by Kristen Cobb
With a flick of her wrist Alana’s father flew into the air, held aloft by the shimmering sheath surrounding his body from neck to feet. A collective gasp from the crowd almost caused her to smile. Nessa maintained the blanket of power around Eachan, watching him float helplessly in the air well above the ground. The foolish man continued to struggle, like a bug caught in a spider’s web.
“I answer to no one. You would do well to remember that. You may have missed my warning so I shall repeat it once more. I will take immediate retribution against anyone that attempts to harm Conri. Your daughter is dead because she made that mistake. If you value your life I suggest you choose a different path.” She was sorely tempted to kill the man. What if he blamed Conri for the death of his daughter and decided to take revenge? It would be so easy to raise him higher in the air then slam his body back down to earth, breaking nearly every bone from the force.
“Ness, set him down.” Conri’s voice, soothing and gentle surprised her, his hand lightly touching her arm.
Nessa looked down at Conri’s hand on her arm. The sound of his voice and the feel of his touch did not have the effect he desired. It only added to the anger and torment raging inside her. Because of these people she had to give him up, never to feel his touch again. Eachan remained hanging in the air out of everyone’s reach.
“You have made your point. Let him down now, for me.”
Those were truly magic words. She would do just about anything for Conri. Looking into her husband’s brown eyes she became immediately lost in their depths. Nessa released the blanket of power around Eachan without bothering to lower him. She heard the thump as Alana’s father fell to the ground.
People began running over to check on him. She was not even slightly concerned about the man’s condition. He would live. She refrained from using the power to drive him into the earth. Eachan had Conri to thank for his life.
Conri continued looking into her eyes long after Eachan fell. Energy slowly drained from her body along with the anger. It felt as if time stood still. If only this moment could last forever. She knew deep in her heart it would be one of the last times she was afforded the opportunity to stare into his eyes.
Conri broke eye contact first, turning away and walking over to Rory. All six of the guards began moving toward Conri then stopped, glancing over at her with terror-stricken expressions. Her intense stare in their direction seemed to be enough to remind them of the consequences if they laid a hand on her husband. None of them took another step.
“I want to see Declan.” Conri’s words were in no way phrased as a request.
Rory nodded, turning and heading toward the castle without saying another word. Conri followed along beside him. Rory’s personal guards trailed behind at a reasonable distance.
Nessa quickly caught up to Rory and Conri. “Declan needs to die.”
“I agree.” Rory continued walking, glancing across Conri toward her. He did not hold her gaze for long before looking away. Conri was being fairly civil. Neither of them wanted to rile his temper again.
“No. I want him to suffer first.” Conri looked directly at her with a frightening intensity as he talked about Declan. “I do not need you to fight my battles. This does not concern you any longer.”
Glenna ran up beside them just as Conri made the statement about wanting Declan to suffer. Glenna grabbed Conri’s arm. “No, please do not hurt him. Remember that you were friends once.”
Conri pulled his arm from Glenna’s grasp and continued walking, completely ignoring her plea.
Nessa stepped in front of Conri, blocking his path forward. “I want him dead. Now.”
“No!” Glenna glanced frantically back and forth between her and Conri.
She was done listening to Glenna. “Stop defending that monster or I will kill you too. After what they did to Conri there will be no forgiveness.” Nessa turned her gaze back to Conri, attempting to tone down the anger a bit. “This is about your safety and that does concern me.”
“Yet somehow this deep concern for my welfare led you to fall on Rory’s penis.” Apparently Conri’s tolerance reached its breaking point.
Arguing with his assessment of the situation would only ruin her carefully laid plan. She’d already shown far more devotion than prudent. Conri’s cold gaze announced that her opinion held little sway with him now.
He walked around her, continuing on toward the castle. Rory sent her an apologetic glance before following Conri. Nessa watched the pair until they disappeared inside.
People immediately began to descend on her. First it was Glenna, yelling something about her being a faithless whore. Then Etain began asking if she actually betrayed her son with his best friend. Then Will and Donal showed up. She honestly could not even hear anything Will said. Their voices blended together in an overwhelming cacophony with the dull roar of conversation from the crowd still gathered, all staring and pointing.
Ronan rode up beside her. Collecting a small amount of power she launched her body up onto the horse behind him. The very instant her arms wrapped around him Ronan pulled on the horse’s mane, turning him toward the bridge, away from the castle. Pressing his knees ever so slightly Ronan set the animal into a swift trot, away form everything she had no desire to deal with.
They rode in silence until reaching the road. Ronan asked her which way to go. She said right and that was the end of the conversation. He understood her need for a bit of peace after the chaos of Conri’s homecoming.
“Stop here.” They were about to ride into the copse of trees by the river. Conri’s favorite bathing spot.
Ronan pulled back on the horse’s mane. Heaving her left leg up and over the animal’s back she slid down to the ground, hanging onto the horse’s back to avoid falling.
