Moira shrugged. “Power abhors a vacuum. Someone will step into the empty spaces the Lords leave and claim they’ll do a better job. Even if we know it’s bullshit, people tend to flock to charismatic leaders.” Her lips twisted. “We need to think about this deeper. The fae are tricky bastards and have been for eternity.” She smiled at my look. “We have to start asking more serious questions.”
“Like what?” As I was one of those tricky bastard fae, I knew better than most the games my kind could play.
Moira’s expression turned somber. “Are we being led by our noses to walk a certain path?”
I’d thought the same thing a few times but didn’t have enough evidence to prove such a thing was happening. “There’s no reason a fae would design a spell like this if it didn’t have a purpose. All of us are harmed when the land suffers. The fae may not feel any ill effects immediately, but they would after a while. I can’t figure out why someone would do something like this if all of us would suffer.”
Moira’s lips twisted. “Perfect example of collateral damage. Any fae who suffers the fallout might not be the intended target, but whoever cast the spell considers the end result worth the potential loss.”
I stared at Moira for a long moment, disturbed to my core. When I opened my mouth to ask her why she would know something like this or automatically think this was the purpose of the spell, Moira makes a downward slash with her hand. “Don’t ask,” she said in a clipped voice.
I pulled my knees up and rested my chin on top of them. “A burden earned hurts half as badly when it’s shared,” I said lightly.
“As much as I appreciate your colloquial wisdom,” Moira said dryly, “I like my burdens secured tightly behind a closed door in my mind.” She softened her words with a smile.
Didn’t make me hurt any less for her, though.
“One day I hope you find someone you can unlock that door for,” I said softly.
Moira shook her head and scoffed. “Gods, I hope not. That poor bastard will be opening Pandora’s box and have no idea what’s about to hit him.”
I nudged her with my shoulder. “I thought Caelan was it for me. For a while, he was everything. I would have torn the world apart to keep us together. When I was floating in that godsdamned tree, all I could think about was all the mistakes I’d made and wonder if I’d ever make it back to the people I loved. When I did and I saw you all there, I thought I had everything I’d ever wanted. I’d been given a second chance.”
Moira bowed her head.
“The moment I stepped out of the tree and saw Caelan, I wanted the rest of my life to start right then, with me as his wife.” I spread my hands out to encompass Thorvin’s land. “But here I am now, with Caelan nowhere to be found. I have a mate,someone I love more than I could have ever loved Caelan, and you, Ash, and Tess are still with me.” I scooted over and slung an arm over her shoulder. “Life isn’t linear, Moira. Sometimes a second chance means doing something different than before. It means taking chances, even if it’s opening up a little bit to the people you love so we can help share your burdens.”
Moira let out a heavy sigh. Her fists clenched at her sides. “I’m not ready,” she said after a long silence.
I reached up and stroked my fingers through her silky dark hair. “That’s okay. One day you will be. Until then, I will be right by your side.”
She laid her head on my shoulder, relaxing bit by bit, until she finally exhaled and sat up. “You better get in the ground and do your fancy woo woo stuff. Rowan won’t wait too long before he’s chomping at the bit to have you back.”
I smiled at her and stood to undress. Going underground unclothed would be unpleasant at first, but I didn’t want to have to travel home naked, and this type of magic always destroyed my clothing.
Moira turned her back and waited. When I sat back down and hissed at the freezing ground on my bits, she laughed and turned. “I’ll be right here,” she promised.
“Thorvin will be under for the next forty-six hours.”
Moira raised an eyebrow. “Specific, but okay.” She looked at her watch. “Good luck down there.”
I frowned. “Remind me to punch Thorvin a few times once I’m awake.”
“No problem,” Moira promised.
I closed my eyes and let the magic sweep me under. Lots of work to be done to give Thorvin’s territory a fighting chance.
And the work had to be done even if I didn’t think he deserved it. The land was the victim here, not Thorvin’s ego.
Chapter
Twenty-One
MOIRA
Afull twenty-four hours had passed, and I was bored out of my gourd. I’d brought snacks, a couple of puzzle books, and my e-reader, but I hadn’t been this alone in years, and the silence was starting to weigh on me.
I wasn’t like Evie. That chick could get buried under twenty thousand pounds of dirt for months, and I don’t think she’d bat an eye. I liked noise, bustle, music, action. No one had shown up at the Keep. Thorvin was the type of Lord who preferred solitude, so no one was overly worried about his absence yet.
