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She examined her blade and ran her thumb across it. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“But I do.” He kept his temper in check. He wouldn’t rise to the bait.

Raevina sighed and let the stone fall to her lap. “If this is about the kiss, save it. I didn’t intend for it to make you follow me around like a puppy.”

His heart thrummed in his ears. “It’s about more than just the kiss and you know it.”

She met his gaze. Her eyes simmered like molten spheres of amber. Talon swallowed hard. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel it.” He had from the first moment they’d danced. A pull that drove him mad with need. A desire to be close to her and follow her everywhere she went.

But Raevina looked back at her blade as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Several seconds passed and she sighed again as if annoyed. “A distraction.”

“What?”

“The only thing you feel is a distraction. It will make you stupid and get you killed. You’re better off forgetting about it. The rational mind makes better decisions.”

Pain lanced through his chest as if she’d actually stabbed him. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I’m quite serious.”

Talon remained still for several seconds, but when Raevina lifted her stone to begin working on her blade again, he said, “We’re going to Ruadhán in a few days to fight in a battle we’re not guaranteed to win and you’re content to leave things the way they are?”

She smirked at that. “And what would you like from me?” That cold gaze pinned him in place and her voice was mocking as she said, “You want a dainty little female who will cry over you? One who will run into your arms and beg you to live so that we can defy fate?” Raevina draped an arm over one knee. “I make my own fate. It steals nothing from me.”

Talon just stared at her and after a long moment, Raevina’s gaze softened slightly. “I don’t know you, Talon of Móirín, but if you’re going into this fight expecting to lose, then perhaps its best we keep it that way.”

“I don’t think we’ll lose. I’m just weighing the odds.”

Raevina shook her head. “You know nothing about odds.”

“I’ve seen enough battles.”

Her eyes flashed again. “You’ve barely begun. I’ve been in the field since before you were even a conceived thought in our universe. I’ve fought against enemies that would have you pissing yourself. If you have to question whether you’ll win, then you’ve already lost.”

Talon clenched his fists. “I almost killed The Demon.” It felt as childish as it sounded.

Raevina made a show of clapping her hands together loudly and Talon cringed at her mockery. “And how many times did the two of you collide? Did you ever stop to think that he was pulling back to make you assume you were on equal footing? I’ve seen the way The Demon fights. If you’re alive, it’s because he wanted you that way. You were a knight among a group of pawns. An interesting toy he could play with and dispatch any time.” She smiled at him. “He was distracted and you got very lucky. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you won anything.”

Talon couldn’t speak. Raevina continued her onslaught, spearing him through his chest with every word. “When you fight hundreds with nothing more than a few comrades to guard your back, when you swing your blade while stumbling over your own warrior’s bloody corpses, when you find yourself promising vengeance upon your enemies no matter the costs, then maybe, maybe we’ll talk about what you feel.”

“You think I’m unworthy.”

“I think you’re a child. An arrogant male who is just like all the others who allow instinct to drive them. Those fools sacrifice their lives and have the audacity to call it glory.” She smiled, a cruel, wicked thing. “The loudest ones are usually the first to run from a fight.”

“I run from nothing.”

Raevina smirked again and adjusted the stone in her hand. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

Chapter Eighty-five

Arianna

Arianna didn’t like the plan now any more than she had when they’d first agreed upon it. She was to remain hidden and safe while the rest of them risked their lives in order to subdue Niall.

Fae would die, she knew it and hated the idea. But she also knew that if Niall caught her, everyone would bow to him for her sake and they’d lose before they’d even begun.

Arianna clenched her fists. She wanted to do so much more. She had the power now. She could control the strange thing that roared in her veins, even if she didn’t fully understand it. The group had brought that to her attention, too. Not knowing the extent of her power was just as dangerous as having it stripped away.

Two days passed swiftly. Arianna had healed any lingering injuries, including a rather nasty burn across Saoirse’s upper back. She’d also tried to address Rion’s achy joints, but her magic hadn’t seemed to touch the pain.