he held a cat.
Good goddesses! She jolted with recognition. It was the Seer!
Beside her, her mother gave her a curious look. “What is this? Have you met your father before?”
Maeve’s thoughts raced. She wasn’t supposed to know the Seer. “I . . . I’m just surprised. He seems rather . . . old and feeble.”
“Ah.” Cahira nodded. “No doubt you’re wondering why I was attracted to him. But as I said, Burien is the last full-blooded male of our race. And he has a powerful gift.” Her eyes gleamed with pride. “He’s known around the world as the Seer.”
Maeve let her mouth drop open as she feigned surprise. Not hard to do since she was still in shock. “My father is the Seer?”
“Yes.” Cahira’s expression became even more smug. “What a thrill it must be for you to discover you have such powerful parents.”
Maeve nodded. “Yes.” Was this why her dreams were coming true? Had she inherited a bit of her father’s gift? But why had the gift waited almost twenty years before manifesting itself?
Cahira sighed. “Unfortunately, Burien is quite ill. I brought him here because I couldn’t bear the thought of him dying all alone on that isle of his.”
“You care about him.”
“Of course.” Her mouth twisted with an annoyed look. “But I wish he hadn’t brought along that silly cat.”
When the Seer finally reached the pier, the cat scrambled out of his hold and leaped to the ground. The Seer reached for him but was too slow. The cat, Trouble, darted off, dashing across the garden in an orange blur.
With a snort, Cahira muttered under her breath, “Another problem to deal with.”
Meanwhile, the Seer settled into the cushioned chair, and the servants grabbed the poles to heft it up to their shoulders.
Cahira rubbed her hands together as anticipation glinted in her sea-green eyes. “Burien will be so excited to meet you.”
But he’d already met her, Maeve thought. If the Seer truly knew everything, then he must have known that she was his daughter when she’d visited him on the Isle of Mist. Why had he been so rude to her, then? Was it because she had asked about the Embraced army? As the founding member of the Circle of Five, he must have been angered by her questions.
Good goddesses! Was he going to tattle on her? Would he tell Cahira that she had questioned him about the whereabouts of the Embraced army? This was terrible. Her mother would be more convinced than ever that she was a spy.
But did this even make sense? How could the Seer have started the Circle of Five? Wouldn’t he have foreseen the damage that the Circle would cause?
Could she even be sure that this was the Seer? If he was, then whom had Brody buried on the Isle of Mist under the cairn of stones? Feeling increasingly confused and tense, she tightened her fingers on the stone balustrade.
As the guards carried the Seer toward the castle, his hood turned from side to side. Maeve figured he was looking at the garden. Then his head stopped, and she could feel his gaze locked on her and her mother.
Suddenly, he pressed a hand to his chest. Then he doubled over, as if he were in great pain.
“Oh dear,” Cahira murmured. “I fear he will not live to see your wedding.”
Chapter 12
Damn, damn, damn! Brody remained hunched over. What the hell was Maeve doing here? By the goddesses, he ought to wring her neck! Hadn’t she agreed to remain on the Isle of Moon? After all his attempts to keep her safe, the stubborn girl had landed herself right in the middle of danger.
“Are you all right, sir?” one of the servants asked.
He shook his head. Thank the goddesses he was pretending to be the Seer. No one would question the hissing sound he made as he breathed through gritted teeth. No one would wonder why his fists were tightly gripping his staff. It would all be interpreted as an old man suffering from a sudden onslaught of pain.
The sad truth was it had been painful when he’d first spotted Maeve. The shock had hit him like a donkey kick to the chest, knocking all the air from his lungs. Luckily, his hood kept his face hidden so no one had seen his stunned expression.
How had she gotten here? She must have swum all the way with her seal friends. And now, she was at Cahira’s castle. Voluntarily or not, he didn’t know. The older