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The Fae from Brónach were nothing like those from Móirín. They were ruthless and military oriented. Training was their way of life, so much so that even their children weren’t to be underestimated. They carried a hardness like the earth, which, given their abilities, made sense.

Móirín’s Fae utilized water and their lifestyle reflected it. She’d trained as a child, but it didn’t carry harsh punishments. They focused on teaching. Bonding. The most important thing centered on protecting your comrades and the willingness to die for them if necessary.

Arianna lifted the pot from the fire and placed it atop a hot mat. Rion didn’t stir, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think him oblivious to her movements. She curled up on the floor and used the old dress she’d hidden within the blanket to wrap her hand before staring at the fire.

He was as dangerous and unpredictable as the flames and if she wanted to survive, Arianna needed to keep him from burning.

Chapter Six

Talon

One year, four months, and sixteen days. That’s how long she’d been out there on her own. Lost, likely hurt and calling for him.

Talon clenched his fists, pressed his forehead against her bedroom door, and stood in silence. His heart ached for her. Ached in a way he’d never experienced.

I’ll find you. I promise.

Those had been his last words to Arianna before he’d shoved her canoe upstream, pushing against the current with his magic. He’d never forgotten the tears streaming down her face, nor the fear coating her scent like a thick blanket. Even now, it made his blood rage.

Talon had blamed himself ever since. He should have been more alert. He should have stationed the guards himself instead of assigning the task to another.

Their assailants had outnumbered them. Too many of their enemies knew the royal family would be present. Too many wanted them dead. At least, in her half-human form, she’d be safe for a while. She could run until he finished the battle.

Talon ground his teeth together.

He’d found the canoe the next morning, along with the heavy cloak he’d draped over her shoulders. It floated in the water, along with the corpses of her attendants. But Arianna was nowhere to be seen.

He’d tried to track her. To sort through the footprints and scents in the town nearby. And he’d kept at it for a month, following every lead. Every whisper.

All to no avail.

Arianna, his closest friend, was gone and he only had himself to blame.

The months had dragged on as he continued his search from one small village to another, inquiring about a female who might be obscuring herself as a half-breed. He’d cornered slavers, broke up illegal trading rings, and beat them for information until his hands bled.

All for nothing.

His shoulders shook. They’d beat her, rape her, break her down until she was little more than an empty shell.

And it’d been more than a year.

He’d failed her for more than a year.

Talon worked blood back into his fingertips. It didn’t matter what they did to her. He’d kill those responsible and bring her home. He’d stand by her no matter what darkness might have burrowed its way into her kind heart. Even if she returned broken, he’d stay by her side, waiting and watching and hoping for her to be whole again.

Talon lifted from her doorway, stared at it another moment, then padded down the hall until he reached the outside porch that wrapped around the High Lord’s mansion.

The night air hit him first, brisk and welcoming after the nightmares that had roused him from bed. Trickling water beckoned him toward Arianna’s favorite spot, and he followed the soft lullaby. Crickets chirped and fireflies skidded across the water’s surface.

Though her father had never understood Arianna’s need for solitude, he had, or at least hoped he had.

The pool he stood before was as still as a sheet of glass, the bright, full moon glinting from the water’s crystalline surface. A ripple from the far corner drew his attention and his Fae eyes focused on the darkness.

The Fairy Folk.

They’d always favored Arianna, bringing her little flowers and forgotten trinkets. Though they didn’t run from his presence, they were still as cautious as the other creatures in the forest. Arianna was the only one he’d ever seen physically interact with them, something she’d demanded he keep a secret.

She’d never explained herself and he’d never pushed. If she had secrets, they were hers to keep until she was ready.