Page 76 of Unveiled

“My son swears he heard whispering under the floorboards.”

“Are they coming?”

“We must leave the valley.”

“Adrian has to do something.”

Adrian’s voice came out sharper than intended. “Enough.”

The word cracked through the air like a whip. People flinched.

Moira stepped forward out of the crowd, her silver braid swinging. “Lad, what happened? We were worried about you.”

Adrian raised a hand to quieten the crowd. “We found evidence of the Council’s interference,” he said. “We’re working on a plan.”

Moira’s gaze darted to Connor, who lingered at Adrian’s shoulder like a long shadow. She frowned at the mark glowing faintly beneath Adrian’s collar. It remained barely visible, but Connor could tell she saw everything. Then she gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. She wouldn’t reveal anything.

Her acquiescence seemed to loosen Adrian’s chest a fraction. Fraser began herding people back, murmuring assurances Adrian didn’t feel ready to give.

Connor turned to Adrian. “You’re coming back to the castle with me.”

Adrian raised a brow. “Why?”

“I’d like to keep an eye on you.”

Adrian’s lips twitched. “You don’t get to keep me under house arrest like some trembling damsel.”

Connor’s voice dropped so low Adrian stilled. “You almost collapsed in the woods. You saw things none of us could see. You heard them speaking through you. If you think I’m letting you sleep unguarded in this fort of yours—”

“Guarded?” Adrian interrupted, a sharp, humourless laugh escaping him. “Connor, the Council marked me. Their hunters follow me. The whole woods reshapes itself around me. Anyone near me is in more danger than if I slept alone.”

“Then I’ll stay near you.” The words were out before he could stop them.

Adrian stared at him. Connor didn’t take them back.

The moment stretched long enough for Fraser to clear his throat loudly. “Right,” Fraser muttered. “Well. If you two are done staring at each other like a pair of doomed lovers in a tragic ballad, we have other matters to—”

Connor bared his teeth as Adrian flushed scarlet. “Fraser,” Connor warned.

Fraser lifted his hands, amused and unrepentant. Connor grabbed Adrian’s elbow, not roughly, but firmly, and steered him toward the private study.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“That,” Adrian murmured, “is never a comforting phrase.”

The study was dim when Connor closed the door behind them. Someone had started a fire, which crackled low. Shadows stretched long across the stone walls, almost alive. Connor hovered in the centre of the room, not sitting, not pacing, caught in a restless stillness.

“You’re getting worse,” Connor said.

Adrian flinched. “It’s manageable.”

“Liar.”

Adrian’s head lifted sharply. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Connor moved closer. “You’re shaking. You’re pale. You nearly passed out when the Council whispered through you. And that mark is spreading.”

Adrian stiffened. “You noticed that?”