Heir of the Dog (Black Dog Book 2) by Hailey Edwards

Author:Hailey Edwards [Edwards, Hailey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Wife? Clearly I wasn’t the only one who had sniffed the toadstools.

“She looks surprised to hear you call her that,” the Huntsman observed.

The consuls exchanged wary glances.

Liosliath narrowed his eyes. “What proof do you offer of the validity of this union?”

“Thierry has warmed her hands at my hearth, eaten at my table.” A pinkish flush crept up Raven’s throat. “She has disrobed in my chambers and even now she wears the colors and cuts of my house.”

His freaking wife. That was the point of the meal and the clothes and the kindness. Why? What use was I to him or anyone else beyond this point? I had accepted their offer. I was dog chow. Why tighten the noose around my neck?

“We aren’t married.” Barely suppressed rage trembled through the words.

“She is a Christian. She adopted her mother’s faith,” Raven explained away my outburst while cutting a shiver-inducing glare my way. “She desires a formal ceremony conducted by her priest before publically acknowledging our union.”

“Given her limited knowledge of this realm,” the Huntsman murmured, “Rook’s familiarity with Faerie would make for a more interesting hunt. I vote yea.”

Beware the Rook. The warning clanged in my mind.

“Rook?” I whirled toward Raven. “No. You’re Raven, the Morrigan’s son.”

Daibhidh almost laughed himself off the wall. “Raven is in his rooms upstairs, as any sensible noble would be during these unsettled times. I can introduce you if you like, but you’ll meet soon enough.”

“He didn’t mean the chess piece,” I whispered to myself. “A rook…is a bird.”

“Rooks are corvids, dear girl, as are all those of the Morrigan’s line.” Daibhidh wiped a tear from his cheek. “Rook, you are a credit to your family. I was right to trust you with luring Macsen’s pup here, but marrying her? You have outdone yourself.”

“I am not his wife.” The tips of my ears burned. “I didn’t consent to any union.”

And yet, as I mentally retraced my footsteps through Faerie, I saw each moment leading up to when I stepped neatly into his snare.

I was an idiot.

And Raven—no, Rook—was soon to be a widower.

“Be that as it may,” Liosliath stated. “I grant Rook’s request for guardianship.”

“Now that we have that settled.” Daibhidh clapped his hands. “Let the hunt begin.”

Liosliath inclined his head toward me. “May the best hound win.”

A whiff of wet dog told me the Huntsman had shifted closer. “It will be quick, child. I vow that. Go now. Run.” He toyed with a leather thong around his neck. Attached was a horn carved from a curving antler. His eyes shone bright in the darkness. He wet his lips then forced his hand to his side. “The hounds are coming.”

Shock rooted my feet to the floor. “The hunt starts now?”

So much for the Huntsman’s vow of protection.

Rook took my hand and yanked me stumbling out of the circle. “Run.”

“Are you insane?” I struggled against him. “You’re going to get me killed.”

“As far as they’re concerned, you’re already dead.” He jerked me so hard my shoulder popped. “This is your only chance.

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