Chapter 5

5

" T ell me what you've learned," Lugh demanded the instant I stepped foot inside the castle gates. This time, he'd been waiting for me.

I let out a heavy sigh, warming my hands in my flannel. "The human bloke is not the bloke. Not that I'm particularly surprised. It never made sense that a human would care much about your spear. Even if he got ahold of it, he'd never be able to wield it."

Lugh's expression darkened as he fell into step beside me. We headed toward the Royal Palace, lit up even at this late hour. My heart tripped. He had waited up for me. "I'm not certain I follow. The human isn't looking for my spear?"

"Oh, he's looking, but he's not the brains behind the operation. Or the power." I glanced up at him, his sharp profile backlit by the bulbous moon. A part of me ached to reach out and trace the line of his profile, to feel his skin beneath my hands. But I bit my lip, holding myself back. Again. "He's working for someone else. Screening ‘applicants' was how he described it. He's had loads of them."

Lugh stopped short. "So, it's true, then. The supernaturals of this city have been answering that bloody ad."

"I'm afraid so," I said quietly. Knowing Lugh, he wouldn't take this well. Despite his urge to seem cruel and harsh, he was anything but. He wanted respect but not fear.

Frowning, Lugh continued the trek toward the Royal Palace. He was silent. I could only imagine the thoughts churning through his mind.

"On a happier note, I think I convinced the bartender that I have sufficient reason for going after you," I chirped. "I'm pretty sure I made it through stage one. I'll find out soon if I made the cut."

Lugh's attention shifted my way. I didn't have to see him to know it. I could feel his power radiating across my skin, beckoning me to come closer. "How, pray tell, did you manage to do that?"

I shrugged. "I told him that we're fated mates and that I'm destined to kill you. Thought I'd go ahead and get my murdering on now and get it out of the way."

Lugh's expression darkened, and he growled, "Moira. If he knows you're my fated mate, he'll never give you a call, regardless of what you say about prophecies. Hell, he'll probably try to use that knowledge to his advantage."

I grinned. "It's so easy to wind you up. I didn't really tell him that, Lugh. I'm not a muppet."

"You could have fooled me," he grumbled.

"What was that?" I asked, elbowing him in the side. "Speak up. I didn't hear you."

He cut his eyes my way. "You heard me just fine, Moira."

"Don't even try to pretend like you don't love me. I—" My smile dimmed. Awkwardly, I cleared my throat as heat filled my cheeks. I cast my gaze away, staring hard at the cobblestones that passed beneath my boots. "I didn't mean it like that. Just ignore me."

"Except I do," he said quietly. He stopped, grabbing my shoulders and turning me to face him. Swallowing hard, I looked up into his hooded inky eyes, wanting nothing other than to get lost inside of them. "I love you. And you love me. Please, let's stop this nonsense."

"You're right," I whispered as tears filled my eyes. My heart hurt so terribly, I swore it would burst. "I do love you. That's why this is so hard, Lugh, but..."

"But the prophecy," he said, growling.

"Yes. But the prophecy."

"Saoirse prophesied that my spear would be the thing to bring back Nemain. And it didn't." He tightened his grip on my shoulders. "Not all prophecies come true."

"She also prophesied that I would show up to your Court and spy on you." I ground my teeth. " That came true. I also hate to point it out, but since you brought it up...the cauldron is missing and someone wants to steal your spear again. I'd say Saoirse's prophecy still has a chance of coming true."

Pain flickered in his eyes. "It's almost as though you want the prophecy to be true."

I sucked in a sharp breath and stepped back. "Surely you don't think I want to kill you."

"No, I don't think anything of the sort. I think you want an excuse to run away from me, away from this. All your life, you have convinced yourself that you will never find happiness. Not true happiness, not like this. Now that it's standing right in front of you, you're scared."

"I..." Blinking my eyes, I turned away from him, shame and anger churning through my gut. It felt as though I'd been slapped in the face. "I can't have this conversation right now. I'm going back to my room."

"And there you go," he said, calling after me, his voice booming through the empty castle square. "You're running away again, right when things get tough. You're not scared the prophecy will come true, Moira. You're scared it won't."

I didn't turn around. I couldn't. If I did, he'd see the hot tears pouring down my face and the horrible realisation flickering in my eyes. The realisation that he might not be wrong.

T he next morning, Uisnech appeared as soon as the sun inched into the sky. This time, he did not come bearing gifts. No breakfast platter, no hot, steaming mugs full of caffeine.

"King Lugh wishes to invite you to dine with the rest of the fae. You will no longer be excluded from meals." Uisnech chirped the words and turned to go.

"Wait." I sat up quickly in the bed, my mussed golden hair falling into my eyes. "What made him change his mind?"

"He is fond of the noble warrior," Uisnech said sadly. "As am I."

The hobgoblin bustled out the door, leaving me alone with thoughts I didn't want to face. At least, not before a morning coffee. And I didn't want any sugar or milk to weaken the damn thing. I needed it black, just like my heart.

I didn't make it very far before I was confronted by my fate once again. Lugh loomed large in the library's front door, the edge of his cloak rippling behind him in the wind. My feet paused on the bottom step, and I wet my lips. After our fight the night before, I wasn't exactly sure what to say to him.

"Morning," I managed, my voice soft. Gripping the wooden banister tight, my fingers pulsed with the canter of my heart.

"Morning, Moira." Lugh cleared his throat, his dark irises flicking back and forth as he searched my eyes. "I came to apologise for what I said to you last night."

