Page 138 of Anywhere

“Ya be tinkin’ he be havin’ doubts?” She shook her head at me as she looked me up and down like I was crazy. “And ya tink because of Mari, din’t ya?”

I shrugged again. “Honestly, I just can’t figure out which feelings are mine and which are Rhys’s anymore. He’s so worried all the time, and I can’t make heads or tails of what is going on with him.”

“Wat ya be feelin’ now?”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “I feel confusion, panic, and a little fear. That doesn’t seem like a good combination going into a union.”

Running my hand through my hair, I wandered to the window and stared down at the massive courtyard that was alight with tall torches, their flames dancing in the darkness.

“I dinnie know for sure what be in his mind and heart, ya would know betta, but he din’t seem like the type ta back out. And, Rook da way he looks at ya. It be like ya hang da moon in da sky and ya be da air he breathes. I dinnie see him runnin’. I tink Mari be yer fear, an’ no’ Rhys’s now.”

“You could be right. What would you do if he left? I’m not saying he will, but will you go?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Elewyen. She was chewing on her bottom lip but never looked away from my stare.

“Naw, I’za wanna stay. If Rhys be kickin’ me out, den dat be a different story. I no stay where I’m no’ wanted, but if yer still wantin’ me, well, den I still be wantin’ ya.”

I smiled at her. “Rhys kicking you out, now that I do doubt, but even if he did kick both of us out, we will always have a home at Injebreck. We would just go there, and that includes your sister and whoever else.”

“So ya would be stayin’? Ya wouldna leave in da big metal bird?” Eley asked, and I laughed at the image she conjured.

“I may come and go, but you can come with me. Keeva can too. I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves though.”

“Aye, yer right. Tonight be about da union and only dat.”

The lights of a car appeared, coming up the long drive. As soon as the man got out of the vehicle, I recognized my uncle Gregory. The rituals usually happened at Maughold, but with all the attacks happening, everyone thought it was best if we stayed here instead.

Rhys argued to go to Maughold since it was our normal process and a great source of power, with more of the ancestors buried there. The elders disagreed, and we were outnumbered. So, here we were, still at Gelentruan, and I felt uneasy. Or was it Rhys that felt uneasy? I rubbed my eyes, trying to sort through the confusion.

“Do ya wanna head down and jus’ meet Rhys dere?” Elewyen asked, her hand touching my shoulder.

It was clear that Rhys had no intention of returning to the room for the three of us to go to the ritual rooms below the castle together, and I hoped he could feel how pissed I was with him. Confused or not, worried or not, he decided to build a future with us. Fuck, he was the one who insisted on it, and now I felt like I was the one barely holding us together at times. How in the ever-loving fuck did that happen?

“Yeah, I guess we should,” I sighed.

Elewyen slipped her arm through mine and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind us. This wing of the castle we were staying in reminded me of royalty. There was no such thing—not for generations—but I saw pictures in books from the libraries. I secretly liked to read, but I would be damned if anyone knew that little secret. The pictures were incredible.

Our feet echoed off the walls of the cavernous stone hallway, and I looked up at the massive banners that lined the walls. Every other one had been switched out so that they now had the black and silver banner of the Adair family mixed in with the burgundy and gold of the McGregor family. They looked striking together. Armour lined the hall from different eras, and each shone in the torchlight.

The magical torches that turned on and off on their own were one of the many little marvels I was still getting used to on this island. Living on the island his whole life, Rhys took all the oddities in stride, but Elewyen and I continued to stare around at things that would make most people run for the hills.

Injebreck had power flowing through everything, but this place was supercharged. As if on cue, one of the curtains blew inward as we passed, but the window wasn’t open. Some hallways raised all the hair on my body and sent shivers racing down my spine when I walked down them. Servants watched us pass and bowed their heads, knowing what was to transpire tonight. Our main quarters were set up for a celebration and with extra comforts for when we returned. I rubbed the spot over my heart with a growing feeling of concern.

I pictured Rhys stepping up to the dais, then bolting for the door. Anger brewed in my chest, preparing myself for the rejection that seemed to be rolling toward me like a boulder.

Rhys certainly hadn’t seemed like he was going to make a run for it like a groom with cold feet last night. In fact, after the rigorous session that we all shared, we showered and passed out. It was the calmest I felt him since the connection first linked us together.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, and we passed the cut-off to the cells. It made me think of when I tossed Eley in a cell. As if she sensed me thinking about her, Elewyen glanced up as I looked down into her eyes. She gripped my arm a little tighter, but it seemed more for my benefit than hers.

She was a marvel to me. She was practically plucked out of the wild and learned to use modern terms and amenities, and she agreed to join a union with two men she barely knew. Elewyen was braver than I was. If roles were reversed, I would’ve told them all to fuck off and gone home. Hell, I would've done that if the plane hadn’t left me here.

She sucked in a sharp breath as we stepped through the first of the three shields that led to the ritual area.

“Dat be strong magic,” she whispered.

“Yes, and they only get stronger from here. The third is the worst. It feels like insects running under your skin all over your body,” I said and was greeted by a horrified expression. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say, but I wanted to be honest with her.

We stepped through the second barrier and shivered as the power flowed through us, searching to make sure that we were friend and not foe. The outer area was set up for the preparation, and I guided her to a chair to sit.