Shadows and Light Read Free

been killed in the confrontation with the Inquisitors when they came to Ridgeley — and Brightwood — last summer. Had there been someone else at Brightwood? Someone none of the Fae but Morag had known about? “What happened to the young man Ari was going to wed? What was his name? Neall. Yes, Neall. Morag . said he was gone.”
    “He gave her kindness, courtesy, respect, and loyalty,” Aiden sang softly.
    Unable to sit still, Lyrra scrambled off the bed to pace the width of the small room.
    You’re the Muse. He’s the Bard. He expects you to be able to hear what isn’t being said. Just as Morag had expected him to understand what she hadn’t said .
    He’d gone to see Morag one last time before she left Ahern’s farm. Why would she have told him anything? Because he had grieved Ari’s death — and the loss of a Daughter of the House of Gaian.
    “He got her away from them,” Lyrra said, more to hear the words spoken than to speak to Aiden. “Somehow, Neall got Ari away from the Inquisitors. And then took her away from Brightwood, as well.” She pressed her hands against her face. “If the Lightbringer and the Huntress ever learn that the last witch from Brightwood still lives…”
    “They would search for her until they found her, and they would bring her back to Brightwood, regardless of what Ari wants,” Aiden replied. “Dianna would bring her back so that she wouldn’t have to stay in the human world and be the anchor that keeps the shining road open and her Clan’s piece of Tir Alainn intact. And Lucian would bring her back to have Ari as his mistress because he lost her before he tired of her — and because his pride wouldn’t tolerate the truth that she’d chosen a human male over him.” He paused. “But that is merely speculation. Morag said Ari is gone, and the Gatherer would know that better than the rest of us.”
    “Mother’s mercy, Aiden.” Lyrra sank down on the end of the bed. “Let’s hope they never realize that what Morag said wasn’t what they assumed she meant.” Then she turned and gave him a brilliant smile. “Ari is gone. Isn’t that wonderful?”
    Answering her smile with his own, he held out a hand. When she took it, he tugged her toward him, lying back so that she was stretched out on top of him.
    He played with her hair and said, “When humans wed, there are speeches and customs that are observed to seal the bargain. We’ve spoken words to pledge ourselves to each other, so there’s just one other thing to do to seal the bargain.”
    He looked at her with eyes full of lust and laughter.
    She gave him a soft kiss, then wiggled her body just enough to get a hard response from his.
    “Vixen,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.
    “I am not!” She paused. “Well, yes, I am. Some of the time.”
    Laughing, he rolled until she was under him. “Come, wife. Let’s seal the bargain.”
    This time, when they gave each other their bodies, they also gave much more.
    Aiden stared at the ceiling. Lyrra slept peacefully beside him.
    Yes, husbands and wives kept secrets, but there were some secrets he had to tell her now, for her own protection. If something happened to him, she had to know where to run — and what places to avoid at any cost. It wasn’t safe for a woman to travel alone anymore along the eastern border. In some places, it wasn’t safe to be a woman, now that the Inquisitors had come to Sylvalan and somehow convinced the eastern barons — and through them, other men — that women were lesser creatures who had no purpose, and no value, except to provide men with comfortable homes, sex, and offspring.
    Aiden rolled over and tucked himself around Lyrra, needing the closeness.
    He’d missed her over the past year with a fierceness that had made him ache. And even though he’d worried at times that the Inquisitors might come back to Brightwood, he’d been grateful she’d stayed there — until he’d returned to see her and discovered Lyrra