Tir Alainn - The House Of Gaian - Tir Alainn - The House of Gaian Part 7
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Tir Alainn - The House of Gaian Part 7

Falco smiled, but the smile faded quickly.

"What troubles you, Falco?" Breanna asked. "Do you miss your home?"

He shook his head. "It isn't a happy place. Hasn't been since..." He sighed.

"Dianna resents having to live at Brightwood to anchor the magic."

"Dianna?"

"Lucian's sister."

"I see," Breanna said. But she didn't see, didn't understand. "She's from that

Clan?"

Falco nodded. "There's something about her that allows her to anchor the

magic in the Old Place to keep the shining road open-as long as enough Fae stay in the Old Place with her.""So that Clan doesn't really need a witch."He made a frustrated sound. "She's the Lady of the Moon, Breanna. The Lady of the Moon. The Huntress. She wants to live in Tir Alainn. She doesn't want to be burdened with staying in the human world."

"But she's doing this for her family."

He studied her, an odd expression on his face. "If it were your family, and you had to give up something special in order for the rest to have it, you would do it, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Breanna said, puzzled. "They're family. I'm not saying it would be easy, or that there wouldn't be times when I would wish it could be otherwise, but, yes, I would do it."

"That's what makes you different from the Fae. One of the things, anyway."

"Falco-"

He shot to his feet, paced a few steps away from her, then returned to the bench. "I don't understand your ways." Frustration shimmered in his voice.

"If this was a Clan, I would know what was expected of me, but I don't understand your ways."

"What don't you understand?"

"I don't know if you expect me ... if your female kin expect me ..." He

slumped back down on the bench. "I don't like Jean. I don't want to bed Jean."

Breanna felt her jaw start to drop. "Whoever said you had to?"

"Since I'm visiting your ... family ... and you haven't said you want me for yourself, I'm obliged to... to ..."

He was on his feet again, pacing in front of her.

"It's not that your female kin aren't fine women-most of them-but I-"

"Don't want to bed them."

"Yes!"

"You want to bed me."

"Yes!"

"Why?"

He stopped pacing and looked at her as if she'd just asked him to count

every leaf on every tree in the Old Place.

"Because ... you're you."

Breanna blew out a breath. What was she supposed to say to that?

"Breanna?"

She patted the bench. "Sit down, Falco."

He sat. Perched was a better word, since he looked like he was going to

jump up again at any moment.

"When I was nineteen," Breanna said, "I visited my kin in the Mother's Hills during the celebration of the Summer Moon. A full moon, wine, lots of laughter and dancing. There was a young man there, older than me by a few years, who was staying with friends. We danced and talked and laughed...

and when he asked me to go walking with him, I went. It was romantic and exciting, and he was experienced enough with women that I didn't regret him being my first lover. But in the morning ... Well, he didn't seem quite so wonderful without the moonlight and the wine. I decided after that visit that

I needed to like a man in the daylight before I gave in to the lure of moonlight."

"I see," Falco said thoughtfully. "Do you like me?"

"Yes, I like you," Breanna replied. "I like you very much. But I don't know you well enough yet to invite you to my bed."

Falco nodded. "What about kisses?"

He was persistent. "Kisses?"

"Do you like kisses?"

"Well... I... Yes."

Something about the way his gaze focused on her mouth before he raised his

eyes to look into hers made her palms go suddenly damp. Watching her, he

leaned forward slowly.

Just before his lips touched hers, she felt a prickle along her neck. She pulled back, turned her head.

Liam was leaning against the washhouse doorway, watching her.

Clay had his arms over the back of a gelding. He had a grooming brush in one hand, but he wasn't making any pretense of grooming the horse.

Looking around to see what had distracted her, Falco cleared his throat and

eased back.

"Ah..." Breanna wasn't sure what to do. Go back in the house? Pretend

nothing happened? Pick up her quiver of arrows, march over to the washhouse, and smack Liam over the head with it?

Quiver. Arrows. The bow leaning against the bench where Falco had set it

after her confrontation with the Lightbringer.

'Target practice," she said, bouncing to her feet.

"What?" Falco blinked.

"You were supposed to help me with target practice." She brushed past him,

picked up the quiver and bow. "Come along.""You want target practice now?""The bales of hay are stacked as tall as I am," Breanna said patiently."So?" His puzzled expression turned to understanding. "Oh." He took the quiver from her and smiled.

As she and Falco started walking toward the kitchen garden and the bales of hay, Breanna glanced back at Liam. Which part of him would win the inner

struggle-brother or man? She suspected she already knew, but she hoped the man would struggle long enough for her to try a kiss or two before the brother joined her and Falco for target practice.

Chapter 4.

waning moon Standing in the doorway of the Clan house, Ashk hesitated, wanting some excuse to delay. But everything was ready; the huntsmen who were going with her had already gone up the shining road to Tir Alainn, and her companions were waiting for her.

She studied them as they talked quietly among themselves, all of them

carefully avoiding glances at the Clan house to allow her a private good-bye.

Aiden and Lyrra, the Bard and the Muse, were coming with her to record the events that would alter their world in one way or another and to use their gift of words to help her in whatever way they could. Sheridan, Bretonwood's Lord of the Hawks, was coming as one of her huntsmen-chosen from others because he was also Morphia's lover. As the Sleep Sister and Lady of Dreams, Morphia's ability to use sleep as a defensive weapon had proved useful when hunting down the nighthunters and when she had stopped two Inquisitors from hurting a family during the Black Coats' attack on Bretonwood, but there was no way to tell how effective that gift would be on a battlefield. Morphia was mainly coming with them in order to stay close to her sister, Morag.