A Thief of Nightshade(38)

Her lower lip quivered when she tried to speak and found that she couldn’t, prompting her to draw back from him and curl into a ball against the far corner of the cell. He waited, debating whether to give her space or not, but when he saw her body shake with silent sobs, he made up his mind.

“Don’t cry. I’m not mad that I warned you we were going the wrong way. It’s okay that you didn’t listen.” He nudged her with his nose, but his attempt at humor did absolutely nothing to console her. “Given, I’m so sorry. Please, I know what you did for Aubrey. I’m a complete ass.” He lay down close beside her. “I’m not good at this kind of thing and when you regain your voice you can tell me all about just how big of an ass I am, but for right now, please...”

She turned over, her eyes sparkling with tears, and despite the muck and mire she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. She reached over, still sniffling, and petted the top of his head.

There was a time when he would have found it completely humiliating, but now there was tenderness and innocence to it that touched him in a way he’d never known was possible. After a few minutes she snuggled against him, resting with her head against the driest part of his back. It took awhile, but eventually Given’s

breathing leveled into a deep rhythm and he knew she’d fallen asleep.

The white lion threaded his way through the forest, deftly dodging in and out of the thickest undergrowth until he had made it to the grand gates of the Winter Court of Neath. Once there, he shifted back to his usual form of Morrigan, head of Her Majesty’s guard and leader of the Sidhe.

“I trust you’ve taken care of everything?” Saralia looked up from her plate long enough to acknowledge his arrival.

He bowed low, his long pale hair pulled into a taut braid at the nape of his neck. “Yes, your Majesty. They were right where Lady Crimson said they would be.”

Saralia smiled, her ice-like skin shimmering in the candlelight. “Good, then that’s the end of it. She’ll either die of her wounds, be eaten piece by piece, or worse, depending on Cedrick’s level of derangement. The spell I worked on him was rather elaborate. I’m going to hope for worse. Nicely done, Morrigan. I’m quite pleased.”

This was the part he hadn’t been looking forward to. “Your Majesty, I must forewarn you, she no longer travels with just the bear.”

Saralia set down her fork with an agitated clink. “Go on.”

Morrigan cleared his throat. “There is a Shade...”

Saralia laughed. “Morrigan, you really should know better than to place so much faith in half-breed magic. She cannot heal our little human, no matter how hard she tries.”

Morrigan looked down, dreading his next words. “It isn’t just any Shade. It’s your daughter.”





Chapter Fourteen


Once ...

“JUST LEAVE IT ALONE,” JULLIAN

LAUGHED.

They’d been driving for almost an hour and Aubrey was dying. He’d woken her up at an ungodly hour, made her put on a blindfold and now here they were. “Are we ever going to get there?”

“I promise we’re almost there. Just a few more minutes.” He lovingly laid his hand on her leg. “You aren’t normally this impatient, I’m shocked.”

That was extraordinarily far from the truth and they both knew it. “Give me a hint.”

“No, you’ve had three so far. Way beyond generous.”

“Please,” she pleaded.

He squeezed her leg, eliciting a squeal.

“You know that tickles.”

He laughed low. “Why do you think I did it?”

“Just one more hint? Then you can tickle me as much as you want.”

“Just one?” He half-squeezed.

“Yes, yes, I swear it.” Her stomach hurt from laughing so much; he’d been doing this since they’d left the house.

“The only mirror that can be shattered and put back together again.”

Aubrey thought about it a second.

“You can’t shatter a mirror and put it back together. Well, not and see clearly.”

“As clear as if it never happened.”

She grinned, amused by his theatrics, but more than anything impressed by his wit. She really couldn’t answer him, just like she hadn’t been able to guess based on the last three clues. “You really don’t want me to know, do you?”

“I wouldn’t have spent the last year getting this surprise ready for you if I were going to tell you on the way, nor would I have blindfolded you.”

She almost stopped breathing. “When did you ... all those weekends you were doing guest lectures?”

He rubbed her leg. “Every minute.”

She was profoundly touched, to the point she couldn’t respond immediately.

“Someone wise once said, ‘It is easier to tell someone that you love them than it is to show them.’” He slowed down the SUV and she felt the tires go off road. They traveled for another five minutes over relatively rough terrain before they came to a complete stop. She waited for him to come around and help her out. He led her over a path of rocks and onto what felt like boards as the soft lapping of water filled her ears.

“Wait just one more minute. Now, this,” he gently untied the blindfold, “is me showing you.”