With a heavy sigh, he gave a grudging nod. “As a fellow noble warrior, I understand your plight. But you cannot leave here forever. I am going to take you at your word. When Lugh needs you again, I will call onyou.”
“It’s a deal,” I said before flicking my eyes to Saoirse. She’d been watching the entire exchange with a bemused expression on her face. “You’re lookingbetter.”
“The healers have made me as good as new. I can go back to my room any time now, but I’m enjoying the extra attention. And food. So, I’ll spend another night here.” Her purple eyes shone, but they still had that haunted look aboutthem.
When we’d finally had a chance to speak to Saoirse about what had happened, we’d learned that the enemy had treated her like a prisoner of war. They had tortured her for information and demanded she give them a prophecy. At first, she resisted, but then she’d given in. None of us blamed her for that. When she finally managed a single prophecy for them, she’d discovered that intense, all-consuming magic was needed as a sacrifice for the cauldron. Lugh’s spear woulddo.
The details of her exact prophecy she’d kept mum. She said it didn’t matter anymore. We’d stopped it from comingtrue.
As I turned to go, she grasped my hand and clung tight. “You can change your destiny, Moira. Don’t forgetthat.”
“I know.” Tears filled my eyes. “There’s always that chance, but I can’t risk it. I’ve lost too many people. I won’t lose him,too.”
* * *
Idraggedmy feet toward The Royal Palace. I had no more excuses. No more fae to speak to before I left. Sure, I could walk along the cobblestones and drag my fingers across the Great Hall’s majestic tables one last time. I could poke my head into the kitchen, say goodbye to Selma, not that shecared.
But it was time now for me to face Lugh. One finaltime.
With a deep breath, I strode to the door and pushed it open. As soon as I stepped foot inside, my ears were met with that haunting melody. He was playing the harp again, the strands of music swirling through the hallways like a strange, dark magic I wanted to pull into mybones.
The harp stopped suddenly, and Lugh appeared in his arched doorway, his dark hair ruffled, his shirt nowhere to be seen. I swallowed hard as I took in his washboard abs and sculpted cheekbones. Instead of running away from this, I wanted to launch into hisarms.
I set my bag on the floor and shifted awkwardly on myfeet.
“You’ve come to say goodbye.” He disappeared back into his rooms, leaving his door hangingopen.
He wasn’t going to make this easy on me then. Fairenough.
With a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and edged into his rooms. The place was a wreck, far more so than usual. Books had been tossed about with abandon. Dirty plates were stacked in the kitchen. The floor was covered insoot.
I lifted a brow. “Um. Did someone break in hereagain?”
“No.” His voice was cold as he turned his back on me. “Say what you have come here to say,Moira.”
“Lugh,” Ipleaded.
He kept his back turned toward me and strode over to thewindow.
“Lugh. Please. It doesn’t have to be this hard.” I took a step toward him and thenpaused.
“No, it doesn’t,” he said quietly. “For one, you could stay here with me. I am your mate. We belong together, notapart.”
“I told you about the prophecy. It said thatI’ll—”
“Fuck the prophecy,” he growled, whipping toward me. “The prophecy doesn’t matter. All that matters is how I feel about you and how you feel about me. Tell me, Moira.” He strode toward me, his dark power whorling through the room like a tornado. “Do you want to killme?”
I blinked up at him, voice stuck in mythroat.
“Tell me the truth,” he demanded. “Tell me you want to stab your blade into myheart.”
My hands clenched. “Of course I don’t. I’ve never wanted that. I don’t understand how I evercould.”
He grabbed my hands and pulled me to his chest. “Then,stay.”
“I can’t,” I said, tears springing into my eyes. “The idea that I could kill you terrifies me. I won’t risk it. I won’t. I refuse to put you in harm’s way, especially when that harm isme.”
“But it’s just a prophecy.” He closed his eyes and breathed me in. Heat sparked in my gut, and I found myself pressing closer to him, letting my head fill with the burning scent of him, that fire and mist and pine. It was hard to care about what might happen at some point way in the future when he was right here in front of menow.
