I groaned. “Morton!”
“Well, he doesn’t, but I told him he could deserve you. It was supposed to be a pep talk! Not a ‘leave and never come back’ talk!”
He’d left. He’d just gone and left like I meant nothing at all, and maybe I didn’t.
“Niamh?” a voice called. Harriet stood in the hallway. Her black hair looked like a halo around her head, tight curls spiraling in all directions.
I remembered Wolfe’s admission about his and Harriet’s relationship, about why they’d bonded. I was no Harriet, definitely not a warrior.
“Harriet,” I said, holding back my tears, “how can I help you?”
“I wanted to talk to you.” Her hands twisted together in front of her.
“Margaret,” Morton called. “I need your help in the library.”
Margaret straightened, frowning. “But I was just listening?—”
“Margaret,” Morton said, an edge to his voice.
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Right. Help.” She winked, and Morton just let out a heavy sigh as he slithered back into the library. Margaret hopped from painting to painting, finally disappearing.
I turned to Harriet. “What’s wrong? Is it Cillian?”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Wolfe.”
“Oh.” I was less enthusiastic about this. “I know you two were in a relationship for seven years, and I don’t know what you’ve heard, but there’s nothing going on between us.” I let out a nervous laugh, knowing I was rambling. “I’m not a warrior like you, which, apparently, is what he’s attracted to. He left this morning, you know. Just left. I think it’s my fault. Or maybe not. Either way, it doesn’t matter?—”
“He’s not attracted to warriors,” Harriet said, looking as nervous as I felt. “I’m so bad at this. I should’ve brought Maya.”
“Maya?” I asked.
“My wife.”
“Oh. I—” Well, I hadn’t been expecting that. “Is that why you and Wolfe didn’t work out?” He certainly hadn’t shared that part.
“No.” She gave a quiet laugh. “He knew that I liked men and women when we got into a relationship. That was never the problem.”
“What was, then?” I asked, feeling more confused than ever.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m really messing this up. Well, you know Margaret likes to gossip. She was telling Maya about you and Wolfe’s fight last night in the library, and Maya told me I needed to come see you.”
My cheeks flushed. Of course Margaret had overhead that.
“I’ve heard bits and pieces of gossip about how much Wolfe has opened up to you over the last few months.” She hesitated. “Did he tell you why we broke up?”
I shook my head, still not sure where this was going.
“After Lor died, I couldn’t get him to talk. Not about anything. I’m terrible at communication, which I think is why I fell for Maya. She’s not. She’s so sneaky in the way she gets information from me.” Sheswallowed thickly. “I came here this morning because Margaret mentioned that you were wrecked by that fight, a crying mess.”
Thank you for that, Margaret.
“And I wanted to tell you that Wolfe has opened up to you in a way he never has to anyone.”
“Oh.” That stopped me.
“He’s told you things he never told me. I think that’s why we liked each other so much. Neither of us pushed the other one, neither of us forced uncomfortable conversations. But you do. You do for Wolfe what my wife does for me. I guess I just wanted you to know that Wolfe is scared. He’s so scared he’s running, apparently. But don’t give up on him. Maya would tell you he’s worth it, just like I was worth the challenge for her.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked, voice trembling.