Her eyes went straight to the boulder at the edge of the river. Walking toward it as if in a dream Nessa thought about the first time she came here with Conri. Sitting down on the rock she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. If only she could curl into a small ball and hide somewhere for the rest of her life.
Ronan sat down next to her. “I assume this place has some special significance related to my brother.”
Nessa almost smiled at the irritation in Ronan’s voice. “It is his favorite bathing spot.”
“You act as if the man is perfect and can do no wrong when that is clearly not the case. I am sorry to be disagreeable under the current circumstances but I feel compelled to point out that he is far from perfect. I barely know him and I could list off a number of traits that any woman would find highly undesirable in a mate. I still do not understand your profound attachment to my brother.” Ronan’s frustration revealed far more than he likely intended.
Nessa found her first real smile of the day, which only made Ronan’s face scrunch up in total confusion. “You have obviously never been in love.”
“I have been with…”
“You always want to have sex with someone you are in love with but you are not necessarily in love with someone simply because you have sex with them. If you had ever been in love you would understand how I feel about Conri.” Nessa almost laughed at the look on Ronan’s face. He clearly thought her statement complete nonsense. “I am well aware of the man’s flaws and I love them all.”
Ronan shook his head in confusion, waving his hands about randomly in the air. “That makes no sense at all.”
How could she explain this kind of love when she did not really understand it herself? She thought about the things that made her fall in love with Conri. It had not been due to any one action or moment. “I love that he is grumpy because I am the only one that can always make him smile. I love when he gives me commands that I have no intention of complying with because I know he will still love me. He has the most adorable way of ordering me to do things rather than asking, like the day he ordered me to wear my hair down because he liked it better that way. Or the day he ordered me to stop being embarrassed as if a person co
uld do such a thing on command. He is also the man who forgave me for using him in a plot to assassinate Rory. He is the man who found me a place to stay when I first came here, defying his king to make it happen. He is the first person who ever allowed me to be exactly who I am without having to hide my powers. I confessed to sleeping with his best friend while he was being tortured and he never laid a hand on me. When you love someone you love the good and the bad, the whole person. To me Conri is perfect exactly as he is.”
She looked out at the river, well aware that Ronan was staring at her, considering all she just said. More than anything she needed time alone with her thoughts. Standing up Nessa removed her sword and sheath, setting it on the boulder next to Ronan. Quickly pulling off her boots she dropped them on the rock next to the sword. “Would you give my things to Rory when you get back to the castle and ask him to leave the window open for me?” Ronan still had the supply packs on his horse so carrying her clothing should be no problem.
“Of course.” Ronan picked up her sword, slinging it across his body on top of his own.
Nessa leaned down, kissing Ronan gently on the forehead. “Thank you, for everything.” Pulling off her shirt and pants she dropped them onto the rock. Turning into a raven she flew away.
Soaring through the air she followed the river until the castle came into view. There was only one place she wanted to be right now, the tower roof, the place she felt closest to Conri.
RORY WAS SITTING on the bed, barefoot but dressed, when she flew into his bedroom. Landing at the foot of the bed she noticed her clothes and sword on the storage trunk. Throwing her belongings onto the foot of the bed she opened the lid. Choosing a black tunic with gold threaded designs sewn into the cuffs and hem she slipped it on over her head. Black happened to be Conri’s favorite color.
“Something wrong with your clothes?” Rory sounded ever so slightly annoyed but his heated gaze looking her over from head to toe told a completely different tale. He liked seeing her in nothing but his tunic.
She fully understood Rory had feelings for her that went beyond friendship. He wanted her in his bed at the very least. She would simply have to trust in his loyalty to Conri. “They have not been washed since before I left for Leinster to see Dermot. All of my clean clothes are in Conri’s chamber. I cannot stand the smell of myself in them any longer.” Moving her clothes and sword back onto the lid of the trunk she wrinkled her nose in disgust as she glanced down at the filthy garments.
“I will have someone fetch them in the morning. Close the shutters then come sit, let me tell you about the chaos that continued after your abrupt disappearance.”
Walking across the wood floor to the window took no more than four short strides. After spending time at Kaelan’s the chamber seemed even smaller than before. Staring out the window for a moment she looked up at the stars. She considered spending the night outside on the tower roof but knew Conri would probably sleep there. Was he up there now staring at the sky? Would she ever stop thinking about him? Maybe someday memories of him would not be so painful.
Turning around she made her way back across the room. A dark green quilt covered the bed along with a pile of blankets beneath it. With no hearth in the bedchambers to allow for a fire the only way to stay warm was multiple blankets and shared body heat whenever possible, reminding her that sleeping in the same bed with Rory would be a requirement of this deception they were perpetrating.
Settling back against the wall at the head of the bed she took a deep breath for fortitude. Thankfully Rory’s tunic reached her knees, keeping everything covered. “What happened after I left?” A sudden thought caused a wave of panic. “Has something happened to Conri?” She sat up straight, turning her whole body to face Rory, crossing her legs up under the tunic.
