A/N: Please be aware that the first half of this book is being published in ebook and paperback, under the title Blood Feud: Vampire Cohorts Book Five, and can no longer be offered free on Wattpad because of this. Sorry for the inconvenience.
"You were crying earlier," Fenn stated softly, warily, as he joined me on the decking outside his tipi, where I was sitting watching the stars. His guilt poured into me, even before he apologised. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't... I should've known you weren't ready."
"It wasn't me." Sliding my hand into his, I leaned against him, my head on his shoulder. "I mean, yes, I was crying, but it wasn't because of how I feel. Conn..."
Closing my eyes, I wilted, pleased that Fenn was holding me upright. "Conn is like me, a strong psychic. Where my talent is for reading emotions, his is for reading thoughts. Generally he doesn't do it because, unlike me, he can't make any sense of the noise when he's listening to it. Except where I'm concerned, he can focus on me, the same way as I can focus on him and him alone. Normally he blocks rather than letting the noise overwhelm him, but in Valhalla he couldn't always do so. He was too weak, and I think he might still be struggling to reinstate his shields.
"I suspect I break through them, sometimes. He heard something yesterday, I think. He knows what we did and he's hurting. I can feel it."
"He's coming around. He still loves you," Fenn sighed as his arm went around me, pulling me more securely against his side. The possessive move was understandable, although I wished he didn't feel the need to hold me as if he feared losing me. I wasn't going to run back to Conn.
"No, he's not coming around," I answered with a shake of my head. "He's upset. He's grieving. He regrets so much, but he won't change. He's made his decision and I've made mine. It's that simple."
"It's never that simple, Wiðercorra."
When I looked up at Fenn, he was staring towards the rest of the camp, his expression contemplative, with a frown furrowing his brows. I began to wonder if he'd be the one to regret what we'd done, but when he noticed me studying him, he kissed me.
"I love you, beautiful," he admitted, tugging me onto his knee as he did so. "No matter what happens later, I love you."
As I straddled his lap, I cupped my hand around his face, my thumbs stroking his cheeks. His emerald eyes were stunning, even in the night-time darkness, with a hint of luminescence that I hadn't paid any heed to before. Fenn was so much more than most other men. Not completely of Earth, not completely of anywhere. Like me. The ache in the centre of my chest gave away just how much he meant to me. Far more than I'd ever intended to allow. More than I'd ever previously acknowledged.
Could I put what was in my heart into words? Was I ready for that step too?
"I..."
"He's worse tonight than he's been in weeks, you know," Will interrupted before I could confess what I'd intended to, a cold edge to his voice that was both unfamiliar and unwelcome.
When had he arrived? Why hadn't he told me he was coming?
"If he could do it without injuring you, I think he'd take his pain out on himself again. If he wasn't so afraid of Tiw..." Will paused before admitting sadly, "If he weren't so afraid of returning to Valhalla, I think he'd find a way to take himself out of the picture completely."
The suggestion made my heart clench, even as I resented Will forcing that understanding on me. The thought of Conn killing himself was unbearable, and I was relieved that it shouldn't be possible. Even if he threw himself into the sun, it would be me who burned, not him. If it came to that, I hoped the Grian Amulet would prevent it having any lasting effects.
