“Why do you have a hobgoblin named Uisnech in your Court ofWraiths?”
He gave me an incredulous look. “That’swhat you’re worried about right now? Why I have a hobgoblinhere?”
I tried to shrug, but it was kind of difficult with his arms wrapped so tightly around me. “He might be the most surprising part of this Court. Him andyou.”
“Me?” The pace of his footsteps quickened as the looming shape of the Royal Palace came intoview.
“Yes, you. One minute, you’re the most cruel fae I’ve ever met, and the next you’re cradling ahobgoblin.”
“Uisnech is a strange, little creature, but I owe him mylife.”
Huh. That was not what I had expected him to say. There was a story there, one I was desperate to hear, but my head felt as heavy as lead. Tongue thick in my mouth, I asked, “How’d he saveyou?”
He cast a concerned look at my face as he reached the palace. With a quick kick, the door slammed open, and he rushed inside. Instead of heading into his quarters, he raced up the curving stairs and deposited me on a guest bed covered in very expensive looking silksheets.
Silk sheets now stained with myblood.
Opening my mouth, I tried to snark about the price tag, but I was too tired. I flopped back onto the pillows and let my eyes slideshut.
I could still feel him moving around me, mostly because he kept shouting curses and stumbling into things. Why was he being so clumsy all of a sudden? He was Lugh, as smooth as steel and as unbothered as a lion stalking its prey. Something heavy pressed against my arm, and a magical warmth suddenly spread through mybody.
The pain ebbed, though it didn’t disappear. Instead of a piercing stab through my shoulder, it now felt like a dull, distant throb. Something else pressed heavily against the wound, and then, Lugh let out a long, shudderingsigh.
The pressure on my shoulder eased, and I felt, rather than saw, Lugh lean over me. “You’re going to be okay. I got more antidote from the sorcerer after the attack in Barrie’s Close, and it’s stopped the bleeding. You’ll feel weak for a day or two, but you’ll be fine. You’ll live,Moira.”
His voice held much more raw emotion than I expected. My heart flipped over, and I was desperate to open my eyes. I wanted to look into his face. I wanted to reach out and touchhim.
He wrapped his strong, warm hand around mine, and his forehead pressed lightly against my cheek. “I thought I’d lostyou.”
My throat was raw, but even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have known what to say. Did Lugh...have feelings for me? Terror swept through me at the thought. The prophecy. Caer’s vision of myfuture.
The terror suddenlydied.
The prophecy only mattered if Lugh was my mate, and he wasn’t. We had no bond. There was no magic connecting the two of us together. When I closed my eyes, I didn’t feel him there, deep inside of my soul. It was okay for me to reach out to him. It was fine for us to getinvolved.
Because if he wasn’t my mate, I would not end up killinghim.
My mouth went dry at the thought of the old familiar prophecy that had haunted me all of my life. A druid had once told me she could see my future, one I could never avoid. I would one day meet my mate. Our bond would be so strong that every fae who met us would know what wewere.
And then I would murderhim.
* * *
When I awoke,it was dark. I shot up straight in the bed, heart pounding like a runaway horse. Memories flashed through my mind. The traitors trapping me in the dark. The pain of the sword slashing into my shoulder. And then Lugh’s terror-filled plea for me not todie.
I wasn’t sure what scared memore.
Swinging my feet over the side of the bed, I stood and padded over to the window. I was still inside The Royal Palace, in the guest room where Lugh had tucked me for the night. The wound on my arm had begun to heal. The dull throb remained, covered by a thick bandage that I could poke without keeling over frompain.
I still wore my clothes from the fight, though Lugh had removed my thick leather jacket at some point. Along with my shoes and socks. Wiggling my toes, I pulled the elastic band from my wrist and piled my golden locks onto my head in a highbun.
I found my way down the stairs and knocked lightly on Lugh’s open door. He sat on his sofa, surrounded by books. He was flipping through an old tome that wafted dust into the air, his tongue stuck out between hislips.
Lips that had beenallover my body only hoursago.
He glanced up, and then snapped the book shut. In an instant, he was on his feet and crossing the room, concern painting his sharply-cut features. “Moira? How are youfeeling?”
I swallowed hard, awkwardness rushing through me. After our little make-out session and his strange emotional reaction to my wound, I didn’t really know how to act around him anymore. We almost felt like strangers again, in a different dance than the one we’d been in before. That one had been easy. A snarky jab there, an angry outburstthere.
