Loving Ean (The Fae Guard Book 2) by Elle Christensen

Gòrdan simply shook his head, his face twisting in grief.
    Rònan reached for the girl’s hand, and together they stood, fully facing me. For just a moment, uncertainty flitted across his face, until she squeezed his hand, and cuddled up to his side. She was tall and thin, her face narrow with a faintly pointed chin, her nose was . . . I don’t know how else to describe it, other than, it was a smaller version of a stereotypical witch’s nose. Her long hair fell past her waist, and dipped slightly from her hair line, meeting in a little point on her forehead. The look on her face . . . it will be forever burned into my memories. There was smug triumph on her face, and a smile playing at the corners of her thin lips, but her close-set, black eyes were hollow, her soul so dark, it was lost.
    I was speechless, so I walked to a seat across the room and practically fell into it. The couple seated themselves once again and then Rònan proceeded to explain that he’d met Taran (ah, the soul-sucking bitch has a name) in the last semester of his freshman year of college. They had begun dating, but she wanted to keep their relationship a secret from her strict family until they were both a little older. Older? Yeah right. If she is only twenty-one, then I’m a virgin. The magic surrounding her was controlled and steady, as only an aged fae’s would be. Not to mention her poise and posture, that hinted at her being from around Victorian times.
    She’d convinced him to wait until she could tell her parents after he turned twenty-one but she wanted to attend his birthday celebration. The morning of, before Gòrdan and Sarah could talk with Rònan about his true roots, Taran arrived. Eventually, Sarah asked if she was his girlfriend.
    He lied.
    Since he had already been marked, his dark path was set. When he was finally enlightened to the future, he’d been forced into by her manipulation, he was devastated, and broken hearted. Until she confessed to being a Fallen, attempting to excuse her behavior with declarations of her love for him, and begging him to be with her forever. He was so caught up in her web, he thought no more about what he’d left behind.
    At this point, I tuned out the conversation. My mind was spinning with questions. How could I have missed the signs that he was keeping something from me? How could I have let him down? But mostly, I wanted to know how the fuck she knew he was Fae!
    My questions and sorrow became a tight binding and I struggled to breathe. The worst of the emotions was the despair at knowing that my failure has caused irreparable damage. There was no saving Rònan, he was forever lost to me, and that understanding broke something inside. I’d botched things by being so close to my charge. I should have kept myself at a distance and watched the signs from the outside, looking at the big picture. Fear began to fill me, desperation to protect the rest of the leath leanbh assigned to me.
    Guilt layered on top and as I watched Taran with Rònan, hatred clawing through all of the emotions, rising to the surface and causing me to shake with rage. These feelings, this atmosphere, they were caustic, and I needed to get away from it all. To find a balance and a new game plan.
    I was unable to look at Gòrdan and Sarah, knowing the blame I would see in their eyes. Without a word, I left. I vowed to be more vigilant, to keep this from ever happening again. I would fight to right this wrong by throwing every bit of myself into my job. There would be no room for anything else, I couldn’t afford distractions. I felt an inner wince at this thought, knowing that I was labeling Laila in that category. However, in the end, it would be better for both of us. She would find a man who could give all of himself to her, and I would spend my eternity fighting against the adversary.
    “Ean. It’s good to see you again.” Rònan’s voice breaks me from my reverie. I’m surprised at the sincerity in his tone and