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“No, ya’re wrong, Jack. Conn would never harm me. Did ya not hear me when I said he’d served my family forcenturies? We’re not talking about a creature who got dragged through the veil yesterday. And he doesn’t live in the Underdark. Conn belongs on this plane now as much as you or I do. He’s belonged here for centuries.”

Grunting with lost patience, Jack pulled me upright by the magickal handcuffs he’d put on me last night. I’d gone along with him snapping them on me because I’d been dressing for bed and thought his action meant we might be heading for a bit of sexy fun. Why had I been so foolish? Because I naively thought Jack was trying to make up for our fight about Conn.

What a fool I’d been about him all these years.

Ma would be ashamed of me if she knew I’d let any man so far into my heart that I’d trusted him with everything sacred to us. She’d remind me that Da never gave her a minute’s worry in all their fifty-two years together.

Up to this moment, Jack had never given me any serious concerns either.

Or he hadn’t until he’d seen Conn turn into a fiery red creature and grow a pair of black horns that curled back over his head. I assumed his true form had been necessary for Conn to sway the battle in Jack’s favor. I’d never imagined there would be such fallout from him helping us.

Jack might not be grateful to Conn, but I was. My familiar had the right to refuse to help anyone but me. Jack had been out of his magickal arrows when the angry demon attacked him. Conn could have let the demon kill Jack. The only reason he hadn’t was because I asked him to save my husband. How could Jack be mad at Conn—or me—when my familiar was the only reason he was still alive?

The realization of what Jack was doing hit me when the entire demon hunter council strode into the room dressed in black ceremonial robes. They took seats at the long, official table and looked at me the way a hawk watches a mouse about to run.

I was no common criminal and had done nothing wrong except save my husband’s life, so I glared right back at them. I did nothing to thwart them either, no matter how I badly wanted to in that moment. Maybe I could have broken the magick of the cuffs, but I didn’t try.

As angry as I was, my instincts warned that zapping the lot of them would not help my case or make me look like the innocent witch I was claiming to be.

Eventually, a female council member stood up and looked me in the eye. The one time I’d seen the woman before today had been at Jack’s consecration when she’d handed my demon hunter husband an enchanted crossbow and a quiver of demon-killing arrows. Yes, I tried to tell Jack over the years that his demon hunting was in vain and that hadn’t won me any points with the man I married. But I swear to Goddess Danu, it never crossed my mind Jack would ever use those arrows on any member of my family.

Now I realized that was precisely what he planned to do.

Last night, Jack said my possession of a demon familiar reflected poorly on him. For the sake of keeping peace, I let my husband’s hurtful comment pass without spelling him to grow a squealing pig’s tail. However, I did tell Jack where to shove his wrong opinions, because even the most understanding witch has to draw a line when faced with such unjust prejudice.

My head whipped around when I heard the female council woman speaking my name.

“Before us stands a witch calling herself Aran of The Dagda. She has confessed to the illegal possession of a lesser demon. The demon hunter council commands her to call him forth so he can be destroyed.”

It’s funny how drastically yer life can change in a single moment of time. That moment for me came when Jack forced me to protect Conn from him. Outside the crushing emotional pain of my husband’s betrayal, choosing Conn over Jack wasn’t as hard as ya might imagine considering only Conn had been loyal to me.

I lifted my chin. “Yer request is not even reasonable. My familiar is a member of my family. Plus, Jack would be dead if Conn hadn’t saved him. How can the demon hunter council ignore those facts?”

Jack’s hand disappeared into some pocket portal of his coat and then reappeared with a loaded crossbow in it. “Don’t be a fool, Aran. Once your demon’s dead, we can work on mending our relationship. Call him—let’s get this over and done.”

My husband’s words worked on my temper like gasoline when thrown on a blazing fire. The handcuffs were all that kept me from hurting Jack. In fact, I might have found a way to use my magick despite the cuffs, but it was my lingering love for the man and my confusion about his betrayal that restrained me.

Though I fought not to show the depth of my hurt, it was breaking my heart. I felt shattered and raw inside. His words made a mockery of our marriage, and nothing I said made a difference.

I turned away from Jack and looked at the woman. “Ya’re all mad fools if ya think I’d help any of ya hurt my truest friend.”

“Call him,” the council woman ordered more firmly.

I shook my head, remaining as stalwart as the Irish cliffs I was named after.

“Call him or face the consequences,” she said.

My instincts warned me that anything other than going along would not serve me well today. I needed to buy myself some time with compliance, even though the cost would be dear to my pride. Worst of all, Ma would no doubt remind me for the rest of my life that I’d brought this mess upon myself by marrying Jack in the first place.

Ever the optimist, I tried one more time to reason with the man I married. I was never going to forgive Jack, but this madness could still be stopped. “Use yer head for something more than a hat rack, Jack Derringer. If ya think so poorly of me and mine, how can we ever have a real relationship? Where is yer loyalty to me?”

Jack sneered at my refusal to obey the woman’s orders—his orders. Why would he ever think I would? He should have known better. It was like he was suddenly a stranger instead of the man I’d lived with for thirteen years.

“The demon you’re protecting will die one way or another, Aran. No one would convict me for killing you to get to him.”

My heart bled at his words until pain filled my chest. “Goddess, one minute ya want to reconcile, and the next ya’re threatening to kill me. Make up yer mind at least. This is a shameful way to treat yer wife.”

Jack frowned at my calm statement. “Controlling a demon is one secret I can’t let you keep from the world. You’re protecting the wrong person, Aran. Can’t you see that?”