Page 70 of Fang & Fury

“I meant every one,” he murmured, his smile fading then. His thumb then skimmed across her lower lip. “Does that surprise you?”

She nodded.

“Well, it shouldn’t.”

Silence swelled between them as she stared down at him. “I … you …” She broke off then, suddenly tongue-tied. The Hag’s teeth. Why couldn’t she form simple words?

His lips curved once more. “It’s all right,” he murmured. “I know.”

Ailsa arched an eyebrow. Cocky bastard. “Know what, exactly?”

His lips parted as he readied himself to answer. And then his smile froze.

Ailsa stiffened, the fine hair on her nape prickling.

They weren’t alone.

Straightening up, still seated astride her lover, she glanced left. Her gaze traveled up the path through the hazel thicket—alighting upon a tall, slender figure robed in green.

Isleen.

She stood there with an unnatural stillness that immediately made Ailsa’s muscles coil. Her beautiful face was set in taut lines. One look at her mother’s expression, and she knew she’d seen and heard everything.

Darach’s body drew taut under her as he too spied her.

Ailsa’s spine straightened further, her chin lifting.

She’d issued that challenge, confident that Ailsa couldn’t meet it. However, she hadn’t counted on Darach’s reckless determination—or on the tie between them.

As their stare drew out, warmth washed over Ailsa. Darach was right. She wielded more control over her bavaan instincts than she’d realized.

And now, her mother knew it too.

Darach remained tense under Ailsa, readying himself for trouble.

But there wouldn’t be any.

Isleen’s gaze clouded then, and her lips turned down at the corners. An instant later, she swiveled, robes billowing around her, and disappeared back up the path without uttering a word.

22: YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE ME

TWO BAVAAN LED them from the mound.

Ailsa didn’t look back.

The temptation lingered, nonetheless. She could feel the weight of the network of tunnels behind them, hidden deep within the hill.

Drawing in a measured breath, she followed the faeries down the long passageway.

Darach walked at her side with Kayla and Fern behind them. No one spoke.

The earthy, damp air caught in the back of Ailsa’s throat as she walked, even as her chest loosened.

Her mother hadn’t come to see her off.

There would be no farewell.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Part of her ached that they’d left each other without another word. Another part knew there would never truly be anything more to say. Isleen had seen her confusion, her hunger for answers, and she’d used both for her own ends.