Tears filled her eyes. Her Clan was betraying her, abandoning her. All because that bitch had stolen her place as the Lady of the Moon. They wouldn’t have done this if she were still the female leader of the Fae. “But I suppose Lucian will still receive a warm welcome,” she said bitterly. He’d backed down. That’s what was being whispered in the Clans. Instead of insisting that Selena yield to a Lady who was really Fae, when the Huntress had done a bit of her thunder-rumble witch magic, he’d backed down. Her brother. Her twin. Even he had abandoned her.

“The Clan will still welcome Lucian,” Connor said quietly. “But I’m thinking that he won’t find many who will listen to the manure he spews about witches being servants and the Fae being above the concerns of the world. And I’m thinking that, now that the minstrels and bards are looking hard for Aiden, when he shows up again, we’re all going to be listening a lot more carefully to what the Bard has to say.” He paused. “What will it be, Dianna?”

“I can’t ride any more today,” she said, her voice breaking.

Connor gathered his reins. “Good luck to you, then.” Giving his horse the signal to move on, he cantered off, passing the other escorts, who glanced back at her before urging their horses forward to catch up to him.

Dianna stared at them. They wouldn’t leave her. Not really. Connor was just trying to make her do what he wanted. And who was he, anyway? The Lord of the Deer. The leader of the Clan’s huntsmen. Someone nowhere near as important as a Lady of the Moon…who would have no status at all if her own Clan wouldn’t acknowledge her.

She waited for them to stop, to come back for her, to cajole her into going back to Brightwood.

She waited—and then kicked her mare into a gallop to catch up to them. They’d stop at the Clan house for a bit of a rest and a bite to eat. Surely they would. That would give them the chance to tell her how important she was to the Clan. That would give Connor a chance to apologize for the harsh things he’d said. Surely they would stop.

She was still too far away to catch up to them when she saw Connor lift a hand in greeting as he passed the stableyard and continued on to the bridge that would take him and the other escorts to the next Clan territory.

She slowed the mare to a walk, letting the animal make its own way to the stableyard. She couldn’t see well enough to guide it since her eyes kept filling with tears.

The mare stopped. A hand lightly touched hers.

“Lady Dianna?”