The Sun Sídhe

3 - An Annoying Smile

By the time the low walls of the farm came into view, I was beginning to regret surviving. Pain screamed through my leg, and I could feel warm trails of blood seeping from beneath Ronan's coat. Although he was carrying me, some had collected in my boot. I could feel the warmth of it against my toes, which meant that I'd have to wash my boots out later. We didn't have the money for new shoes.

Conor, it seemed, had remembered to release the cattle from their pen for the day—the stupid beasts were scattered about as they grazed, their dark coats gleaming when the sun struck them. I narrowed my eyes, scanning the fields around the farm. It was close to the cliffs overlooking the ocean: if I focused, I could hear the distant crash of waves against rock.

"Sun and moon," I growled, annoyance spiking through me. "Where is Conor?"

"Perhaps in the house," Ronan offered. "Sheila did send that girl to call for us. Maybe he's watching her. By the way—"

"Mam might be sick, but she's more than capable of taking care of some lass. Conor should be watching the cattle! Does he think I go out with them every day to sleep in the grass?" I thrust my finger at the beasts, forcing Ronan to redouble his grip on me. "They need supervision, damn it!"

"Maeve."

"People have come around to steal them before!"

"Maeve—"

"Or they could jump off the cliffs! I wouldn't put it past them. And what about wild animals? Or thieves—"

"Maeve!" Ronan hefted me further up, jarring me into silence. "Please stop writhing. Also, we have a wild animal with us." He nodded at the wolf, who was trotting beside his feet. The animal tilted his head, ears tilting side to side, before racing a few paces ahead to roll in the long grass.

I paused. Right. The dog. Craning my neck over Ronan's arm, I met the wolf's sharp, golden eyes. "If you so much as look at the cattle, I'll burn you alive. Got it? And don't touch anything else, either."

He froze while lying on his side, all four paws stretched haphazardly before him. His tail flicked across the dirt. Slowly, he dipped his head.

Ronan blinked. "Did the wolf nod?"

"Do you really think that's a mere wolf?" I snorted at the bewilderment in Ronan's face as he looked between the animal and myself.

"No, not really," he finally sighed. He shook his head and headed towards the house, which stood some distance from the cattle pen. It wasn't far enough to escape the smell, though. I wrinkled my nose as Ronan continued. "Is he one of the fair folk, like you? I did read that some have animal forms, but..."

"No, he's just a wolf that happens to have golden eyes. Have you grown stupider? I thought you liked reading about the sídhe."

"Actually, 'the aes sídhe' is the proper way to refer to—" Ronan cut himself off as I shot him a glare. "Right. Shutting up." He glanced back at my leg and frowned. "Maeve, I asked you to keep pressure. You're bleeding everywhere."

"I'm keeping pressure."

"No, you're not." Ronan walked up to the door of the house and kicked it open with one boot.

"I am." I leaned over his shoulder, making an effort to catch the black wolf's eyes. He was sitting a few paces from the entrance, his lithe form silhouetted against the sky. I jabbed one finger at the dirt. "Stay there and wait."

The wolf nodded again before returning to his frollicking. It wasn't a proper promise—if it had been, I would've felt the bind of it between us—but it would have to do for the moment. My leg had gone back to throbbing.