If she'd said anything else, I might have retained my ability to react, but her words stunned me and I could do nothing more than gape as the young witch wound her way towards the exit. Fenn's hurt and anger flowed into me as he turned angry yellow eyes on me. His concerns over my fidelity already caused tension between us and the idea of a blue eyed child struck him hard. When he deposited his undrunk beer on the closest table and stalked towards the door, I suspected he wasn't just leaving The Hallowed Head, but me as well.
"You don't know she meant Conn," I breathed softly, hoping he had it in him to listen to me.
A harsh laugh escaped him, the sound bitter. "Who else could she possibly mean? The girl was clearly a seer, Darcy. What else could she have intended to reveal? I was right all along? You are going to choose him."
He called me Darcy. Not Wiðercorra, not Fríge or Freyja, but Darcy. The name he rarely used anymore. That stung. I knew he was injured, and rightfully so, but he was also making an assumption. Maybe the alternative was simply too horrific for him to contemplate as he stomped away, but I couldn't push it from my mind. It stayed there, mocking me and causing my heart rate to spike.
"Tiw wants to use me to give him an heir, Fenn. You know he does..." The words barely made it past the lump of fear in my throat. Fear that had risen up as soon as the witch muttered 'who will?' "He has blue eyes too."
Fenn froze as my suggestion sank in. The rumbling growl that vibrated from him was low, dangerous, and when he finally turned back towards me, his anger had grown more intense. It had diverted too, to be directed at the god who'd controlled the course of his life, and who wanted to control my future.
"No." Fenn's denial was determined, an outright refusal to accept that I would become Tiw's possession, to be used as he saw fit. "I won't allow it."
Having made that declaration, he stormed out of The Hallowed Head, leaving me with no option but to follow.
When I stepped outside, I was disheartened to discover it had started to rain. Actually, 'rain' was an understatement. It was pouring, as if the weather had come out in sympathy with my grim mood. I was soaked long before we reached the Hi-Lux. Part of me thought that was fortunate; the rain hid the tears which I couldn't help crying as I followed Fenn back to the vehicle.
The downpour allowed me to cry while he was unaware of it and I suspected that was better for both of us. If he saw, he'd feel guilty for his anger or he'd try to offer comfort, but I didn't want to get drawn into a discussion about Tiw. I didn't want to think about the witch's prediction at all. However, as Fenn turned the vehicle towards Milbank, I suspected a discussion was unavoidable.
"Where are we going, Fenn?"
"You know where." His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel.
He was right. I did know, but the 'where' wasn't really what concerned me most. "Yes, but why?"
"We need a plan to protect you."
At his unequivocal tone, a chuckle bubbled up. Perhaps it was nervousness that made me laugh, but with the way Fenn was glaring ahead, golden eyed and scowling, I suspected he'd lock me away if he thought it would keep me out of Tiw's hands.
"No, you need to tell me what Ronen said and we need to find Will. We don't need to be side-tracked."
He didn't seem to hear, although it was more likely he was ignoring me. His mind focussed on my safety rather than on accomplishing what we'd set out to achieve; he'd put finding Will on a back-burner. We didn't have time for that. I needed Will back, and I could only hope that Conn would have more sense. I laughed again, the first strand of hysteria pulling the giggle from me.
