Heart of the Fae (The Otherworld #1)(79)

“Do you want to talk about the Queen?”

“Let me take care of you. I have no wish for nightmares, my dear.”

Sorcha could almost feel the aching pain of loss. Oona was banished here, and likely would never see her family again. The resolve set inside Sorcha grew all the more strong. She would find a way to send Oona back home. To send all of them home.

They deserved to see their families. They deserved to be free.



Eamonn stormed into the highest tower of the castle, rage simmering underneath his skin. How dare she? How dare she defy him, in his own castle, without even a hint of fear in her eyes?

She should worry that he might snap her pretty little neck. And he could!

He held his hands out, staring down at the palms that had taken so many lives in his long life. He could feel the shifting of flesh, the crack that echoed through his fingers when a spine gave way. There was not a gentle bone in his body.

At least, that was what he believed.

But even with the multiple bottles of whiskey clouding his mind and judgement, he had been gentle with her. The crystals on his hands hadn’t broken through her speckled skin.

He tossed his head, shaking the long braid down his spine. Speckled wasn’t the word. Flawed, as he had told her, wasn’t the word either. Those freckles were captivating little stars decorating her skin like the splatter of a painter’s brush. She was the most unusual creature he had met.

The voice of his twin brother, Fionn, echoed in his mind.

“But you always loved the humans, brother.”

Eamonn growled. “You have no place here.”

“You’ll hurt her, like the rest of them. Those hands weren’t capable of preserving such delicate bodies even before you broke. Ruined, maimed, beast that you are.”

The old doubt filtered into his conscience. He wanted to be the kind of man who was capable of touching a woman and not worrying that she might break. He wanted to stroke soft skin, to squeeze and pet, but he knew what dangers lay down that path.

And it infuriated him.

Roaring out a frustrated call, he swung a heavy fist at the newest chair in his living quarters. The wood splintered beneath the weight of crystal and bone. Small shards burst into the air, slicing through his forearms.

The now familiar ache forced him to pause and tilt his hand. Meaty flesh split farther and crystals grew through muscle and skin. They glimmered, reflecting the light as if to mock him. They were beautiful, yes, but they were ugly at the same time.

He dropped his hand in disgust.

“That temper tends to you get in trouble.”

Eamonn’s jaw ticked at the familiar voice.

“Why were you in Unseelie Lands, Bran?”

“Am I not supposed to be looking after your newest lady conquest?”

“Why?” Eamonn added steel to his voice, not allowing the other Fae a chance to argue further. Bran would talk around a subject until he was blue in the face.

“I had business there.”

“You should not be following her.”

“Why not?” Bran stepped out of the shadows, a sly grin on his face. “I do what I want, Prince. Just as you do.”

“You should have been protecting her if you were there.”

“She was fine. Managed well if you ask me. The only thing that caught her up was the portal.” Bran’s raven eye winked. “And if we’re being honest, opening that on her own was an impossible task. She wouldn’t have gotten it open without any Fae blood.”

“You don’t think she has any?” Eamonn wasn’t so sure.

“Dry as a bone, that one. I thought perhaps she might, but any power would have surfaced on that ship we came over here on. She’s not Fae.”

“Then what is your explanation for the ears?”

Bran shrugged. “Physical deformation. She is strange though, I’ll give you that. She knows how to manage the Fae and always says ‘thank you.’ I haven’t had a human thank me in what feels like centuries.”

“They forgot about us. That’s why we left.”

“All but her.” Bran nodded towards the now broken furniture. “I’d hazard a guess you did something you’re regretting?”

“Go away, Bran.”

“I’m here now. I don’t think I want to leave until the end of this story. What do you plan on doing with her?” Bran walked towards one of the lounge chairs, splaying his body across it without a care in the world. He pointed towards the comfortable seat. “This one is off limits. Break the others.”

Eamonn sighed, tension and anger giving way to annoyance. “I’m finished.”

“You say that, but then you always end up flipping the chair I’m seated in.”

“That’s because you annoy me so much.”

“I don’t follow your rules, Seelie. It’s just the way I live my life.”

“And you waste your time annoying me?”

Bran kicked his feet in the air, holding his hand out for a drink he knew Eamonn would share. “It’s not like there’s much going on back in my court. And here you are, on the brink of making the next step towards your future.”

Eamonn lifted a glass and the whiskey from his desk, pouring a healthy amount into the crystal. “You think I’m on the brink of something? What other future do I have than rotting away on this isle?”