Austin smiles. "A castle. Or at least one of the buildings surrounding it. This is all that's left."

"You never saw the original?"

"I'm not that old."

"How old are you?" I might not want to know.

"Eighteen."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I. As a G.o.d, age was meaningless. Time means little when you have eternity. Now, I find it matters more." Austin slides off of Samson and lets him wander to the clearing of gra.s.s. "Come on."

I dismount, but stay back. "I've been here before."

"Have you?" Austin smiles.

"A few days ago. And when I first came to Lorcan." "And?"

I walk forward. "It's really old, isn't it?" I walk up to the wall, deliberately going to the opposite side from where the crude carvings are located. I run my hands along the smooth stones, trying to imagine the walls as part of something larger. "What was it like? To be a G.o.d on earth?"

"I hardly know."

I turn to face him. "But the G.o.ds were here. Before the Milesians sent them away?"

"I was the G.o.d of the underworld. I didn't rule topside."

"So your life didn't change when the G.o.ds were banished?"

He grins. "It changed. I went from monitoring the pa.s.sage of souls from one realm to another, which, to be honest, requires very little, to ruling all the G.o.ds, which requires a bit more."

I hadn't thought of that. Austin ruled the underworld and controlled the gateway. The G.o.ds who were banished found themselves under Austin's jurisdiction. "So your situation improved?"

He laughs. "Hardly. The G.o.ds are a fickle bunch. And as the sole G.o.d who could pa.s.s through the gateway, I was under a fair bit of pressure to right things up here."

No wonder Austin wanted to free the G.o.ds. He wanted to free himself.

"What was Liam's role? Before?"

"Pain in my a.r.s.e."

I laugh. When I turn around, Austin is closer than I expect. I nearly b.u.mp into him.

Austin's face turns serious. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I surprise myself with my answer. "I think I might be."

"Good. Have you tried your powers today?"

"No." But I had been able to see time stop with Portia. I wonder if that was her or me. Or both. "There was a flash of magic at the Pub. Like when Blake claimed me at your party, only with Portia."

"Portia claimed the right to kill you?"

"I think so. She called me a witch."

Austin's brow furrows in that way that makes him look so human. So something.

Before I can think about what I'm doing, I reach for the lock of brown hair that always hangs over one eye and push it away. The gold flecks in Austin's eyes reflect a beam of sunlight that stretches between the trees to grace him with its warmth.

I don't move my hand away. My thumb traces the lines above the bridge of his nose, smoothing them out.

"What are you doing?" Austin's voice is a whisper.

"Thinking about asking you to kiss me."

Austin sucks in a breath. "By all means, don't let me stop you."

I let my finger trail down his nose to his lips. I hold it there. "This is probably not a good idea."

"No second thoughts." I feel the vibration of his words against my fingertip, the warm blast of air that pa.s.ses through his lips. I inhale, as if I could breathe him in through the pad of my finger.

He lowers his head until his lips are a breath away from mine. "Ask me," he whispers. "Please."

"No," I say.

I close the tiny distance between us and kiss him myself.

His lips are as soft as the kiss, sweet and searching. I feel more than hear him gasp, his mouth parting just enough for my tongue to sneak through and taste him. My fingers tangle in the mop of hair at the back of his neck. His hands are at my waist, moving in light circles along my side.

At the same moment, we open our mouths and take the kiss deeper, now on more equal footing. He tastes like warm cinnamon with a hint of smoke, dangerous and comforting at the same time.

I pull back from the kiss before I'm tempted to take things further. I keep my hands around his neck and rest my forehead on his shoulder.

Austin presses his lips to the top of my head.

I turn my head to see the horses have wandered to a patch of gra.s.s a ways away. "We should go get them before they go back to the barn without us."

Austin brings his hands to my shoulders and rubs them lightly. "You are far too sensible for someone who has just been kissed."

I smile into his shirt. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"Technically, you're the one who has just been kissed."

He laughs into my hair. "Well that explains why my thoughts are anything but sensible."

I laugh with him. It's the lightest I've felt in forever.

Looking back at the ruin, I can almost imagine that it is another time. I wish I could freeze this moment, so that nothing came before and nothing will come after. So that we could live inside of one perfect kiss.

For the first time in a long while, my own emotions feel like enough.

TWENTY-FIVE.

Austin offers to go with me into town to find Braden Finley. Insists. I don't argue. At least he can still access his power, however difficult. I could use the back up. If Braden is what Austin says, then I need to be cautious.

