Aiden stilled the harp strings, then cradled the instrument in his arms. “Love is precious, no matter how long it lasts. We sing the songs, we tell the stories, we glory in those moments when love begins. We sing the songs and tell the stories of love lost, of love offered and refused, of love betrayed. I suspect you’re a man who feels deeply for the people he cares about, a man who wouldn’t make a commitment he didn’t intend to keep. You look at Breanna and see a woman who also has deep feelings, a woman who would honor her commitments in the same way you do. You look at Falco and remember stories about the Fae—and of love betrayed. You doubt his feelings because he’s Fae and because you’re afraid for Breanna’s sake. But Falco isn’t the brash Fae Lord he was a year ago, and Breanna is a strong woman, not a girl who would be swayed by a bit of romance. I see two people working toward a partnership rather than temporary lovers whose only interest in each other is what they find in bed.”

“I’ve only known her a few months,” Liam said softly. “It feels like I’ve known her all my life, that she’s always been a part of my life, but, in truth, I met Breanna at the beginning of this summer. Maybe I’m…jealous?”

“Maybe.”

He sighed. “Selena thinks I’m an ass.”

Aiden laughed. “Then maybe you should spend less time thinking about Breanna and Falco and more time giving Selena a chance to change her opinion of you.”

“Maybe.” Liam smiled reluctantly and rose. “I have a few things to do. I’m taking the early watch at Nuala’s grave so that I can get some sleep tonight.” He hesitated. “It’s rather extraordinary, the way the grave still glows with moonlight. It’s a beacon in the dark, but it also feels like a barrier against the dark things in the world.”

Aiden just looked at him for a long moment. “I suspect Selena is also someone capable of deep feelings for people, whether she’s known them for a long time or not.”

Adolfo walked back into the clearing, followed by eager Inquisitors and wary guards. Hearing footsteps, the witch made muffled, distressed noises, but he ignored her, his attention on the cage.

Alarm danced up his spine when he saw the broken cage bars—until he remembered the wood had snapped when he released the power. It wouldn’t do to have these creatures loose among his own men. It wouldn’t do at all.

Then he heard wood cracking, saw the blankets shift as limbs pushed through broken pieces of the cage.

“Quickly,” he snapped. “Put the meat in the cage. Push it through that broken section.”