Faith is Fallen (Broken Fantasies Series)

Chapter 12

Niall spent the evening that his lord and lady were married wondering about the mysterious intruder. Who was he? What did he want? And why did Lady Cara's face look as if she'd been crying when they finally came downstairs again?

The last part made him want to punch something. Instead, he took another swig of ale, slamming the mug on the table.

A mystery surrounded Lady Cara, anyone could see that. It was just easy to forget when one thought of all the pain she'd been through recently. How could so much hurt come to such a good, kind woman?

Still, he thought, rubbing his chin, he couldn't help wondering what made her so... different.

#

"That was..." Conall said breathlessly. "Bloody hell."

Cara laughed. "What? Did you expect some timid virgin?"

"Well... I... God in Heaven..."

"It's not my religion, but isn't it a sin to take your God's name in vain?"

He glared at her. "Where did you learn all that?"

Cara leaned toward him, only a breath away. "I've been alive for hundreds of years, Conall. Even the most selective person is going to pick up a thing or two in that type of time."

"Hundreds of years?" he said, surprise coloring his voice. "I didn't..."

"You didn't realize that I would live that long?"

"Well, I mean you said... millennia, but I guess I just didn't register it. You'll outlive me."

"Yes."

"You'll have to watch me grow old and die."

"Yes," she said in the barest of whispers.

"And yet you still married me."

"Yes," she said, not even a breath of a sound leaking from her lips that time.

"Does it mean so little to you? This union?"

"No!" She jumped forward, holding his face between her hands, caressing his cheek. "No, Conall. I went into this knowing I would eventually lose you. That much is true. But loss is a basic part of life, even for my people. Sometime more so for the Fae." She sat back, momentarily forgetting her nudity. "The Fae are sometimes a little too fickle for my tastes. I think when things can last as long as they do, they lose some of their meaning."

"So... this means more to you because it won't last."

"Yeah, I think so." A wicked little grin stretched her face. "Besides, I have a wicked younger brother who wants me dead." She shrugged. "Maybe you'll outlive me."

"Don't say that, Cara."

She leaned in again. "The point is nothing is permanent. Anything can change. Even things that are seemingly eternal.

#

Roderick rushed to the Seelie Gate, running through it at a dead run. At that speed, the mild tension of the gate amplified, and he fell to the ground as it released. "That was stupid."

He pulled himself up off the ground, dusted himself off, and took off at top speed again for the Throne Room. Impatience getting the better of him, he ripped off the glamor charm he'd had on his wrist, and flapped his wings, taking off in flight. He could fly twice as fast as he could run. His large, black wings caught the light and wing, pushing him into the sky with ease.