I try to reconcile Austin's description of the fuath with the Braden I knew at R.D. High. Haley and I saw him every day just before lunch. He never failed to flirt with Haley, but that wasn't anything unusual. Lots of guys did. I never saw him do anything mean or strange or magic.

I even liked him a little when he asked me to lunch on the day I showed up to school without my bracelet on.

c.r.a.p.

Could Braden have seen what I was? Does he know I'm a bandia? I was stupid to think that the Sons were the only ones I needed to hide from. Even now, I know so little about my history. Of what any of this really means.

Austin hesitates at the entrance to the pub I visited with Joe last night. "A fuath will stir up trouble just to watch people twist on the wind. They feed on emotions. He'll start by trying to open old wounds because it takes the least effort. If that fails, he won't hesitate to inflict new ones."

"Charming." I have plenty of fresh wounds, so I doubt that Braden will have to work too hard.

Then I remember. The day Braden saw me at school, he had deliberately ignored Haley after a whole year of flirting with her alone, to pay attention to me. Haley had been furious. It had led to our worst fight ever. Did Braden do that on purpose?

I spot Braden right away. He sits at the same table, with the same group of boys. Greenpeace II sits up in his chair when he sees Austin walk in behind me. He leans forward and whispers something in Braden's ear.

Braden smiles at me through clenched teeth. "You should've called."

Interesting. He doesn't sound happy to see me. Or is he trying to make me feel like I'm intruding so I'll be irritated?

Strike one for Braden. I could care less. I know I'm intruding, and it's quite deliberate. "You know Austin, right?"

Braden crinkles his nose, before he turns to Austin. "h.e.l.lo."

Austin flashes his trademark crooked smile. "h.e.l.lo, fuath."

Braden's eyebrows shoot up and his jaw drops. "Excuse me?" But it's too late. His face has given him away. "Listen. I'm meeting some people here. Maybe we can hang out some other time?"

Austin gestures for Braden to follow us. "Join us. We have much to discuss."

Braden stands, but looks toward the door. "This really isn't a good time."

"Nonsense." Austin's eyes darken.

Braden stares at Austin's eyes, and follows us to an empty table.

"You're no one now," he says under his breath. "Liam will enslave you and I will enjoy watching you suffer." "Have the fuath sunk so low that they're reduced to sniffing around pain inflicted by others?" Austin shakes his head. "Sad."

Braden seethes in his chair, grinding his teeth and cursing under his breath. He glances at me and his face changes as he flashes me that easy smile. "It's so crazy to run in to you like this. Twice now. I think fate is trying to tell us something." He leans close enough that I catch a whiff of musky cologne that settles in my throat and threatens to gag me.

I flash him what I hope pa.s.ses for a flirtatious smile. "I know, right?"

Braden flashes Austin a smug sneer.

I lean into Braden's chest. "I don't know if you've heard, but I broke up with my boyfriend recently."

Braden's sneer gets wider. "And I am momentarily single."

"Perfect timing." I giggle into his shoulder.

Austin raises both eyebrows. I think I hear him stifle a laugh.

I bat my eyelashes up at Braden. "Are you really going to fight him for me?"

Austin raises his hand to his mouth. He's definitely laughing.

Braden pulls his arm from around me. "Fight who?"

"My ex. I thought that's why you were here."

His gaze drifts to my wrist, watching the charms that dangle from my bracelet. "I'm not here to fight your boyfriend for you. I barely know you."

I wonder if Braden can feed off of his own dark emotions, because he seems to have a lot of them.

"Not just him. All the Sons." I punch him lightly in the arm.

Braden looks at me with new consideration. "Why don't you just do it yourself, bandia?"

"It's kind of complicated. I mean, he was my first love, so a part of me will always love him." I wonder if it's true. I hope not. It would be so much easier to hate him.

Austin isn't laughing now.

"Besides, we're outnumbered. Hasn't Liam told you anything?" I bat my eyelashes again. I am a one trick pony when it comes to playing dumb.

Braden sighs. "I don't know what our role will be yet. Liam hasn't told us anything other than the date of the Gathering."

I try to contain my excitement, but a small gasp escapes my lips before I can stop it. Liam has set a date. How do I pry this out of Braden?

"So you know we don't have much time," I say.

"Six weeks is plenty of time for what I have in mind." Braden picks up a curl of my hair and wraps it around his finger.

I bite my lower lip. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Braden pulls on the strand of hair. Hard.

"Ow!"

Austin lunges across the table. He clamps a hand around Braden's throat. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now, fuath."

Braden coughs, gasping for air.