly, I need to talk to you about this.” The idea of sitting in silence in my room with all these horrible thoughts terrified me.
“I’m sorry, Maeve. You’ll figure it out. You always do. You’re so strong and clever and brave. Not like me.”
“Kelly—”
“Goodbye, Maeve. I love you so much.”
I listened to the dial tone in my ear, tears streaming down my face.I thought we were sisters. I thought we’d be there for each other, no matter what.
When did everything between us go so horribly wrong?
CHAPTER FORTY
ROWAN
Iknocked on Maeve’s closed door, a tray of scones and raspberry and vanilla tea balanced on my arm.
“No thanks,” she whispered back.
Her voice cracked with pain, and my whole body stiffened. I wanted nothing more than to fling open that door, wrap her in my arms, and kiss away the guilt and pain she was feeling.
But that was Corbin, or Flynn, or Arthur. And I hadn’t seen Arthur all day and I’d told the others not to go after her because I could also see when someone needed time alone.
I slunk back down the stairs. Jane was waiting at the bottom, staring up at me with accusatory eyes. I shook my head, not even sure where to begin telling her what had happened while she was gone. My words had gone.
Corbin. I have to talk to Corbin.
The thought of it made my guts twist and my anxiety claw at me worse than ever. I rushed to the edge of the covered walkway and glanced down, focusing on the large cobbles below. I started counting from the top left corner, nearest the visitor entrance for the castle tours.One…two…three…
You can ignore it all you want, Rowan, but it’s just going to eat away at you. Your cocks practically touched inside Maeve. Corbin’s not gay, so he has to be freaked out by that. And he’s going to be even more freaked out when he finds out how into it you were. You’d better commit those cobbles to memory because this is probably the last time you’ll see them?—
Footsteps thundered across the courtyard, jolting me out of my approaching panic.
“Guys,” Corbin yelled up from the ground as he jogged across the courtyard, sweat sticking his t-shirt to his taut muscles. “You won’t believe this. I just checked the wards around the gateway and they’re stronger than ever. There’s no way Daigh could get through there now.”
“Fancy that.” Blake leaned over the walkway above the courtyard, clad only in a towel wrapped lazily around his narrow hips. A familiar smirk crossed his face.
“What did you do?” Corbin’s eyes narrowed up at him.
“I didn’t do anything you didn’t do, Casanova,” Blake grinned. Seeing Flynn’s incredulous look, he added, “I saw a documentary about Casanova last night. Anyway, we all lent our power to strengthen the wards, but Maeve was the one who gave them the extra jolt they needed. Well, she and I did.”
“You’d better explain.”
“You felt that gush of power after you blew your load into her, right? That was Maeve’s and my power – intensified by our revels and leeching off your magic – leaving our bodies to strengthen the gateway.”
I rubbed my arms, where my earth magic had hummed so intensely only an hour before. That certainly tracked with what happened. Maeve’s power had yanked mine from my body, and the blast that sent us flying was certainly the most powerful thing I’d ever experienced.
Corbin sighed. “Why did you keep this secret from the rest of us until now?”
“No secret. I only had the idea when Maeve told us she wanted to fuck us all. I told her about it and she agreed to try. The rest of you were a bit distracted but we figured you’d be fine with it, seeming as if it’s for the good of all humanity.”
“We were all there. I didn’t hear you discuss it with Maeve.”
