Pricked by anger, Aiden tucked the letter into his sash, next to his pipe. “Are they really so different, Baron Donovan? You’ve never sat beside the bed of a witch whose body was so broken by torture there was no hope of healing. You’ve never listened to her plead with you to let her die. You’ve never buried the rest of her family and then listened to the screams of the ghosts when the nighthunters attacked. They have the power to shatter the world yet they still live by a creed to do no harm.” He paused. “And maybe that does make them different from the rest of us.”

“Are you saying that message didn’t frighten you?” Donovan asked.

“Which part? Mother’s tits, man. Do you understand what the Wild Hunt means? Do you understand what happened in that woods? My people did that. And it’s only because I met Ashk and saw the Fae in the west that I’ve come to realize my people are meant to do that. But it still frightens me. And it comforts me, that that can be awakened inside the Fae. Your people have suffered, too, and I’ll not deny that. But your kind wasn’t slaughtered first, and none of your counties—and all the people who lived in them—disappeared when the witches died. You still have the land, and your people have a chance to rebuild their lives. We may never regain the pieces of Tir Alainn that were lost, and no one can bring back the dead. So if it comes to a choice, I would rather face the House of Gaian than the Black Coats.”

He started to walk away when Liam placed a hand on his arm.

“You’re forgetting something, Bard,” Liam said. “I’m not just a baron. I’m also a Son of the House of Gaian. I’m still a stranger to myself, still learning to accept this part of me that awakened a few weeks ago. Yes, we’re frightened. Things that have been hidden, or barely glimpsed, are suddenly being revealed, and we can no longer pretend those things don’t exist. In some ways, we’ve all been children. We can’t be children anymore.”

Donovan scrubbed his hands over his face. “Well, if the two of you are done with these delightful bedtime stories, I’d like to take my wife back to our room and get some sleep.”

“Would you mind seeing Lyrra back to the house as well?” Aiden asked.

Liam gave him a curious look. “You’re not going back?”

Aiden shook his head. “My night vision is good, so I’ve agreed to take a watch tonight.” He smiled ruefully. “My other form is an owl.”

“You can’t go fluttering around in the dark,” Liam said. “You’ll get stepped on.” He shrugged. “You can perch on my shoulder.”