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“No.” She shook her head viciously. “You’d better not call Thierry or Horano here. I’m fine. I feel great. There’s nothing to get them all panicked over.”

“If someone delivered the potion to Daeanna, you’re in danger the longer you reside here. I grow stronger, but my strength is little compared to that of a pureblood Seelie. ’Twill take time for my power to manifest once more. Daeanna could be anywhere here.”

“Exactly. For all we know, she’s in England or something. So I’m not too worried.”

“For all you know, she could be hiding close by, too.”

“She’s not. Otherwise, I’m sure she would’ve found me in the last few hours I’ve been sitting here waiting for you to return.” Moira’s strained demeanor suddenly lifted, as did herlips. She winked, nudging Rihanna in the arm. “You spent the night with him, didn’t you. That split second I saw you before you realized I was here, you were glowing.”

Rihanna laughed, unable to hide the unusual embarrassment of being caught in such an intimate action. Or post action. “’Twas that easy to notice?”

Moira blinked. “Really? Didn’t take you long to figure out when your brother and I finally completed our bond.” She took Rihanna’s hand and turned it over, a smile spreading across her lips. “Ah. See? Fresh cut there. You two renewed your blood bond!”

“’Twas inevitable, aye?”

She ducked her head to hide the furious heat that filled her face. She didn’t know why the idea of her sister knowing what had transpired between she and Bryce left her feeling awkward. She was right, after all. Rihanna knew the moment her brother claimed hisanam cara. The moment they finalized their love with blood. ’Twas no secret. ’Twas never a secret when twoanam carasfulfilled their Goddess-given purpose.

Rihanna traced the tender mark on her palm. “My greatest dream has come true, and with it, my greatest fear. I lost him once. I couldn’t bear to lose him again. I wouldn’t survive.” Lowering her hand, she smiled. “Have you spoken with my brother about your feelings? About a decision to move forward with Court or not?”

“I have. As much as I don’t like him gone, I feel that he deserves his place in Dagda’s Council. The Talaenian people deserve the voice and presence he would bring to the Seelie Court. It’s a small sacrifice for the greater good of our people. I’m proud of him. So utterly proud of him. But my selfishness hates that he goes away for days at times. Like now.” Moira sank back into the sofa. “I’m being selfish, cominghere and requesting your time when you have your own life to live and your own path to follow.”

“Nay!” Rihanna moved to the edge of the sofa to better square her shoulders to Moira. “Never, dear sister. You’re not selfish. You’ve not a selfish bone in you. You must let Shaye know the truth. Court comes second to you. All comes second to you. If you’re not happy,chroi, he cannot be happy, either.”

“See, that’s the problem. I am happy that he’s in the position he is. I just don’t like not having him close when I want him, which is”—she shrugged, hands to the ceiling as she held Rihanna’s gaze—“selfish.” She blew out a sharp breath, casting a curl away from her eye. “It’s most likely my hormones are all out of whack.”

Rihanna smoothed a hand over Moira’s curls. “Please,chroi. Worry not. You’re not being selfish. I’m happy you came to me.” She grinned, tucking curls behind Moira’s ear. “Would you care for a cup of tea?”

Her eyes lit up. “Pompelia’s?”

Rihanna winked. “I’d not settle for any other.” With a pat on Moira’s knee, she stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “Does anyone know you’re here?”

“No. I was not in a good frame of mind when I decided to sift. Careless, I know, not to tell anyone where I was going. I don’t expect to be here long, though. Enough to spend a little time with you, ease my anxiety, and return to wait for Shaye.”

“I’ll make sure Thierry knows you’re here so they’re not in a panic. I’ll need his aid to sift you back home.”

She paused in the archway to the kitchen and glanced back at her saddened sister. Moira. A mortal woman so lovely and endearing in all ways, from radiant auburn curls to rosy cheeks and pale skin. Angular curves along her cheeks, jaw and chin all softened by the empathy that radiated from her.Her blue-gray eyes expressed more emotion than any human she’d yet to come across.

Moira loved Shaye so completely it overwhelmed her in times like these. A love so strong and so deep Rihanna felt the pang, the pain, the loneliness as if ’twas her own. She would see Bryce in a few hours, but the time away from him was torture.

A calm silence filled the townhouse as Rihanna heated water and readied two mugs with tea bags. She sent a text to Thierry, in case he came to the mortal realm in search of Moira. She could only imagine the worry her friends would suffer should they find Shaye’sanam caramissing. After all, her brother enlisted Thierry and Horano as Moira’s caretakers when he was gone.

After fixing the two mugs with lemon, she returned to the living room and sat beside Moira. Her sister hummed quietly as she stroked her belly, eyes opening to slits and a tiny smile tilting the corners of her mouth.

“How does it feel, Ri? Having him back?” she asked.

Rihanna held out a mug for Moira, who graciously accepted and took a small sip. “In the beginning, ’twas hard. He was still engaged. He had a life I had no part in. He chased dreams of us from the past while trying to make sense of this life. When at last he came to me after breaking his engagement, ’twas difficult to balance the past and the present. He was born into a new life, a new body, but his soul”—Rihanna gazed into her steaming mug—“his soul is Mikhail’s. Everything about him is Mikhail. ’Tis like he was taken from the broken body of a century ago and dropped into a living shell today. We tried to take it slow. Alas, ’tis not how things go when you’re fated to one another. Rules do not apply in the face of the Goddess who grants you youranam cara.”

“No truer words have been spoken. I’m thrilled you finally stopped using his engagement as an excuse to stay away. If the circumstances were different and you weren’t fated to be together, I’d understand. Living in a world of magic, though, it only makes sense to fulfill your preordained destiny.”

“Aye, you’re correct.”

“And”—she narrowed her eyes, a devious smirk stretching her lips—“is his body really that different? My understanding is that Bryce is a clone of Mikhail.”

She felt a fierce blush flare over her face. “Aye. The similarities are astounding—”

“Rihanna!”

Rihanna and Moira startled at the furious bellow that filled the house. She barely stopped hot tea from splashing against Moira’s belly when she jerked her mug, spilling the drink over the edge.