Otherworld Renegade. Jane Godman

be. Your need was greater than mine.”

      Tanzi felt at a disadvantage lying down. She was also conscious that she was wearing nothing but her underwear and a very old, faded T-shirt that Maria had unearthed for her. She shuffled into a sitting position, wincing as the movement caused more pain in her ribs.

      “Did I hurt you?” Lorcan’s tone was apologetic.

      “Yes. But I was going to kill you so I suppose it can be forgiven.”

      He started to laugh. “Always so literal. Why are you here, Tanzi?”

      “Pedro and Maria gave me this room.”

      “You know that’s not what I meant. Tell me why I shouldn’t immediately suspect this is one of your father’s tricks to infiltrate the resistance.”

      She fiddled with a loose thread on the bottom of the T-shirt. It meant she could keep her head down and avoid looking at him. “On the battlefield that day, when you rescued me, you made me a promise. That you would be there for me if I needed you.” Suddenly the words were hard to say. Why hadn’t she anticipated this? She took a deep breath and looked up. Lorcan’s steady blue eyes gave her the confidence she sought. “I need you now.”

      He didn’t hesitate. “Then you have me. I’m all yours.”

      An emotion she had never felt before tugged hard at Tanzi’s chest. Was it gratitude? Tenderness? Empathy? They were all new to her. Moncoya discouraged mortal emotion, particularly where his daughters were concerned. Tanzi and Vashti were his finely tuned weapons. Their hearts should be encased in steel. It was an odd sensation to discover that her own steel casing might have a flaw. Tanzi’s voice was husky when she spoke again. “Aren’t you going to ask me why?”

      “If you want me to know, I expect you’ll tell me in your own time.” Lorcan stretched his arms above his head. “Right now, if I don’t shower and then get some breakfast, I’ll be no use to you or anyone.”

      * * *

      The square was crowded with students. Competing music blared from open dormitory windows and from the bars around the outer edge. Lorcan skirted around skateboarders, impromptu dancers and chattering groups, carrying beer and pizza to where Tanzi was sitting on the steps of the university building waiting for him. She wore leggings and a sweatshirt that was at least three sizes too big. Her hair was tied back and hidden under a black baseball cap, and her face was still swollen and bruised. Even so, when she looked up with a smile as he approached, he felt the full impact of the effect she had on him. It hit him somewhere just south of his abdomen. Whom was he kidding? The feeling began well south of his abdomen. He told himself it was what faeries did best. Their ability to enchant was legendary. Faerie glamor, his mother would have called it. The old-fashioned term and the memory of his mother made him smile. Moncoya’s dislike of the phrase was well-known. The faerie king preferred to believe it was his personal charm that drew others to him. Dismissing the unwelcome intrusion of Moncoya into his thoughts, Lorcan joined Tanzi on the step.

      “I thought you wanted to talk to me in private?” Tanzi leaned in close so that he could hear her above the noise. Her breath brushed tantalizingly close to his ear.

      “I do.” He pointed with his beer bottle at the teeming square. “No one here is remotely interested in us or anything we have to say. They are all too busy having their own good time.”

      She laughed, taking a slice of pizza from the box on his knee and biting into it with very white, very even teeth. He remembered another thing his mother used to say. “Are you claiming me for your own?” He nodded at the pizza. “Sharing food with me? In faerie terms, doesn’t this mean I belong to you now?”

      Tanzi blushed and glanced down at the slice of pizza in her hand. “I didn’t think. I never meant...”

      “I’m teasing you. In a way, I’m already yours to command. I told you that three months ago, on the day of the battle for control of Otherworld.”

      She drew in a deep breath and, for a moment, he thought she was about to say something more. Instead, she nodded at the crowded square. “Is this what you mortals do?”

      So she bought in to the pretense that he was mortal. Most people did. He was good at it and it was half-true, anyway. He didn’t contradict her. “Have fun? Yeah, we try. Sometimes we even succeed.”

      They ate and drank in companionable silence.

      “What did you wish to say to me?” Tanzi turned to face him and Lorcan thought again how amazing her eyes were. The bright blaze of sidhe fire around her irises made the blue of her pupils appear darker. There was something slightly feline in the slant of her eyes and the finely arched brows above them. A man could drown in those eyes. Unless he was very careful.

      “If you are to remain in the safe house, we must take great care not to let anyone know who you are.” The long lashes swept down, shadowing her cheeks, but not before he caught a glimpse of the pain his words had caused her.

      “Because of my father.”

      “Yes.” What else could he say? There was no way to soften the blow. She was Moncoya’s daughter. If she was recognized, she’d be lucky to get out of the safe house in one piece. Moncoya had wrecked too many lives for anyone to forgive and forget. And Tanzi was no innocent. She had played a willing part in her father’s villainy.

      “Was I wrong to come here?”

      “No. You were right to come to me. I will keep my promise and take care of you, but you need to face facts. Your name isn’t going to win you any popularity contests among the Iberian sidhes.”

      “So what story shall I tell? What must my name be?”

      Lorcan frowned. He hadn’t thought of her name. But there was only one Tanzi. She was as well-known as her father. The name had to go. “Keep it simple. You have no story because you have no memory. You don’t even remember your own name.”

      “I can’t be nameless. You will have to call me something.”

      He stared into those endless eyes. “I will call you Searc.”

      Tanzi wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure I like that. What does it mean?”

      “Ah, some old Irish words have lost their meaning in the mists of time,” he lied. “Now, if you are to stay at the safe house, you must earn your keep.”

      Tanzi started to laugh, the action bringing her shoulder into contact with Lorcan’s arm. A warm feeling spread from his chest to his stomach. She was addictive. Perhaps he should allow himself these small doses of her touch now and then. Just to develop immunity and test his own strength. “I have not been trained to cook or wash dishes.”

      “You should offer to help Maria with both. She’ll refuse, but it will endear you to her. No, I think your fighting skills will prove more useful than your domestic talents.” How would she respond? He was asking her to take up arms against her father. It was the ultimate test of how serious she was.

      Tanzi’s face told him she understood. For a moment her expression was open to him and the anguish he read in her eyes shocked him. What had Moncoya done to her?

      “Agreed.”

      That single word said it all. Whatever had caused her to run to him, it was so bad she was prepared to change sides. Lorcan knew how that felt. It was the hardest decision in the world. Without thinking, he took her hand in his. Tanzi looked down in surprise. Briefly, she let her hand rest passively in Lorcan’s palm. Then she turned it and twined her fingers between his. It was a touching, trusting gesture. They sat together for a long time, hand in hand, watching the lively display of life unfolding in the square in front of them.

      “Tell me about the men who hurt you.” Lorcan broke the silence at last.

      She let go of his hand, and it felt as if a spell had been broken. Perhaps it had. “I was foolish.”

      “You trusted me enough to come