Chapter 100

Ronan's POV

Lucien returned with six riders, three pack mules, and the kind of smile a man wears after surviving the mountains and expecting thanks. He arrived while I was repairing the outer door. Mara was holding a hinge steady with gloved hands, and I had to move around her to reach the last screw. For half a second my body remembered how naturally I would once have put a hand at her waist.

“There’s a hammer on your side,” she said without looking up.

“I see it.”

“Then stop glaring at my hands.”

Lucien dismounted in time to hear that. “I was away a few days. Have you begun speaking in riddles, or should I be grateful I missed the earlier conversation?”

Mara set down the hinge. “You can be grateful you brought food.”

“