The Pillars Of The World

he said anything to Aiden about why he returned early that night?”
    Lyrra shook her head. “He’s still brooding, and there’s a look in his eyes that helps one remember that he’s the Lord of Fire.”
    “We can’t just sit here.” Dianna stopped pacing and squared her shoulders. “There’s one way to find out if Ari has become an enemy.”
    Lyrra paled a little. “You’re going down to the cottage?”
    “She doesn’t know I’m Fae. I can pay a visit without arousing suspicion.”
    “Be careful, Dianna.”
    “With Tir Alainn at stake, you can rest assured that I’ll be careful.”
    Returning to her suite, Dianna pulled the riding habit from the wardrobe. She paused, considered. If that male who had shown up at Ari’s the last time she had visited had been speaking the truth, she could save herself the trouble of riding sidesaddle. And it wasn’t as if she was intending to go riding where the human gentry would see her.
    She dropped the riding habit on her bed and chose one of her usual riding outfits—a skirt as light as cobwebs that buttoned over slim trousers and a simple blouse made of fine linen. That would do quite well.
    A few minutes later, as she was heading for the stables, she heard a quiet whine.
    The bitch that used to be her favorite approached hesitantly, the dark eyes pleading to be forgiven for whatever it had done that had made its mistress turn away from it. Beside the bitch were the three pups, the two that showed no outward trace of the undesirable sire and the third, which she couldn’t bear to look at.

    She turned away, then turned back and snatched the third puppy. It cried as if it knew the person holding it despised its existence.
    The bitch whined.
    “It will be well taken care of,” Dianna said. She hurried to the stables before she had too much time to think . . . and change her mind.
    Wanting to avoid Ahern’s farm for this visit, and gambling that Ari didn’t know horses well enough to be alarmed at seeing a “gentry” lady riding a Fae horse, she had the grooms saddle her pale mare. The pup was wrapped in a piece of blanket so that it couldn’t squirm around. With one arm holding the pup, Dianna cantered down the road that led through the Veil.
    Reaching Brightwood, she followed the forest trails until she came to the road and was riding toward Ari’
    s cottage from the same direction she’d come before.
    Ari, naturally, was working in the garden.
    “Dianna,” Ari said, surprise and pleasure in her voice.
    She didn’t expect me to return after I learned she was a witch.
    “Blessings of the day to you,” Ari said.
    “Blessings of the day to you,” Dianna replied, choking a little on speaking a witch’s greeting. They think you’re the Queen of the Witches. Speaking their words won’t set your tongue on fire .
    “I see you’ve forsaken gentry fashion for practicality,” Ari teased.
    Dismounting easily, Dianna gave Ari a cool stare. “I would prefer to be thought a peasant than deal with an insolent man.”
    “Oh.” Ari seemed to be working through several replies, but ended up shrugging. “Neall can be opinionated at times.”
    Neall. A name spoken with easy familiarity. “Do you know him well?”
    “We’re friends.”
    You say that as if you’re not quite sure. I wonder if Lucian was aware he had a rival.
    The puppy squirmed.
    “What’s that?” Ari asked.
    “Something I brought for you.” Dianna unwrapped the puppy and held it out.
    Her eyes lighting, Ari reached for the puppy and held him up so that they were nose to nose. “You’re adorable.”
    The puppy licked her nose, making her laugh.
    Ari’s delight made Dianna smile. “He seems to think the same about you.”
    Cradling the puppy, Ari said, “He’s wonderful, Dianna, but I can’t accept him. He’s obviously a valuable animal, and—”
     
    Dianna waved her hand dismissively. “He has no value. He’s deformed.” Seeing Ari’s stricken look and the way her arms tightened protectively around the puppy, Dianna bit her tongue. What use was it to give something and then say it had no value? “You’re correct that the bitch is a valuable animal, but the quality of the sire is ... suspect. The coloring is wrong.”
    Ari looked down at the puppy. “Wrong? But he has a beautiful merle coat.”
    Dianna bit her tongue again to keep from saying something else that would make the pup completely worthless—or saying something that would clearly tell Ari that the pup had