My cheeks filled with colour. And, here I was, thinking that I was the one who needed to apologise. Because he'd been right, at least partially. "You didn't do anything wrong, Lugh."

He strode across the room and stopped before me. Beneath his cloak, I could see his well-muscled chest straining against the thin material of his shirt. My fingers twitched, desperate to reach out.

"I was angry at the prophecy. Not at you." He took my hand in his and squeezed tight. His touch was hot and electric, and it was all I could do not to jump him right then and there. Clark had been right. Once the mating bond truly kicked in, the magic drawing us closer was next to impossible to ignore. It made my head spin. I no longer even knew what year it was.

"You weren't wrong, though," I whispered, blinking up at him. "I have been running away from you, away from this. For so long, I told myself that I could never find love. Now that it's standing right in front of me, I don't know what to do."

He squeezed my hand again, dropping his forehead to mine. His lips were agonisingly close. All I had to do was press up onto my toes, and our mouths would collide. I wanted it so terribly that I could hardly think about anything else. Screw the prophecy. We could tackle it together, he and I. We would make sure it never came true.

But then Lugh pulled back, taking the warmth of his touch along with him, and reality crashed down around me once again. Pain flickered around my heart. As much as I wanted to give in, how much worse would it be if I did?

I could not risk his life. I wouldn't.

"Did you make any progress in finding your druid?" he asked.

"You mean, Caer?" I blinked and shook my head, confused by the sudden change in conversation. "She is proving to be very wily. It turns out, she doesn't want to be found."

"Hmm." He pursed his lips. "Perhaps another druid will hold the answers."

I frowned. "I already asked Saoirse. As a half-druid, she doesn't have the same access to her power as Caer. She can't find anything."

"Yes, I know." Lugh gave me a sad smile. "I have asked her a few times myself. No, I meant another druid. Another like Caer."

My brow rose. "That would be useful, if we could actually find one. I was under the impression that druids were rare."

"Rare," he said. "But they do exist."

Hope flickered within me, even though I tried to tamp it down. The past weeks of searching had yielded nothing. I didn't dare hope that Lugh might be right. But the idea had sprung into my mind now, and there was no blocking it out. There were other druids out there in the world, ones with the ability to gaze at our fate and find a way to stop the prophecy from happening. All I had to do was find one.

"Ah." A smile stretched across Lugh's face. "There it is. The spark in your eyes. I've missed that stubborn look so much."

I smiled right back. "When we're done stopping these wankers who want to steal your spear, I'm going on a druid hunt."

"See?" He reached out and rubbed his thumb across my lip. Everything within me went hot with longing. "The prophecy won't come true. We'll make certain of it."

He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. Desire curled in my gut as my eyelids fluttered shut. We stood there like that for a long moment, barely touching, breathing in the scent of one another. It felt as if time itself stood still, holding its breath right along with us.

"Come," Lugh growled as he pulled back and held out an elbow. "I'd like you to join me for breakfast."

That wasn't exactly what I'd hoped he would say, but I was partially relieved it wasn't something more. Because I knew without a doubt, I wouldn't have been able to say no if he'd invited me into his bed.

T he Great Hall was pretty empty when we entered through the looming doors. Most of the fae who called this castle home preferred to grab some food quickly from the kitchen for breakfast instead of dining formally in the hall. That was usually reserved for the nighttime service, when dinner turned into a lively, entertaining party more often than not.

I had to admit, despite my original reservations about Castle Wraith, I did love their extravagant dinners.

A cluster of fae sat at the table nearest to the door. Saoirse, Warin, and Boudica had gathered here. Between them, they were feasting on crisp bacon, sausages, poached eggs, and half-burnt toast. And they had a vat of baked beans steaming from a silver pot.

My stomach grumbled.

Saoirse's purple eyes brightened when she saw the two of us walking toward them. "Moira! Lugh! Come join us."

She would only ever allow herself to be that casual with the king in this company. Most of the fae were much more deferential to their king. Still, Lugh didn't correct her. We joined them at the table, grabbing plates from the stack.

As we filled our plates, a comfortable silence rose around us. Everyone munched on their breakfast, eyes distant as if pondering the day ahead. Indeed, I couldn't help but ponder myself. We had a spear-stealing plot to stop, and then I had a druid to find.

There wasn't much downtime in the supernatural world.

Just before I opened my mouth to speak, the shrill tone of my cell cut through the silence. Everyone went still, and all eyes were on my phone, where it sat next to my plate.

Swallowing hard, I took a swig of juice and then swiped the phone from the table. I pressed it to my ear, heart hammering hard. "Hello?"

"Am I speaking to the fae who paid a visit to A Knight's End yesterday evening?" a silky voice purred over the line. Instantly, my body went as taut as a telephone pole. Not because of his words—I'd been expecting this—but because I swore I'd heard that voice once before. In the pub. The night I'd run into the gang of supes who had been trying to take Lugh down.

I'd never seen his face, but I'd just assumed he'd gone down during the fight in Mary King's Close. He would have been among the enemy fae we'd blasted with Lugh's spear, or one of the many who had been trapped in the avalanche of falling buildings. But, apparently, he'd gotten out.

Heart thumping, I cleared my throat. "Yeah, that's me. I want to take down the king on the hill."

"Brilliant. I want to meet you before I confirm you're on the team. I'll be at Arthur's Seat at ten this evening. Come alone."