A sad smile tugged at the edges of her lips. “Don’t. I would give anything to be the fighter you are, and to have the same sharp edge to me. But alas, I’ve been worn down too far by the blows I’ve taken. There’s nothing left anymore except a memory of the girl I once was and the woman I used to hope I’d be.” She took a ragged breath. “That is the bite, isn’t it? That day when we wake to remember what our future once was and can never be.”
Medea tightened her hand against Brogan’s. “Never, ever beat yourself up, love. Not when there are so many others willing to do it for you. See the gentle beauty that you are. Not the sharpened dagger I’ve become.”
Falcyn moved so that he could lean down to whisper in Medea’s ear. “And I think you’re perfect just the way you are. There is nothing about you I’d change.”
Those words melted her. Worse, they brought tears to her eyes, as they were the sweetest thing anyone had said to her in so long, she couldn’t remember ever hearing anything more precious.
So used to anger as her constant state of being, she wasn’t sure how to deal with these tender emotions Falcyn touched so effortlessly.
Damn him for it!
And damn her heart for letting him in against her wishes.
She didn’t want to care about anyone. But when he looked at her like that… When he spoke in that rich, deep timbre that sent shivers over her…
How could she resist him?
You can’t lose someone you love again.
The thought of having more children and a spouse…
That was what gave a grown Daimon nightmares. At least in her case. Medea could imagine no worse horror. No worse tragedy than to spend every day in terror of losing it all again.
No. She wouldn’t do it.
Shecouldn’tdo it.
Falcyn saw the panic flaring in Medea’s eyes a heartbeat before she turned on her heels and ran from the room like the hounds of hell were nipping at her soul.
“What did you say to her?” Urian asked.
“Nothing that should warrantthatreaction.”
Blaise scoffed. “I don’t know. Frightening women and small children, and making grown men piss their pants, is kind of your specialty, brother.”
Falcyn ground his teeth. “It’s a good thing I like you.” And with that, he went after Medea, who was quickly heading toward the fey court.
“Honey, you might want to slow it down before you burst headlong into Adoni central. You might maketheirday, but it’d probably ruin yours.… Then again, knowing you, it might make you smile. Provided they don’t take you by surprise.”
That at least succeeded in making her slow her hell-bent pace. “What?”
He nodded, then jerked his chin in the direction she’d been headed. “That’s where the Circle parties down. Bad idea for us to break in on them. Unless you want roasted Adoni for dinner. That I can arrange.”
She snorted. “You’re not funny.”
Nearing her side, Falcyn cupped her face in his hands as he sought to comfort her. “So what was that about, anyway?”
“What?”
“Your running off in the middle of our moment. What’s going on?”
Her eyes darkened with so much torment that it hit him like a fist to his gut. He couldn’t stand seeing her in pain. “Brogan may see death, but the future she described for me is more than I could cope with. It terrified me.”
The magnitude of her confiding in him wasn’t lost on him. He understood exactly how rare this was, and he didn’t take it for granted.
Floored and humbled by it, he stroked her cheek before he smiled at her and sought to lighten her mood. “Yeah, domestic hell is something I’ve done my best to avoid. It’s that whole suburban lifestyle. Little ranch house. White minivan. Block parties and lawn mowers.” He shuddered. “I’d be funneling Drano within a weekend.”
That succeeded in easing her pain. “I don’t know. You’d be cute in an apron.”
