For Cain, she chose jeans and the boots he’d worn earlier as well as a green, v-neck, short-sleeve tee that fit tight over his impressive shoulders. He looked down at himself and grinned.
“Good choice,” he told her.
In a blink, Noreen called a gray tee and black pants to herself. Then she finished the outfit off with black boots that laced up the front. She was in the process of pulling her hair up into a messy bun when she noted Cain looking at her footwear.
“Combat boots?” he asked.
She shrugged as she lowered her hands when she finished with her hair. “I suspect we’ll be fighting, and I want to be prepared. Unlike Rhi, I don’t think I’d be successful meeting an opponent with heeled boots, spikes or no.”
Cain chuckled. “You’ve seen her in those, have you?”
“Oh, yes. Hands down, Rhi is the ultimate badass with amazing style.”
“I think you could definitely fight in heels.”
Noreen laughed and shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I love heels, but there is a time and place. Unless you’re Rhi, of course.”
“Of course.” Cain laughed again. “Have you met her?”
“She isn’t someone who runs in the same circles as I do. However, I do know Moreann has been obsessed with her.”
Cain’s smile dropped as his brows drew together. “Because her father was in the Others?”
“Yep. Moreann wanted Rhi to join, but when Usaeil failed to bring her in, Moreann had no choice but to recruit Brian, even though she always planned to replace him with Rhi eventually.”
“She was that sure that Rhi would join the group? Even though Rhi is in love with a Dragon King?”
Noreen shrugged and twisted her lips. “That never bothered Moreann. She didn’t even have to tell Usaeil to make sure the relationship ended. Usaeil took care of that all on her own.”
Cain’s face went blank. “What?”
“Usaeil was responsible for ending Rhi’s affair with the Dragon King.”
“Do you know which King Rhi was with?”
Noreen gave a brief shake of her head. “I asked, but no one would tell me.”
Cain pivoted away, raking his hand through his hair. He stopped and turned back to Noreen. “Does Rhi know that Usaeil ruined the relationship?”
“Sadly, yes. Usaeil bragged about it to us. I remember it vividly because we were surprised that she actually showed up for a meeting since she hadn’t for the ones before that. Moreann was getting testy about it and had gone to speak to Usaeil herself. Anyway, Usaeil came for that meeting and told us how Rhi had found out and was so upset. Usaeil had thought Rhi would come for her then, but she didn’t. I wouldn’t have either if I were in Rhi’s place. She was too upset. That’s never a good way to go into battle. Not that I know a lot about such things since I’ve never really fought anyone before.”
She was rambling because Cain hadn’t moved, much less uttered a sound. Noreen pressed her lips together to make sure she didn’t keep talking.
“Con needs to know about this,” Cain suddenly said.
That surprised Noreen. “Why do you say that?”
“It’s difficult to understand exactly, but Rhi has friends among us. She and Rhys are extremely close.”
“That doesn’t explain why she would go to Con.”
“It does when you understand that she and Con agreed to fight Usaeil together. If Rhi knew that Usaeil had instigated the ruination of her affair, then yes, Rhi would tell Con to give them more reason to go after Usaeil—no’ that they needed any more.”
Noreen frowned as she cocked her head to the side. “I could understand where Con might be upset when he learned that Usaeil had gotten involved in the matters of his Kings, but couldn’t it all be fixed by telling the King of Kings what Usaeil had done?”
“It’s never that easy when it comes to the affairs of the heart.”
“I suppose not.” She sighed as Cain took her hand, and they began walking. “Does Rhi know that Usaeil isn’t dead?”
“I doona believe so. We’ve been unable to find her since she thrust her blade into the queen.”
“I heard that Rhi and Balladyn were once very close.”
Cain gave a nod as he glanced her way. “They were best friends until Usaeil betrayed Balladyn to Taraeth, who was supposed to kill Balladyn.”
“Instead, the previous King of the Dark turned him,” Noreen finished.
“Aye. I doona believe Taraeth would’ve done that had he realized how powerful a Fae Balladyn was. Usaeil knew, and while she says she wanted Balladyn gone from the Light because he had fallen in love with Rhi, I also suspect that she knew Balladyn would discover her plans and uncover everything she’d done since he was Captain of the Queen’s Guard.”
Noreen made a sound in the back of her throat. “Balladyn wasn’t king for very long, but he made a big impact. I’ve no doubt he would’ve discovered all of Usaeil’s misdeeds. But it boggles my mind how jealous she was—or should I say is—of Rhi.”
“It doesna make any sense to me, but it’s what has driven Usaeil for a verra long time. We’d all hoped it was finished.”
“Not by a long shot.”
“Aye,” he muttered in frustration.
Noreen looked at him and waited for his gaze to meet hers. “I’ll help you look for her, after Moreann is defeated since the Others are a bigger threat.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. “Does that mean you’re coming to Dreagan with me?”
“No,” she said softly. “It’s better for you if I stay here.”
“I doona agree with you, but I also willna force you to go where you doona want.”
“I want to be with you. I hope you know that.”
He nodded. “Aye, lass, I do.”
“It’s just…” She sighed and looked forward as they walked. “I’m not like Rhi. I’ve never been in battle before, and I don’t want anyone to worry about me and take their focus off the fighting.”
Cain brought them to a halt and turned her so that she faced him. “I will admit that it takes practice to be a warrior, but I also know that you’ve got a warrior spirit inside of you.”
She rolled her eyes, scoffing at him.
“You do,” he insisted. “You came to us, turning against all those you knew. Only the brave would do something like that.”
“I intended to tell you and leave for another realm, not stick around and see what happened. I was running, Cain.”
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “That might have been your plan, but you didna do that.”
“You didn’t give me much choice.”
“Is that so?” he asked with a raised brow.
She lifted her free hand, palm out in a gesture of defeat. “You’re right. You gave me all the choices, but you said it in a way that made me believe that I might actually live if I went with you.”
“You trusted me.”
Noreen nodded slowly. “I did. I do.”
“That takes courage. It’s easy to distrust everyone.”
“It’s also safer that way.”