Liam cleared his throat, a nervous gesture. Deaghlan was intimidating, even the air around him radiated with an inhuman power.
“Deaghlan, we’re having a little trouble with Allison’s friend Ethan here. Seems his memories have been tampered with.” I could tell he was being careful not to come right out and accuse Deaghlan of anything. No wonder he wanted to deal with him. I would have launched right into a tirade. Liam was a diplomat. I would have to remember that.
Deaghlan spun around, one eyebrow quirked up with interest. “Oh?”
I kept silent as Liam told him everything I’d said about Niamh’s assessment of Ethan’s mind. Not once did Deaghlan appear remorseful or bothered by anything he heard.
A slow smile played on his lips. “Well, I do hope you’ll forgive me Allison. I thought you wanted to keep Ethan at a distance. Was I was mistaken?”
I looked away, my jaw clenching. “Not like this,” I whispered, barely able to control the emotions flaring inside me. It grated me to cower in front of him, but I wouldn’t meet his eyes. I wasn’t strong enough to fight his mind tricks.
“Niamh tried to undo some of the compulsion Ethan’s under, but she lost consciousness.”
At Liam’s words Deaghlan’s eyes flashed and he cocked his head to the side, listening. “Why does she insist on being a martyr?” he mumbled before he disappeared out of the room in a blur.
“I’ll never get used to that freakish speed,” I said, turning back to Ethan. He hadn’t moved at all. His breathing was slow and steady, barely noticeable.
Liam smiled a little, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, I suppose you won’t. I’ll go see how Niamh is doing, perhaps make sure Aodhan doesn’t murder the king.”
Looking down at Ethan, I thought about all the feelings I’d tried to deny for so long. The thrill that coursed through me whenever someone so much as mentioned his name. The way his chocolate brown eyes caused my thoughts to scatter every time he looked at me with that lopsided grin.
I traced a little pattern on his hand. His skin was smooth and warm, just like I remembered it from when he’d held my hand at his parents’ Fourth of July party. That seemed so long ago, so much had happened since then. Part of me wanted him to wake up so I could be sure he was okay. But the other part was terrified that he was going to suffer for wanting to be close to me.
I felt a twitch in his finger and my eyes darted up to his face. His eyelashes fluttered open and he stared up at the ceiling for a second before he grimaced.
He moaned low in his throat and I clasped his hand so that he’d look at me. His expression was all confusion.
“It’s okay, Ethan.” I could feel the muscles in his abdomen tense. “Don’t try to sit up, just stay quiet for a few minutes.”
He faded in and out for several seconds. Whenever his eyes would open, he’d stare at me with something like fear.
People fear what they don’t understand, Liam had told me more than once. Did Ethan fear me?
Did he remember seeing Niamh shift forms as he walked into Liam’s backyard? And, me with her…
Ethan sat up, his eyes wide with panic as he stared at me. He was too strong for me to stop him.
“What the hell is going on?” His voice was no more than a hoarse whisper as his eyes darted around the room. “My head is… I can’t even explain what is going through my mind right now.”
I picked up his hand again, and I thought he would pull it out of my grasp. He just looked down at our joined hands like they held the answers to life's biggest questions in them.
I told him about the day Liam showed up on my doorstep claiming to be my father, how hard it was for me to believe anything he said . I didn’t know how far to go, since I wasn’t even sure what he remembered. I figured talking about being introduced to Niamh might give me an idea of whether he remembered what had happened in Liam’s yard this morning.
“...and they’re different from us, not just because they’re inhumanly beautiful and don’t age. But they have these abilities. They call it magic, but it’s not like Abracadabra or whatever I thought magic was.
“Niamh is telepathic. She hears what I’m thinking and can speak directly into my mind. It’s awful and fascinating at the same time.” I forced myself to stop so I could get a feel for Ethan’s reaction.
He blinked and then looked at me for a minute. He opened and closed his mouth, starting to respond and then shaking his head. Did he think I’d completely lost it?
“Liam is… Liam is your father?” he said, his face was twisted in confusion. I wanted nothing more than to reach up and smooth the creases that marked his forehead.