She chuckled, thinking of the many and various ways they had made love. “All night, indeed.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Not a single moment.”
“Good.” He tightened his arm around her, briefly hugging her against him.
She drew in a deep breath. “I don’t want to return to Moorehall.”
“Then don’t.”
“Dorcha will look for me.”
Rordan leaned away to look at her. “You don’t answer to him. You answer only to yourself.”
The intensity of his gaze made her grin. “I know.”
“I hope you do. If you don’t want to go back there or have any dealings with your family, you don’t have to. No matter what anyone else says. And family will always attempt to guilt you into doing whatever they want.”
“Is that what happened to you? Is that why you hate your family?”
Rordan looked away, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “There was only one good person in my family, and that was my mother.”
“Was?”
“She died many years ago.”
Fianna’s heart hurt for him. “I’m so sorry, Rordan.”
“I like to think things would’ve been different with her there, but I don’t know how true that statement is.”
“You remember her, though?”
His lips softened. “Aye. I remember her.”
“There’s a chance my mother is out there somewhere. I’d like to find her.”
“Then do it. You’ve heard your father’s side of the story. It’s time you hear hers.”
She happened to agree with him. “I’ll do that. First, I’m going to tell Dorcha that he’s on his own.”
“Don’t go back there.”
Something in his tone, and the look in his eyes, made Fianna frown. She sat up and searched his face. “Why do I get the feeling you’re saying that for more than just me talking to my brother?”
“Because things aren’t as they seem with your brother or what he’s doing.”
Fianna’s heart thudded painfully in her chest. “Why are you here? Why did you really come to the first meeting?”
“To see what your brother was about.”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “It’s more than that. I know it.”
Rordan sat up and raked his hands down his face. He sighed and then looked at her. “I would tell you if I could.”
Her heart plummeted to her feet. “No.”
“The last thing I ever expected was you.”
“Who sent you?”
Rordan shook his head. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Are you here to assassinate Dorcha?”
“No.”
She blew out a relieved breath. “And Ruarc? Is he with you?”
“He’s not.”
“Are you the people who have my father?”
Rordan shot her a hurt look. “No.”
“But you know who does.”
He shook his head and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I told you that I couldn’t give you answers.”
“That is an answer. If you didn’t, you would’ve told me.”
Rordan twisted to look at her. “I’d love nothing more than to tell you everything.”
“What I confessed last night should be enough to prove that I’m not with my family, despite what I told you before. Do you doubt me?”
Sincerity filled his gaze. “I don’t. I know you spoke from the heart last night. If your father hadn’t been taken, I’d hunt him down myself and show him what I think of what he’s done to you.”
Fianna scooted off the bed and saw, for the first time, the damage she had caused the previous night in her rage. She snapped her fingers, putting everything back the way it had been. Then she called her clothes to her.
“You’re leaving,” Rordan said.
She wrapped her arms around her middle, not sure what to do about anything. “I’m trying to figure out what to do. I’ve seen my family for who they really are, and now I learn that you aren’t who I’ve believed you to be either. Is Rordan even your name?”
“Rordan Dovecoat,” to be exact.
Her eyes widened as shock poured through her. Everyone knew the Dovecoat family. They were the wealthiest of all the Light.
And a family everyone wanted as their ally.
Chapter Fifteen
Rordan cringed at the recognition he saw in Fianna’s eyes. “Now you know why I don’t tell anyone.”
“You’re that Rordan?” she asked, amazement filling her face. “But…but I thought you had died.”
He threw out his arms. “Obviously, I didn’t.”
“You should tell your family.”
“I like things just the way they are.”
She raked her fingers through her long locks, untangling the strands. “Is your family as dysfunctional as mine?”
“Everyone’s family is dysfunctional. But to answer your question, yes.” Rordan then scooted back so he leaned against the headboard and patted the mattress.
Fianna didn’t hesitate to crawl back onto the bed. She gathered some pillows at the foot and used them to lay her head on so she could look at him. Then she raised her brows.
He bit back a smile. “As you know, my family has influence. Their wealth has given them that. My two sisters were older, and while my father told them the eldest would inherit, he changed his mind after I was born, and named me heir.”
“It’s his right.”
“Yes, it is, but that didn’t matter to them. They were much older than me and had gotten used to having certain privileges. For a long time, I lived in a bubble, protected from harsh realities. My father wanted me to act a certain way, the Dovecoat way. I had other ideas. My mother was the one who kept the family together. She calmed frayed nerves and soothed ruffled feathers. But there was an entire world for me to see. I left as soon as I could, and it wasn’t long before I found some friends. They weren’t good Light. I quickly learned how to defend myself to stay alive. We got into some trouble, but when the authorities learned who I was, the charges were dropped.”
“Yikes,” Fianna said.
Rordan nodded as he laced his fingers behind his head. “Knowing that I could get away with just about anything sent me down a debauched path. I soon left those friends and found different ones, who were even worse. My fighting skills continued to improve, but I made one bad decision after another with no regard for anyone or anything. I was, for all intents and purposes, walking a fine line between Light and Dark. That went on for some time. Finally, I took a good, hard look at my life and realized that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be. So, I went back home to sort out my life. Mum welcomed me, but my father and sisters had other ideas.
“They thought I had come for money, when all I needed was time to myself and away from my associates, who weren’t too keen on me changing my ways. Mum convinced my father of that. Unfortunately, my sisters found my friends—and my enemies—and let them know where I was. My acquaintances were peeved that I had abandoned them, and my foes decided it was prime time to strike and remove me for good. It all happened my third night back.”