“Oh, he’s that bad,” Cillian said. “But you must have made quite animpression on him.” There was that odd gleam again, his blue eyes sparking.
My cheeks flushed, but I wasn’t sure why. I shifted in my seat. “Well, either way, I’m here, and I’m ready to talk.”
“That’s good.” Cillian steepled his hands together. “Seeing as we’re going to be married and everything, we probably should talk.”
I raised a brow. “We might be married. I haven’t accepted yet.”
He waved a hand. “Technicality.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, remembering Margaret’s words about him and Ceri. “Are you in love with your best friend?” I blurted out. So much for being subtle.
Cillian’s eyebrows shot up. “Ceri?”
My hands twisted together under the table as I nodded.
Cillian burst out laughing. “No. She’s practically my sister. I’ve known her since we were born.” He said the words so casually, but I noticed the way he didn’t fully meet my gaze as he spoke.
Still, relief spread through me. “Oh. Well, that’s good.”
Cillian ran a hand through his hair. “But you should know... I have a bit of a reputation.”
“Oh, I’ve heard.” I flashed him a sweet smile.
“Perfect,” he said through a strained smile.
I waved my hand. “I don’t care about your past, and this is an arranged marriage. I don’t expect love or anything.”
Cillian’s shoulders slumped, and I’d never seen a man look so relieved in my life. “You’re lovely,” he said quickly. “And a pleasure to talk to, but I don’t know that I’m the ‘falling in love’ kind of guy.”
“It’s really okay,” I felt my own sense of relief at his admission, which was odd. I should’ve wanted my future husband to love me. “Okay,” I said.
His eyebrows shot up. “Okay? You’ll do it? You’ll be my queen if the castle accepts you?”
Now that Wolfe had agreed to train me, I felt more emboldened. Like maybe I could do this. Maybe I could stop being seen as this fragile, weak woman. Maybe I could stop feeling that way about myself. “Yes,” I said.
He peered at me curiously. “Why was this so easy? My other potential brides did not take that news as well.”
“I guess it’s just a relief to know I’ll be safe, protected.”
He nodded, putting his hand over mine. “We’ll keep you safe, Niamh. Always.”
I blew out a breath. The hard part of this conversation was over. “What am I supposed to do here all day every day? Just wander around and hope the castle takes a liking to me?” My gaze flicked to the golden key on his neck. “What did your other... potential brides do? And how many of them have there been?”
He shoved a hand through his hair, and somehow it fell right back into place. Truly amazing. “Four,” he said, voice tight for the first time since I’d met him.
Four other women who’d been here with the hope they might be queen. I tried to stay positive, but hopelessness splintered through like weeds. “What’s going to make me any different?”
He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “The prophecy. It said I had to find the woman in the tower. Do you know of any other towers with women trapped in them? It can’t be a coincidence. The other women were all ones that seemed like good candidates for queen. Women from other kingdoms I sought out and invited. We kept them blindfolded so they had no idea where we were going. When the castle didn’t accept them, they were able to go back to their lives.” He shrugged. “It didn’t really affect them like it might you. But I’m telling you, this time is different. You were brought here for a reason.”
“I hope so.” A rose petal fell from the wall, and a broom shimmied over to wipe it into a dustpan. Another petal grew in its place, unfurling. “Oh! A magical broom.”
I hopped up and ran across the room, reaching out when Cillian yelled, “Don’t touch that!”
My hand froze.
“Broom doesn’t like being grabbed. It’s been known to swat anyone who touches it.”
I withdrew my hand. “Well, that’s too bad. I could really use it.”