“Relax, Conri is fine. Actually I was surprised to see him in such excellent condition. He lost quite a bit of weight but otherwise…”
“They tortured him.” She could not allow Rory to believe Conri suffered no ill treatment. He needed to know what Conri had been through because her husband would certainly never do the telling. Rory could be trusted with the most private of details.
“What? How? I mean, he seems fine. He is almost disturbingly thin given his normal size but…” Rory did not finish the sentence. He obviously could not reconcile the man he saw earlier with her statement.
Nessa thought back to the day they found Conri. The image of her husband tied to the oak tree so near death would be seared into her memory forever. “What I am about to tell you never leaves this room.”
“Of course.” Worry replaced desire on Rory’s face. He loved Conri almost as much as she did.
“We found him tied to a tree, naked. There were stab wounds all over his body. A few had healed but most were festering with infection. Unable to open his eyes, speak or even move, his body had shut down. It seems that although an immortal can heal from a deadly wound to do so their body shuts down all unnecessary functions. They stabbed him over and over, every day. I have never seen anything so horrific, even in battle.”
“How is it even possible that he has already healed from something like that? I could not actually see his body but the way he was moving. He did not appear injured at all.” Rory sat up away from the wall, turning to face her completely.
“His father and I used our powers to drain the infected wounds then heal them. He woke up screaming as I tried to heal a particularly nasty group of wounds in a very sensitive area. I am guessing that Alana stabbed him there repeatedly.”
Rory visibly cringed as he realized the area she referred to.
“Alana was about to stab him again when we arrived. I killed her. Conri’s father took care of the rest.” Kaelan was undoubtedly the greatest warrior she had ever seen. One would never suspect from looking at him.
“The severed head spectacle is a bit more understandable now that I have all the pertinent information. I do not blame you at all for wanting them to fear your wrath, a smart move actually.” Rory laid one of his hands over hers on top of her leg. “He is going to be fine now. We will see to it, you and I together.”
Nessa set her other hand on top of Rory’s, wrapping it around his fingers. “He is not fine. No one could go through what he did and be fine.”
“I will keep an eye on him. You have my word.” Rory lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it.
She would not be here to watch over him. The thought of leaving Conri forever caused tears to well in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment. An unbearable amount of emotional pain made her want to curl up in a ball and cry.
“Are you certain you still want to do this? It is not too late to change your mind. Conri will understand and forgive you. He loves you.”
Nessa snatched her hand back from Rory, fighting the tears. She absolutely refused to cry. “What else can I do? He will not bond with me and he would never allow me to guard him constantly. Eventually someone else will do exactly what Declan did. I cannot allow this to happen again.” She shook her head, refusing to go through the options to no avail yet again. “There is no other way to keep him safe. Everyone needs to believe I have moved on and no longer love him. Could we talk about something else? What happened after I left?” There seemed no point in discussing it any further. She intended to do everything in her power to ensure Conri’s safety and refused to be dissuaded.
Rory was looking at her as if deciding whether to respect her wishes. He had never really been in favor of this plan. “Ness, I…”
“No, no more discussion. I am doing what is best for my husband. I told you what they did to him, because of me. Never again!” She hopped off the bed, attempting to pace, frustrated by this entire discussion. Having nowhere to go in the small bedchamber only increased her frustration.
Rory bounded off the bed, by her side in an instant, pulling her into his arms. “Fine, we do it your way.”
The feel of his arms around her, the warmth of his body, set the tears t
o overflowing their banks. It made her think of Conri, the only other man to ever hold her like this. Nessa pushed him away, wiping at her eyes. “I am fine. I do not wish to talk about this anymore.” Sitting down on the lid of the trunk she stared straight ahead at the grey stonewall through tear filled eyes, not really knowing what else to do with herself.
Rory sat down next to her. “There is something else we need to discuss. I hate to pile any more misery on you right now but waiting will not make this easier. I am setting Conor’s execution for two weeks from today. Dermot refuses to back down. I cannot allow such blatant defiance.”
Continuing to stare straight ahead she could not utter a single sound. That bit of information proved to be her breaking point. Standing up she quickly removed Rory’s tunic, throwing it to the floor. Running over to the window she unhooked the wooden shutters and threw them open. Changing into a hawk she flapped her enormous wings until she could hop up onto the sill. Once perched on the stone sill she jumped out the window into the dark of night. Keeping her wings clutched close Nessa allowed her body to fall until the last possible moment. Quickly opening her wings she barely avoided a fatal collision with the ground.
Soaring higher, long wings catching the wind beneath them, she headed straight for the tower roof. Flying in a circular pattern overhead Nessa spotted Conri immediately. He sat leaning back against the crenelated stonewall. If he chased her away so be it but she needed to be near him. Hopefully he would not even realize it was her. He had never seen her turn into a hawk even though he obviously knew she could. Landing on top of the wall Nessa watched him closely. The hawk’s keen vision allowed her to see him clearly through the darkness.
They eyed each other for a moment before he looked away. Hopping down she settled in tight against the wall, folding her wings in close. Perhaps a way to remain close and watch over him did exist.
