Mists of Velvet

murmured.
    Closing his eyes, he tried to think of a way to ease Keir’s pain.
    “Go,” she encouraged. “I will be here when you get back.”
    “I won’t be long.”
    She kissed him and smoothed her hands through his hair. “Have patience with him. The loss of one’s Anam Cara takes more than a fortnight to heal.”
    Nodding, he left their room in Bran’s castle, and made his way down the hall. Once he got to Keir’s room, Rhys’ nostrils began to burn as the acrid stench of smoke wafted up through the door. Keir had been going heavy on the incense. He was performing divinations day and night, trying to connect with Rowan. Rhys had felt his frustration and anger at his lack of success.
    Rhys rapped his knuckles against the wood.
    “I’m crashed,” spoke the deep voice from inside.
    “It’s me.”
    “Yeah, I know. And I’m still crashed. Save it for the morning.”
    Rhys ignored the biting sarcasm and turned the handle, opening the door to a cloud of smoke. Keir was sitting on the bed, naked, propped up against the headboard with one knee bent. Beside him, the sheet partially revealed a woman with a bright red mop of hair. Rhys knew that hair. It was Abby, the waitress from his club.
    He glanced from the sleeping woman back to Keir, who was shoving the butt of his smoke into an ashtray.
    “How did she get here?”
    “Sayer enchanted her. She won’t remember anything.”
    “She’s a complication we don’t need right now.”
    Keir wiped his hands along his face. “I needed a fix.”
    “You don’t even like her.”
    Keir’s gaze pierced him. “But she likes me, and we all need that sometimes, you know, to be wanted? And she knows how to screw; I’ll give her that.”
    “So, what are you going to do with her now that you’ve brought her here?”
    Keir shrugged and looked away. Rhys had never before seen him so callous, and never to a woman. “I’ll probably do her again, then send her back. She’ll be up for it. She’s always up for it and what I can give her.”
    This didn’t even sound like Keir. Christ, he was getting freaked out, looking at the wraith—the wraith he’d been tied to since birth—the one he no longer even knew. “When was the last time you slept?”
    “I don’t know. Weeks, maybe.”
    “Have you found Rowan?”
    Keir laughed and reached for another smoke. “Would I be fucking someone else if I could connect with her?”
    “I don’t know. Would you?”
    The lighter flared, and Keir took a drag of his smoke. He puffed out a big cloud before he spoke. “Leave it, Rhys.”
    “Does she help?” Rhys asked, pointing to the woman beside him. “Does she give you the kind of comfort you need?”
    Keir glared at him. “Fine. Nail me to the cross for taking this one to bed tonight, but I needed a reprieve. I needed a few hours of mindless fucking. Is that a problem for you?”
    “No, but I think it is for you. You don’t have to do this. It can be different.”
    “Really? Is your new wife willing to share you?”
    “Leave Bronwnn out of this.”
    Keir’s gaze darkened, but Rhys continued. “You’re hurting and grieving. I hate seeing you like this. Come by our room—”
    “Oh, won’t that be cozy,” he snorted.
    Keir could argue for hours. He was a stubborn son of a bitch who would never budge once he dug his heels in, and shit, he was dug in deep. Rhys turned his back and reached for the door.
    “You don’t really want this—or her.”
    “Our bond is severed,” Keir snapped. “You no longer know what I want.”
    There was a pain in his chest when Keir reminded him of their bond. “Yeah, it’s severed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel you anymore.”
    “Go back to your wife,” Keir snarled, “and leave me alone.”
    There was no reaching him yet—not tonight, and not tomorrow. He was raging and hurting. Once the anger let up, he could find Keir once again. Until then, he could only wait—and hope.
    “I’m around when you need me.”
    “I won’t.”
    Rhys turned back to his wraith; his best friend. “She’d hate to see you this way, you know.”
    Keir’s gaze flickered; then he looked away. “Well, she’s not here, is she? Go away, Rhys. Go back to your mate.”
    Reluctantly, Rhys shut the door behind him. Christ! That . . . That had been a complete stranger. It wasn’t Keir any longer, but someone else.
    “Rhys?”
    Turning, he saw Bronwnn standing in the hall. She held out her hand, and he walked to her, grasping on to her