Kieran -
The brandy burned going down, but not nearly enough to silence the voice in my head that kept cataloguing my failures. I sat in my study, the same room where I'd held Catherine's stolen rose like a talisman, and tried to convince myself that I'd done what was necessary.
She's safe, I told myself. Protected. The cell will keep her contained until the full moon passes.
But safety felt like a thin justification when I could still smell her fear clinging to the air hours after she'd been escorted below. Could still see the way her spine had straightened when she realized the beautiful chambers had been a lie. Could still hear the careful politeness in her voice as she'd thanked me for hospitality I had no intention of providing.
Coward, my conscience whispered. You couldn't even t
