He hadn’t caught the last part of their conversation. Though Dorcha’s smile made Rordan uneasy. For someone who had been about to die, Dorcha appeared entirely too confident for Rordan’s liking. He moved his gaze to Fearghal. On the other hand, the patriarch of the O’Hannon family seemed to have accepted his fate.
Rordan’s head snapped to Dorcha when the Fae walked away from the Others. Now Rordan knew for certain that something was up. He wanted to follow Dorcha to see what he was up to, but he didn’t want to leave the Others. They were the more important targets. Yet his eyes stayed with Dorcha, his nervous feeling doubling. The only thing that helped was knowing that Fianna was safely away from everything.
Once Dorcha was out of sight, Rordan slid his gaze to the two leaders. They didn’t speak, didn’t even look at each other. It was apparent by the little he had observed that their relationship was tenuous at best. Would it be fragile enough to break? Rordan was ready to find out. He had wanted more of the Others to show up, but he might as well take what he could get. Two of the group were better than none. The two leaders, even better.
And once Death got a hold of them, they would tell her anything and everything she wanted to know.
“Eoghan,” Rordan whispered.
He didn’t say more. There was no need. His leader knew what the call meant. Just as he didn’t need to tell the Reapers to arrive with their veils raised. Reapers rarely showed up anywhere without their veils in place.
But as the seconds ticked by and he didn’t see his fellow brethren, Rordan became concerned. They should have arrived immediately.
Fianna looked toward the east from Rordan’s cottage. Moorehall was only a short distance away. She hadn’t stopped thinking about what was going on there. The more time that passed without any word from Rordan, the more concerned she became.
And the more she knew she should be there, helping him.
Fianna squeezed her eyes closed. This was the same argument she’d been having with herself for a couple of hours now. Then she would remember that she had promised Rordan she would remain at the cottage. She took her assurances seriously. If she didn’t, no one else would. It was her promise that kept getting her hung up about going to check on Rordan.
“He’s more than capable of taking care of himself,” she said aloud. “He’s ten times better than I am, and there wasn’t anyone around Dorcha who could come close to besting me.”
But Rordan wasn’t just facing Dorcha or those in attendance. He was going up against the Others, who, if Rordan was correct in his assessment, were very dangerous. Which had her thinking that she should forget her vow and go help him.
“Bugger it,” she ground out as she whirled around and stalked back to the house.
She was halfway there when she heard Dorcha’s voice in her head, calling her name. Fianna halted. The part of her that had looked after her brother’s safety urged her to answer him, to go to him.
The other part, the bit that had taken the blinders off and had seen her family for the manipulative hypocrites they truly were, had no problem ignoring him.
She continued into the cottage. Inside, she looked around until her gaze landed on the bed. She smiled when she saw it. How she wished she and Rordan were still wrapped in each other’s arms on it. For the first time in her life, she knew what it was to be cared for, to be safe, to be…connected to someone on a level she hadn’t thought possible.
“Come back to me, Rordan,” she said as she wrapped her arms around herself.
A chill suddenly went through her. It was something she had never experienced before. Like the cold hand of death reaching for her. Shaken deeply, Fianna pushed away from the door and looked around for something to busy herself with. She decided on tea and made her way to the kitchen.
“Fek me,” Torin mumbled as he picked himself up off the ground.
Cathal blinked and sat up. “You’re telling me.”
“What the bloody hell happened?” Bradach asked as he held out a hand to Cathal and Aisling to help them to their feet.
Dubhan put his hands on his knees and bent at the waist as he shook his head. “I feel like I’ve been turned inside out.”
Eoghan’s head throbbed viciously, and he felt the eyes of his Reapers turn to him for answers. He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. “It’s a barrier, preventing anyone from teleporting inside.”
“We’re Reapers,” Aisling stated.
Balladyn glanced toward Moorehall. “I didn’t think anything could keep us out—or in.”
“Only one other time has something kept us out,” Eoghan said as he stared at the spot before them. He reached out and tentatively moved his hand, only to feel resistance.
“Bran,” Cathal murmured with distaste.
Eoghan nodded and looked at Balladyn. “He had syphoned Erith’s power, giving him what he needed to keep us out. That means, the Others somehow have that ability, as well.”
“Rordan called for us too late,” Dubhan said.
Aisling shook her head and wound her long, black and silver hair into a bun at the back of her head. “We have no idea what Rordan was doing. He called for us when he could.”
“I agree,” Bradach replied.
There was only one thing left for Eoghan to do. “Death.”
In the next heartbeat, Erith and Cael arrived, the couple clad in all black, Erith’s a mixture of leather and chainmail. Lavender eyes landed on Eoghan as Death quirked a brow.
“The Others are here,” he told them.
Cael nodded. “What are you waiting for?”
“We can’t get to Rordan or the Others.”
Cael’s head whipped toward Moorehall as Erith’s brow furrowed deeply. She said nothing as she walked to the barrier. As a goddess, she had infinitely more power than the Reapers. She was able to get through, but it wasn’t easy for her. Once inside, she turned back to them and met Cael’s gaze.
“Go,” he told her. “I’m right behind you.”
In the next blink, Death was gone. Cael turned to Eoghan. “You know what to do.”
Eoghan nodded as Cael followed his mate. To prove that Cael was no longer just a Fae but also a god, he too was able to get through the barrier.
“At least Rordan will have some help,” Balladyn said.
Eoghan faced his Reapers. “We’re not finished. Spread out and begin attacking the barrier with magic. It will hopefully weaken it enough so that we can get through.”
The Reapers hurried to carry out his orders, leaving Eoghan alone. He began to doubt his decision not to have someone with Rordan as backup. If anything happened to Rordan, or any of his Reapers…. He didn’t even want to finish the thought. He and Cael knew what it meant to lose Reaper brethren.
It was a blow Eoghan wasn’t sure he could handle again. He formed a bubble of magic between his palms, even as his mind drifted to his wife, Thea. She had pulled him from certain death with her haunting violin music. For her, he had returned to this realm. For her, he had opened his heart again.
He might be the leader of a group of Reapers, but she was the one who got him through the difficult times. She stood by him, never wavering in her love. He couldn’t wait to get back to her and have her arms around him. With just a hug, she could melt away the horrors of a day. And he had a feeling he would need her desperately when this was finished.