Read Online Caledonia Fae 05 - Elder Druid by India Drummond - Free Book Online Page B

damnation in the afterlife. But I didn’t tell my family my wife has three husbands, either. They wouldn’t understand.” He sighed. “Douglas is young, and it takes time to sort out the truth from the fictions our parents taught us. He cares a bit too much what other people think, or what he imagines they think. Do you even remember what it’s like to be twenty years old?”
    Tràth winced. “I barely remember what it’s like to be a hundred. Twenty…I look back at the boy I was, and he seems like someone else.” He set the glass of water on a nearby table and relaxed into the chair. “Why are you trying to help me? I’m sure Douglas would tell you it’s no concern of yours who he beds…or doesn’t.”
    “Your father is like a brother to me. Your step-mother is my wife. My daughter is your sister. Whether you like it or not, we’re family in a dozen strange ways. Not only that, your bonded druid is my friend. You’re the only temporal faerie known to exist, and therefore you’re important to every fae kingdom. Besides who you are to other people, I’d like to think you and I are friends. In those early days, you were one of the rare faeries who accepted me and the others, back when we were treated like talking farm animals. And I haven’t forgotten it was you who stepped in when Queen Konstanze threatened my life.”
    Tràth stared into space for a long time before saying, “I can’t let him go. Breaking the bond would drive me insane, if not kill me.”
    “I know,” Munro said. “He doesn’t want that, either. Just because he’s not ready to deal with his feelings doesn’t mean he doesn’t want the bond.”
    “That’s not what he said.”
    “Ignore his words. What did the bond tell you?” Munro asked. “I can often sense Eilidh’s true feelings, even when she tries to mask them.”
    “My bond with Douglas is a lie,” Tràth said. Under the weight of Munro’s stare, he reluctantly answered the question. “Over the time we’ve been together, I have, at times, sensed some discomfort in him. I feel a fool for misinterpreting it. I thought his reticence was a reflection of his youth and sexual inexperience. I never had an inkling that he resented the bond. He must have buried the thought deep.”
    “Perhaps,” Munro said, not sounding convinced. “What did you sense today?”
    “At first, affection, then desire. Despite his claim that the emotions were false, caused only by the bond, they seemed real to me.”
    “Then Aaron came in?”
    “Yes,” Tràth said, looking surprised. “I understand humans are private. Douglas used to be shy, but I thought he’d gotten over that.”
    “Aaron gives him shit about you. He doesn’t mean any harm. It’s just his way. He would give me shit about Eilidh if he dared. Fortunately for me, the others are still intimidated by the fact that I used to be a cop.” He paused. “What did the bond tell you when Aaron came in?”
    “Douglas revealed he was ashamed of me.” Tràth’s eyes looked haunted, as though he was reliving the moment. “He hated me.”
    “No—” Munro began, but Tràth cut him off.
    “I know what I sensed!” A flash of anger darted over Tràth’s face.
    “He’s ashamed of himself . Not you. He hates himself . Not you.”
    Tràth frowned, knitting his dark brows together as though working on a puzzle he couldn’t comprehend. “Why?”
    “He’s twenty years old and an idiot. He needs time. He needs to grow up. He might come around, or he may not ever want to be lovers.” Munro shrugged. “But you and I both know the bond is about a lot more than sex. I could give up sex with Eilidh, because our connection is deeper than that. Sex is superficial. Love is forever. That’s not going away.”
    “I miss him, and you’re right, it’s not about sex,” Tràth said and then sighed. “I can give him time.” A half-smile tilted a corner of his mouth. “I’m good with time.”
    “Meanwhile, stay busy. You can go