“You. Ari. All of you. You’re all too stubborn to know when you need to stop, when you’ve done all you can—more than you can. No, you’ll just keep pushing until your brain shuts down or your body quits.”

Stung, Morag made an effort to sit up straighter in the saddle. “You can’t speak to me that way.”

“I can and I will, just as I’d speak that way to Ari or Caitlin if they were being too stubborn to show some sense. Ashk, too, for that matter—although she’d change into her other form long enough to nip me for it.”

Wish I could do that, Morag thought sourly.

“Damn fool of a woman,” Padrick muttered. “She was trying to ground the whole fire. Did you realize that? Not just the meadow. Not just keeping that stunted excuse of a man from burning her home down around her or killing the man she loves. No, she was trying to hold the whole thing back.”

Alarmed that Ari would even think of trying to do that much, Padrick’s tone nevertheless compelled her to defend the decision. “Did it occur to you that Ari was trying to protect the Clan?”

“Of course it occurred to me,” Padrick roared. “The Clan house would have been lost before the witches who had come up from Wiccandale could do anything about it.”

“Witches from Wiccandale?”

Padrick waved that away. “They had business with me. Two of them had the gift of water, and when they saw the fire, they summoned the rain.”

“Did you yell at them, too?”

“No, I did not.”

“Then why are you yelling at me?” Morag blinked, furious with Padrick because tears were filling her eyes.

Since they were riding Fae horses, there wasn’t even the clip-clop of hooves to interrupt the sudden silence.

Finally, Padrick said quietly, “Because I was scared to the bone today. Because I know what could have happened here. Because I know what did happen here. Because I was helpless to stop it. Because I’m just a foolish man who was so relieved at finding you’re both all right that I yelled at you.”

“Did you yell at Neall?” Morag asked, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

Padrick chuckled. “Couldn’t. My physician took one look at Neall’s hip and dosed him with something that put him to sleep before he could finish arguing that he didn’t want it.”

“But he’ll be all right?”

“Yes, he’ll be all right. So will Ari. The physician and midwife agree that she needs bed rest. The babe’s not due for another week or so, but they were concerned that the strain of channeling so much magic might have brought her to childbed early. However, the babe is content to stay where it is a while longer, and Ari will be recovered before she brings her son or daughter into the world.”