until the trees fell behind them and they walked over massive, moss-covered rock. Hills that stretched for miles surrounded them. The stream of rushing water disappeared into the hills beyond and fell in a shallow waterfall into a pool separated by an arm of rock. The pool with the waterfall was large, the other small and enclosed.
The water was a startling Mediterranean turquoise.
Magic tingled in the air.
The faerie pools.
“I loved Aoibhinn,” Fionn said, lifting his voice to be heard over the waterfall. “She was fierce and protective of our children. She wanted to able to protect them if I was ever gone so I trained her to fight, with her fists and with a sword. But … not long after our marriage, a fae stole into the village and took Aoibhinn’s mother. The fae used magic to fend us off. A powerful, powerful fae. We failed to protect her, and she was found a day later in the woods, naked and mutilated.”
Rose covered her mouth, aghast at what her imagination conjured.
“Aoibhinn hated the fae, but that day something twisted inside her. I vowed to find the fae and kill him. And I did.” He looked down at her. “I used An Breitheamh.”
She pieced together what he wasn’t saying. “He was the fae prince you killed.”
Fionn nodded.
“You killed him for Aoibhinn and in turn started a war with Aine. Everything you did was for Aoibhinn, and she betrayed you for it.”
“Her hate for the fae was stronger than her love for me.”
“No,” Rose said, her voice gentle, free of accusation. “Her thirst for vengeance was greater than her love for you.”
She watched him process this, his nostrils flaring as their gazes held.
Satisfied she’d made her point, Rose took a step toward the faerie pools. “What exactly are these pools capable of?”
It took him a moment but Fionn eventually joined her on the edge of the rocks. “For us? They’re warm and relaxing. Like a natural spa. The water can wash away the trace.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it washes away all spells.”
“Wow.” She stared down into the water. “What’s it like for humans and other supernaturals?”
“Cold.” He smirked. “Uninviting. But it does wash away spells for them too.” Fionn frowned. “I found An Breitheamh buried at the bottom of the largest pool. It was inside the silver box, with a parchment note from the Faerie Queen herself.”
“Instructing that you needed to kill a fae-borne with the dagger to enter Faerie?” Rose guessed, hurting at the thought. “Knowing it wouldn’t be easy for you.”
She understood now, more than ever.
Fionn Mór was a betrayed husband, a grieving father, and a displaced king.
“Aye,” Fionn answered quietly, so quietly she barely heard him over the falling water. “That dagger is the only thing that’s come out of those pools with its spell still gripped tight to it.”
More silence fell between them, the water rushing into the pool a soothing, peaceful sound at odds with the turmoil writhing inside her.
“I forgive you,” Rose announced.
He stared down at her, arrested.
She nodded, a small, sad smile on her lips. “I forgive you for trying to use me to open the gate.”
“Rose …”
“And I get that you’re on a mission that I might not be able to stop. But you have to promise me that you won’t take me somewhere against my will again. Twice you’ve knocked me out. Promise me … never again.”
He nodded, turning toward her. Her breath caught as Fionn lifted one large hand toward her, his fingers tickling her cheekbone before he tucked her hair behind her ear. As he lowered his hand, his fingertips caressed her neck. Rose fought a shiver and Fionn lowered his arm back by his side. “I can promise that, Rose. However”—his expression hardened—“I can’t promise to be something that I’m not. I made a vow long ago that I intend to keep. I’m sorrier than I can say that the vow conflicts with how I feel about you … But I’m from a different time, mo chroí. I’ve lived too long. I will always have one foot on the wrong side of morality. I will never be the man who follows the rules or always does what’s right.”
Rose stepped closer to him, feeling the conflict emanating from his very being. She wished he could see that what they could be was worth giving up the vow he’d made centuries before. If he couldn’t see it now, then Rose was determined to make him.