Beyond the Pale: A Thin Veil Novella (The Thin Veil Book 3) by Jodi McIsaac Read Free Book Online

But I never wish it to be said that I ruled unjustly.”
    Kier let out a loud breath. “You’re right, of course. But I have the feeling that there is more we should be doing. Can’t you at least bring him in for questioning? I could talk to him. Perhaps I might still be able to persuade him to stop this recklessness.”
    “If he is half as dangerous as you insist, I would be a fool to let him near you.”
    “He loves me. He would never hurt me,” she said. But in the back of her mind she could hear Lorcan’s words to her. A war is coming, and I cannot guarantee your protection if you choose the wrong side .
    “Does a heart so full of hate really have room for love?” Brogan asked quietly. Then he looked away. “I wasn’t going to tell you this, because I didn’t want to make you afraid. I would bring him in for questioning, but…we don’t know where he is.”
    “What?”
    “He has slipped from our grasp. Brion had some of his warriors monitoring Lorcan’s movements. But he seems to have disappeared.”
    “How is that possible?”
    “I don’t know for certain. But…there was a child who drowned about a week ago. It seemed to be an accident…”
    Kier felt a wave of nausea sweep through her. “I…I heard about that. Eithne’s daughter. She had…” She felt too sick to say anything more.
    “…the gift of invisibility,” Brogan finished for her. “She only manifested her ability a few moons ago.”
    “That’s…it cannot be,” Kier protested weakly. “He would never kill a child.”
    “He is not the man you thought he was,” Brogan said gently.
    Kier didn’t answer. She knew it was true. But had Lorcan really become such a monster? And was she to blame? Had she driven him this far into madness? She thought of the nights she had spent with him, and her skin crawled. Suddenly, the room felt too crowded even though she and Brogan were the only ones in it. She felt dizzy and weak, but instead of sitting down, she ran from the room and out of the Hall, into the fresh air. She kept running, not knowing where she was going, letting fire stream behind her like a comet burning across the night sky. She knew her guards would follow her, but she hoped for their sakes they’d have enough sense to keep their distance.
    She stopped running when she reached the dead tree she had passed with Riona earlier that day. The flames around her extinguished as she sank between two large roots that had broken free of the ground and were extended from the trunk like grasping hands. Resting her head against the bark, she looked up into the sky, as though it might hold answers for her. Several minutes later, there were still only questions.
    “My lady?”
    One of her guards had approached, and was watching her nervously.
    “What is it?”
    “Connor is here; he said he was asked to look at this tree.”
    “Oh, of course,” Kier said, getting to her feet. “Let him.” She would be grateful to think of something else for a while, even something as foreboding as this.
    “Greetings, Connor,” she said, trying to appear as though she had been waiting for him.
    “My queen,” he said with a slight bow. Connor was a slim man, with fine silver hair that fell to his shoulders and matching silver eyes. She had never spoken to him much; he was incredibly shy, and preferred the company of plants and animals to that of people.
    “Did Riona tell you of our concern?” she asked.
    “Yes,” he answered in his soft, hesitant voice. “And I, too, have observed many of these unnatural deaths. There is something…” he waved a hand helplessly in the air “…afflicting the land. I can feel its life force ebbing away.”
    “Can you tell what it is?” she asked. “A disease of some sort?”
    “I shall ask,” he said, placing a hand on the trunk of the tree and closing his eyes.
    She waited for him to speak, but he was silent for a long time, and she wondered how his strange ability worked. After a while, he started