“Every now and then. High sidhe, usually, from both sides. They’d be terribly disappointed if they ever did manage to break in. High sidhe nobles find it hard to believe that a so-called lesser fae could become a mage purely from years of study, so they assume I must have some external source of power. Half of them seem to think I’ve got some fabulous treasure hidden under my robes.”
“If only they knew,” Cathy said under her breath, her gaze flicking briefly below the level of his collarbones. She coughed, her cheeks going a bit pink. “I mean, uh, you’re able to use magic to keep them out?”
“The odd warband or raiding party, yes. If the Winter King or Summer Council ever decided to send in a prince or two, then I’d be in more serious trouble. Thankfully, the seelie and unseelie are usually too busy fighting each other to care about anyone else.”
Cathy gazed around at the tranquil rays of sunlight shafting through the trees. The woods were alive with birdsong, flocks of starlings and finches settling down for the night. Above them, a mock-phoenix shook out its long, sparkling tail, sending up a brief shower of orange sparks.
Cathy let out a breath, some of the tension leaving her face. “It’s so peaceful here.”
“Peaceful?” Aodhan raised an eyebrow at her, pointedly casting a glance upward at the raucous avian chorus. “Not the word I would have chosen.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Alive, then. Compared to the forests around Maeve’s court, I mean. The woods there were so still and silent. Like all the creatures were afraid.”
“That was unseelie territory. Any creature that lives near their courts quickly learns to stay hidden.”
Cathy gestured at the mock-phoenix, standing out like a burning torch in the gathering dusk. “But not in your lands.”
“They aren’t mine. The land belongs to itself, no matter what fools may try to claim otherwise. I just live here.”
“Alone?”
“That being the entire point of living in a remote, isolated valley warded by powerful magic, yes.”
She cast him a sidelong look, her expression thoughtful. “Do you ever get lonely?”
He opened his mouth to say no, of course not… and, somewhat to his surprise, found the words stuck on his tongue. If he was being totally honest, sometimes—when he’d read a particularly interesting book, or finally pieced together a lost spell—it would have been nice to have someone with whom he could share his thoughts.
But isolation meant freedom. And freedom was worth any price.
“I have my books,” he said instead. “Wait a moment. I need to check to make sure it’s safe to proceed.”
They’d reached the edge of the wide clearing where his tree grew—though of course, it wasn’t there at the moment. He knew better than to leave his front door unlocked when he went out.
Aodhan crouched down, placing his fingertips on the warm, grassy earth. His mind quested out, running along the intricate layers of warding spells that covered the clearing. To his relief, there were no signs of any disturbances. Nothing lurked in the shadows or sky, waiting for him to drop his guard.
“All clear,” he said, rising again. “We can go in.”
“Um.” Cathy looked around the apparently empty clearing with understandable confusion. “In where?”
He was grandstanding, he knew. It was mostly out of habit. He didn’t often let anyone approach his library—let alone go inside—but on the rare occasions when he did, he liked to make a point of the dramatic reveal.
Look what I can do, the impressive piece of spellwork told people. Imagine what I could do to you.
But for once, he didn’t want to inspire fear. Instead of snapping his fingers to bring the tree out of concealment all at once, like he usually did, he stretched out a hand. He drew back the enchantment slowly, gently, watching Cathy’s face the whole time.
Her reaction was all he’d secretly hoped. As his tree shimmered into view, her mouth dropped open. Fading sparkles of magic reflected in her wide eyes.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Oh.”
Aodhan touched the nearest root, which rose taller than a man before plunging into the earth. Up ahead, a door set into the vast trunk swung open. Golden light spilled out, highlighting Cathy’s awed expression.
“Come in,” Aodhan said, leading the way. And then, for the first time in his life, he added, “Welcome to my home.”