“That was a very long bath,” he murmured, not turning around. “Are you feeling better now, my love?”
My love.
She clamped her jaws and strode up behind him. Gently, she placed a trembling hand on his back, her palm skimming his smooth skin. “Better about some things. Worse about others.”
“Your heart has changed,” he said bluntly. “Or it was never mine to begin with. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I trapped you here. It wasn’t as though you stayed because you wanted to be my wife. I just wish—” His voice broke. “I only claimed you because I thought it was what you wanted. If I’d known the truth in your heart, I never would have touched you, Eislyn. I am so sorry if—”
“Lir,” she whispered. Steeling her nerves, she stepped up beside him. “It is what I wanted. More than anything. You are not wrong about how I feel for you.”
His jaw rippled, and he turned to her. “Then, what is this? I feel you pulling away. I can see your thoughts in your eyes. You want to leave this place. Now that you know you don’t have to stay here, you’re plotting your escape.”
“My escape?” she asked, arching a brow. “Do you truly plan to try to keep me here against my will, now that you know I’m not the Namhaid?”
His face clouded over. “Of course not. But lest you forget, Eislyn, we have a bond. And I have an empire to rule.”
“I want you to break the bond,” she whispered, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain in her gut. When Lir had first bonded her soul to his, she’d hated him for it. She’d wanted nothing more than to rip a hole in it so that she could stab him in the gut. Now, the bond soothed her. It softened the jagged edges of her heart.
It had been a long time since she’d felt this kind of peace.
He stared down at where her hand rested against his chest. “If you care for me, why would you do this?”
“I need to return to Tir Na Nog.”
“Why?” he demanded. “You made it clear there is nothing there for you. Your world is in turmoil. Friends and family turned against you. Knives hide behind every corner. There is peace here, Eislyn. You never have to be afraid again.”
She stepped back. “That’s not true. One of your loyal warriors died because of me. You killed him.”
He ground his teeth together. “He thought you were the Namhaid. They all did. Now, everyone knows you’re not.”
“Do they?” She cocked her head, frowning. “Because something tells me it isn’t going to be as easy as that. Word has already spread through the city. Did you see the looks on their faces? Hate and distrust. And their beloved Emperor has married me.”
“My people respect me.”
“I heard you speaking with your guards around the fire,” she said. “I know all about the war and their worries of another. Peace is fragile, Lir. You can’t sacrifice it for me.”
His gaze went dark. “Is that why you’re doing this?”
“Yes. No.” She threw up her hands. “It’s part of it, Lir. I won’t lie to you.”
“Well, then stop it.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, yanking her to his chest. “I will worry about the empire. You worry about your own damn self.”
“It’s part of it,” she mumbled, her lips against his chest. She felt his heartbeat in her soul. “But only part. I need to return to my homeland. The people there need me more than you do.”
“You believe that?” He pulled back and searched her eyes for the truth. “What happened in that pit, Eislyn? What did the gods say to you?”
“They said my family needs me,” she whispered. “And to help them, I have to go back.”
It wasn’t the full truth, but it was close enough. And she would never utter her sister’s name to the Emperor of Fomor. She would rather break her own heart than sacrifice her sister.
At long last, Lir let her go. His gaze shuttered. His lips went flat. Without another word, he spun on his heels and motioned for her to follow him. When they reached Druid Evin’s quarters, she understood at once what he planned to do.
“It would seem Eislyn Darragh is not the Namhaid, so we have no need to keep her here any longer,” Lir said in a blank tone of voice. “Undo the bond at once.”
The druid rubbed his eyes and glanced down at his rumpled nightclothes.
“Lir, we can do this in the morning. We don’t have to—”
“It’s better for everyone if we do this at once. I’ll wait here while Druid Evin gets dressed. Meet us in the palace entry.”
