They broke apart, and to her dismay, she found herself winded. “Don’t hold back.”
When they clashed again, she ended up on her back. She wasn’t even sure what move he had used, but she quickly wrapped her legs around his and rolled, taking him down, as well. She kicked up to her feet and smiled down at him.
Rordan grinned as he stood and dusted himself off. “Nice job.”
“Shall we continue this, or would you like to try staves or perhaps swords?”
Without hesitation, he reached for a staff. Fianna got one, as well. This time, she attacked first. She got the first strike, but he quickly matched her. They went back and forth for a while until sweat ran down both their faces. It wasn’t until he used the staff to knock her off her feet that he squatted beside her and held out his hand.
“Swords?” he asked.
She took his hand with a laugh as he helped her to her feet. “Of course.”
Fianna forgot about the turmoil of last night. She forgot about Dorcha’s unusual behavior. She forgot that her father was missing. She forgot everything but Rordan and the fun she was having.
Just by sparring with him, she had picked up a few new moves she hadn’t seen before. Despite her telling him not to hold back, he continued to do so. He had been amazing with his hand-to-hand combat, as well as the staff, but it seemed his specialty was swords. Her father had been fastidious with sword training for both her and Dorcha, so she knew how important it could be to some families—particularly the nobility.
The way Rordan used the blade as an extension of his body, the ease with which he deflected blows and parried, was some of the best she had ever witnessed. And she had seen quite a lot. The more she saw of Rordan, the more she began to believe that he belonged to some noble family.
Then, with a quick twist of his wrist, he caught her off balance and caused her sword to go flying out of her hand, landing on the ground and effectively ending their sparring session. The air erupted with cheers. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had beaten her so soundly.
“That was impressive,” she told him.
He grinned, shrugging indifferently. “It comes in handy on occasion.”
“Can I hire you as one of my guards?”
His silver eyes darkened with blatant desire. As quickly as the emotion appeared, it vanished. “Sadly, no.”
“Let me know if you ever change your mind.”
“I will.”
She smoothed hair that had come loose from her ponytail back from her face. “If you ever want to do this again, I’m always game.”
“I’ll remember that.”
With the training over, the worries of before came rushing back. She wanted to contact her father to see if he really had been taken. Dorcha had been acting so weird, she wasn’t certain if he spoke truthfully. Then there was the fact that he was clearly keeping something from her.
“I’d like to look for Ruarc, as well. Why don’t we pair up?” Rordan offered.
Fianna hesitated because she already liked being around him too much. The demons of her past were always right there, waiting to get out and destroy everything once more. On the other hand, she really needed to locate Ruarc, and two pairs of eyes were always better than one.
“I’d like that,” she said. “I’ve already searched the manor and grounds.”
“We can go to his house on the island.”
Fianna nodded. “Let me tell the guards to keep an eye out for him.”
After she’d spoken to her people, she glanced down at her attire. It was one thing to wear her security garb at the manor, but she would stand out walking the streets. She rarely left Dorcha’s side, so there was no need for her to wear much of anything else. Fianna decided to change her clothes, and with a thought, jeans, a sleeveless beige sweater, and sandals relaced the boxy, black uniform.
Rordan quirked a brow when he saw her. “I’m not sure if I like this outfit or the white one from last night better.”
She smiled, her stomach quivering as if a thousand butterflies had taken flight. No one ever spoke about her clothes, so to have compliments two days in a row was something different. And it made her want to seriously consider rethinking some things about her life.
“Do you know where he lives?” Rordan asked.
She nodded and put her hand on his arm, jumping them to the location. Only after they had arrived at Ruarc’s house did she realize she hadn’t notified Dorcha of where she was going—or who she was with. After the way he’d forced her to the dinner and had spoken to her earlier, this was her revenge.
Fianna noted that Rordan was looking at her peculiarly. She wiped the frown from her face and smiled. “Just thinking.
Together, they walked to the door of the house. It was a nice place with plenty of land between Ruarc and the neighbors on either side of him.
Rordan knocked on the door, but no one answered. “Ruarc? It’s Rordan.”
Not even that produced the Fae.
“Maybe he’s out back,” Fianna offered.
They walked to the back of the house and saw the stunning meadow covered in wildflowers. But there was still no sign of Ruarc.
“Ruarc,” Rordan called.
No matter where the Fae was, he would hear Rordan say his name and come to him. The minutes ticked by without Ruarc’s appearance.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Rordan said.
Neither did she. “He was upset when I saw him last night. Said he wasn’t going to allow anyone to blackmail him into doing anything.”
Rordan glanced at her and called Ruarc’s name again. Then, Rordan turned to her. “Why is it so important that Ruarc find those two Fae places to live? Why can’t they do it themselves? Or find someone else?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “This morning, Dorcha asked me to find Ruarc and convince him to help us.”
“Why Ruarc, specifically?” Rordan pushed.
Fianna blew out a breath. “My father did a favor for Ruarc’s family once. As payment, Ruarc has made sure to get Dorcha prime locations for his meetings. I think Dorcha wants to keep cashing in on that debt, but Ruarc has done more than enough.”
“How so?”
“We don’t pay for the time we spend in homes such as Moorehall.”
Rordan nodded slowly. “I see. What’s so important about tomorrow night?”
She frowned as she shrugged. “Nothing. Other than it’s the last meeting to see who Dorcha brings into the fold.”
“Why does he do that? Seems to me, if he wants the support of all, he should be willing to accept anyone who wants to give it. Why go through the meetings and be so selective?” Rordan asked.
It was a question she had asked once, as well. Her da and Dorcha hadn’t bothered to answer. “You would have to ask Dorcha.”
“I think I will.”
Chapter Eleven
Worry for Ruarc filled Rordan. All he had to do was go to Death and have her locate him, but he didn’t want to do that in case it alerted the Others. There was a good chance Ruarc had gotten away. If that were the case, it would be better if Rordan left him alone. Yet, the memory of the four Fae speaking to Dorcha the previous night left him uneasy.