Free Beyond the Pale: A Thin Veil Novella (The Thin Veil Book 3) by Jodi McIsaac Page A

Hall is not a safe place anymore. This unfortunate war will soon come to an end, my dear.”
    “I find it hard to believe that you brought me here just to keep me safe.”
    “Not just to keep you safe, no.”
    “Then what? Are you going to kill me?”
    He looked at her, amused. “That would defeat the purpose of keeping you safe, now wouldn’t it? No, as I said in my letter, which you so unceremoniously cast aside, I merely wish to speed things up and put an end to all this in-fighting. I would have brought you here before, of course, but your security was heightened rather significantly, I must say. Which is why I needed your brother. It took him awhile to come around, but I’ve learned that most people can be…persuaded, if you know what’s important to them.”
    “So you’re using me to get to Brogan,” she said.
    “You always were a smart girl.” Lorcan started to pace around the small room. Several small doors lined the walls. She wondered where they went, and if she might be able to escape through one of them. “He’s quite safe at the moment,” Lorcan continued. “I have given explicit orders that he is not to be killed. I need him alive to open the sidhe, you understand. If he refuses, I’ll have no choice but to kill him, then I can open the sidhe. I’ll kill him eventually, anyway—it will be much more convenient to be able to open the sidhe whenever I want than to force him to do it each time I need to travel. But he is still quite beloved, oddly enough, so I need to solidify my position as king first.” He stopped pacing and gave her a sharp look, as though just remembering she was there. “However, he has proven more elusive than I had anticipated. A slippery eel, your husband, though of course, you already knew that. Anyway, I grow weary of this game of hide and seek. So I’ve decided to speed things up. He’s welcome to make a trade—himself for his wife and child.”
    “He won’t do it—he won’t let you massacre innocent people just to save my life,” Kier seethed.
    “Hmm, he might. He’s so noble, after all. But let’s say you’re right, and he cares even less about you than we already thought. No matter. You have provided me with a back-up plan.”
    “And what is that?”
    “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already. You told me yourself that the child you carry is Brogan’s. Which means the chances are very strong your child will also have the ability to open the sidhe. Tell me, you haven’t named her yet, have you?”
    “You…monster,” she said, backing away until she hit a wall. “You swore I wouldn’t be harmed!”
    “But I didn’t say anything about the little princess inside you,” he said. “We should be able to extract the child with no lasting damage to you. In fact…” He stared at her shrewdly. “I believe I may have had things backward. Brogan should be my back-up plan, not the child. If it turns out the infant does not have her father’s gift, then I’m quite certain he will still exchange his life for yours.”
    “Lorcan, listen to yourself! This isn’t you!” Kier screamed.
    “Oh, it is me,” he said. “It’s what I should have been all along, if I’d had the nerve to use my gift to its full potential.”
    “I don’t believe that,” she said, shaking her head. “The man I loved was gentle and kind; he would never have killed an innocent child.”
    “I wasn’t gentle; I was afraid ,” he spat. “Did you think I would cherish the child you had with another lover? Her death will give our people a new future. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good, Kier!”
    “You’ve gone insane,” she said. “Please, if you ever loved me at all, don’t do this!” Her mind was reeling, and inside the baby was thrashing so much Kier could barely draw breath. She could feel the weight of her starstone around her neck, but she dared not use it to contact Brogan, lest Lorcan see where he was. If Brogan knew she was in danger,