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In all this web of sorrow and darkness, the bond between us is a single bright thread, too strong to be severed. I will keep her safe; I will pledge all that is in me to protect her. That comes first, above all.
All came from that lie: true love, hopes blighted, cruelty, abuse and flight, and for Ciarán himself a descent into a kind of darkness that seemed to threaten the very fabric of our existence. For me and my family, it brought the loss of openness, the breaking of trust. Farewells too late to be spoken; partings that were forever. The lie had awoken the old evil, and now it seemed one thing after another began to deviate from its true path.
I thought about trust, and how dangerous it might prove to be if you were wrong.
I thought how perilous it was to make a choice based on trust, based on what others told you was right.
It was less than a life, to spend your life waiting; to spend your brief moments together saying farewell. I would have to present him with some sort of choice. To change his path and set his skills to another purpose, or to turn his back on me forever. And yet I thought I knew what his answer would be, and I feared to hear him say it.
“I need no evidence,” he said quietly, his voice now under precarious control. “Liadan would not lie to me. I would trust her with my life. You cannot poison what is between us with your foul words. She is my light in the darkness, and Johnny is my pathway ahead.”
“Your actions are your own,” I said, holding back my anger. “Your choices are your own. Each of us carries a burden of guilt for decisions made or not made.” I saw a little image of my Uncle Liam, lying on the track with an arrow in his chest. “You can let that rule your whole life, or you can put it behind you and move on. Only a madman lets jealousy determine the course of his existence. Only a weak man blames others for his own errors. Now, will you deal with me?”
“I am the daughter of Sevenwaters. My brother deserves my loyalty and my support, and he will have them. Our family understands the importance of this, if yours does not.”
“Well then, it’s just like that, only shorter. Each of you tells a little tale, a tale of the Painted Man. We’ll do it in turn. And with our tales, we call him back. Simple, really.”
I will hold your hand, no matter where you go; no matter what you are, I told him. I will never let go of what I love, not until the end of time and beyond Look up, dear heart. Look up and follow the light. Come out to me.
Your vision is so short you cannot see who may be trusted, and so your decisions are flawed. But it is your own choice, not ours.
