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Rihanna pasted a smile on her lips and looked up as Shaye rounded the sofa and settled into the open seat besideMoira. A formidable man, her brother, with a Goddess-given beauty. His mercurial rainbow eyes watched her carefully, observing every single detail as he draped his arm around his beloved’s shoulders and pressed an affectionate kiss to her temple. Moira’s hands released her own as she settled into Shaye’s chest.

“Six months, Ri. You have yet to seek out your Mikhail,” Shaye added quietly, though the implication in his statement was strong.

“He’s bound to another woman. I can’t interfere with a committed couple,” Rihanna replied, but her argument lacked conviction, and she knew it. Each day that passed was like suffering the grief of losing heranam caraall over again. “I vowed not to interfere. I cannot go back on my promise.”

Moira gasped. “How could you vow something so absurd?” Shaye held her to him as she tried to straighten up. “You once told me there can be no other love than that of youranam cara.”

“Easy,ghra.” Her brother’s fixed gaze on Rihanna intensified. “A vow to one’s self is fine, sister, but when you make a vow on behalf of another without his consent, there is no vow to uphold. ’Tis not your heart alone. He recognized you, somehow. Fate is already in motion. There’s no fighting the inevitable.”

“I wish him happiness and life, brother. Not pain and death. ’Twas me who brought about his death—”

“Absurd!” Shaye snapped. “’Twas a man’s jealousy that brought his death, not you. You well know that. Should you continue this path of self-righteousness, ’tis the heart of youranam carayou’ll cause pain. I’m disappointed by your irrational means of handling this situation. Your self-imposed punishment to save your Mikhail in this lifetime is naught more than nonsense. He will never be happy, never experiencewholeness, without you. Especially now that he knows you exist.”

Shaye leaned forward, piercing her with a stubborn gaze. Behind the serious expression lay the brother who wanted naught more than happiness for his sister. She understood this “hard love” approach, because all of his attempts to push her back to the mortal realm failed thus far.

What he didn’t realize was that she knew what she had to do. Knew the truth in the words he spoke. Knew there was only one path to follow, and no matter what, someone would get hurt.

“Once you cross paths, there’s only one conclusion. You know this, Rihanna. You know this better than anyone,” he said, impressing the truth of his statement deep into her heart with finality. “Which is the greater crime, dear sister? Allowing him the rare opportunity to experience true love? Or haunting his soul, tearing him apart from within, leaving him a shell of a man unable to fill the void only you can fill?”

Rihanna pressed her lips together and nodded once, rising from the sofa. She fought the faintness that threatened to overcome her, the fluttering of her heart and churning of her stomach in response to her brother’s brutally honest words. She had no defense because any defense would be false. A lie to soothe the pain of the truth.

She bowed her head toward Shaye without making eye contact. “Rest well, sweet Moira. I’ll see you on the morrow. Good eve.”

She crossed Shaye and Moira’s chambers, feeling his gaze follow her until she was beyond sight.

The first tear finally escaped, trickling down her cheek.

Mayhap she could remain in the shadows of heranam cara, watching him live his life. Aye, ’twould be a step closerto him. A small sense of completion she’d been without since his death.

Her brother’s words haunted her mind, stopping her plan in its tracks.

Once you cross paths, there’s only one conclusion.

Aye. ’Twas true.

A conclusion that warred with her conscience while her soul sang with new life.

Shaye watchedhis sister’s uncharacteristic retreat from his chambers, her shoulders straight, back stiff, steps hasty. Her energy stirred wild, her magic a vicious storm guided by her warring emotions.

He scented the salt of her tears before she closed the door.

Moira sighed, shaking her head against his shoulder. He turned his head down, inhaling the clean scent of her hair before pressing a lingering kiss to the top of her head, embracing her within his arms. He loathed any separation from hisanam cara, but coming home to her, holding her, indulging her every wish made it bearable.

How could his sister refuse the opportunity of reuniting with the reborn Mikhail—modern-day Bryce Hampton—and disregard a Goddess-given opportunity for renewed happiness?

“I worry about her,” Moira said softly, her fingers playing with the gold buttons on the collar of his vest. “Ever since that night at the club, she invests so much time around here. It’s like she’s trying to distract herself from life.”

“Aye, she is, and it need not be so.”

Shaye smoothed a hand down her arm, cresting the swell of her belly, where his palm came to rest. For a few silentmoments, he enjoyed the subtle motion of their unborn babe within Moira’s body. His awe at the life they created together never ceased, never dimmed.

“I missed you,” she whispered, tipping her head up and meeting his lips with a gentle kiss.

Catching the back of her head in his hand, fingers sinking into her soft curls, he held her close and murmured against her mouth, “I’ve missed you,mo ghra.”

He kissed her, relishing in slow, lazy sweeps of their tongues, tasting remnants of sweetness as she pressed closer. He infused warmth through her body, letting his magic temporarily heal her aches and discomfort.

“Mmm,” she crooned, lifting herself onto his lap. “Thank you.”