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“Dad!”
Sage whipped his head around just in time to see Carina launching herself across the lobby, hurtling toward him.
“Hey,” Carina said loudly. Her light grey eyes blazed with angry fire and her pale face was red. “Leave my dad alone!” Using both small hands, she gripped onto the brass railing at the front of the desk and hoisted herself into the air.
“Your da was giving me cheek,” Kieran retorted.
“Can’t you see he’s sick?” Carina’s eyes flashed daggers at Kieran and the beautiful woman. Sage leaned in just close enough to read a nametag pinned to the front of her nondescript black blouse: ‘Maelíosa’.
“Carina,” Sage said sharply. He took hold of her thin, birdlike shoulders and removed her from the desk. The effort made his stomach ache and he wanted to sit down, but he hated showing weakness in front of his daughter.
“No,” Kieran replied. He frowned and picked up Sage’s application. “And he didn’t mention a bloody thing about being sick on the application.” Kieran glared at Sage. “Are you sick?”
Sage grimaced. He hadn’t wanted to mention it—after all, he didn’t know how they made their selection, or if it would deter one of their females from choosing him. And even though the púca were now famed healers, he wasn’t sure he trusted they could restore his health. After all, the cancer was bad. His father had died of colon cancer at age thirty-five, just a year older than Sage. He knew that he didn’t have much time. This whole mating thing had been a crazy gamble. It was a last-ditch effort to at least ensure that if he died, his daughter would have someone to look out for her. Still, he’d managed to hold out hope. And now, finding out that they might not be able to help him and Carina was enough to make him want to scream. Sage shifted his gaze to his daughter. She was still scowling at Kieran and Maelíosa, her tiny arms crossed over her chest. Carina was strong, but Sage knew that his daughter’s strength came from him. Without him around, she’d be vulnerable.
“Yeah,” Sage replied darkly. “I’m sick.”
Maelíosa was staring at Sage with an odd expression on her lovely face. It was enough to make him uncomfortable, and he shifted his weight to the other foot. Somehow it was better than the tiresome, pitying looks that he normally received, though.
* * *
MAELÍOSA TURNED TO Kieran, her face clouded with shock and sympathy. She pulled Kieran’s sleeve, tugging him off to the side of the desk.
“Kieran, cut the bollocks,” she whispered. “The fella’s got a kid with him.” She glanced back at Carina, observing the fury blazing in the young girl’s eyes. Something about Carina touched Maelíosa in a way that she couldn’t—or didn’t feel like trying to—articulate. She almost reminded Maelíosa of herself when she was younger. Hell, who was she kidding? Maelíosa hadn’t changed much since then, except to maybe grow more cynical. And she saw every bit of that shining through the girl’s fierce eyes.
“Fine,” Kieran snapped. The two walked back to the front of the desk.
“What do you say to an interview now?” Maelíosa offered Sage. “Might speed up the process a little bit.” She swallowed hard, feeling more awkward than she had in a long time. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”
Sage looked down at Carina. “Car, can you go wait in the lobby for me?” He turned to Maelíosa. “I don’t think I’ll be long.”
“No, more than an hour,” Maelíosa promised. She smiled down at Carina. “Do you mind letting me borrow your da?”
Carina frowned, then stood up on tip-toe and threw her arms around Sage. As she walked back toward the lobby, Maelíosa gestured for Sage to follow her.
“Normally we like to verify applications before the interview, and I’m not sure how this will go over, but it’s the best I can do right now,” Maelíosa said as she led Sage into a small room. There were two chairs and a wooden desk covered in puzzle pieces. The staff of The Stables took their breaks here, and Kieran and Finn had been playing a drinking game that involved placing puzzle pieces down and then taking shots. Maelíosa rolled her eyes. She didn’t particularly care for indulging in games like that, but at least Kieran knew how to pass the time.
“This is fine,” Sage said gruffly. He lowered himself down into a chair. “Thanks.”
Maelíosa nodded. “Don’t get your hopes up,” she warned softly as she pulled a notepad and pen into her lap. “This isn’t something I normally do.”
Sage nodded. “Right. I’ll tell you whatever you need to know. Where do you want to start?”
“Tell me about your family.”
“You’ve met her,” Sage said. His expression was closed.
This was going to be like pulling teeth. Heaven help the female púca who decided to take him as a mate. Maelíosa leaned close. “And? Who else?”
“There’s no one else,” Sage said roughly. “It’s just me and Carina.”
“What about her mother?”
“Dead.” Sage’s voice sounded robotic.
“Right then,” Maelíosa said. She looked into Sage’s grey eyes. “Anything else you’d like to share?”
“I have cancer. Stage four.” Sage admitted, his facial expression as stony as ever. “And I might not live long enough to survive the waitlist.”
She hated asking the question that came next, but she had to know. “What do you hope to get out of mating?”
Sage swallowed. “I want a partner who will take care of my daughter when I’m gone.”
Maelíosa arched an eyebrow. “And?”
He sighed. “I don’t want to lie to you. I’ve heard your people are known for healing.”
Maelíosa stared. She knew that cancer was a big killer among the humans, and stage four was pretty much a death sentence. She thought about his little girl in the lobby, and the dire situation facing them both. Her heart broke, having to waste time on an interview when all she wanted to do was help him. Now that she was alone with Sage, she could sense something deadly lurking in his body. Another human wouldn’t necessarily have guessed it—he looked big, muscular, and strong. But Maelíosa’s senses were keen, and thanks to her mare prancing around nervously, she could smell the odour of death emanating faintly from Sage’s pores.
“It’s true. There is a possibility that we can help you. What’s your attitude toward the púca? I have to ask because not all humans view us favourably.” It was a standard question she had to ask. They’d check into his background and find out whether he was affiliated with Only Human, but she still needed to cover all the bases.
Sage shifted in his seat. “I admit that I only know what I’ve read. This is my last resort. I’m doing this for my daughter. How I feel makes no difference as long as she’s taken care of.”
Maelíosa nodded. She scribbled down his comment. Of course, it probably wouldn’t win him any points with the female púca who’d signed up to find a mate through The Stables. She’d rephrase it later. Maelíosa thought it was really sweet how he put his daughter above everything else. Family was important to her too. She went through the rest of the questions with him, jotting down notes. Maelíosa nodded and smiled, trying to put him at ease. He seemed to relax a little by the time the interview concluded.
“Sage, I want to help you,” Maelíosa said. “Really I do, but I don’t want to get your hopes up, either. The list is long. We have a vetting procedure that’s in place to protect you, as I said, but also my clan.”
She shifted uncomfortably in the metal folding chair. Cyn had been trapped beyond the veil because Tomas hadn’t taken her drunken state into account or explained the mating process adequately. When Cyn left Fallon after their mating, he’d nearly died. The púca had known when they set up The Stables that they’d need a lot of precautions to make sure that never happened again, and the agreement with the British government entailed a verification and courting process that was to everyone’s benefit.
“What’s the process?”
Maelíosa shook her head. “I can’t reveal any details about it at this time,” she said briskly. “But I promise I’ll be in touch.”
Sage eyed her warily. “And that’s all for now?”
Maelíosa nodded. “Yes.”
She was torn. She’d never expected working at The Stables would be emotional for her. Before, she’d never cared much about these humans. But something about Sage made her want to save him. Or maybe it was his daughter, who she saw so much of herself in... The girl had already lost a mother.
“Thanks,” Sage said stiffly. He stood up from the chair and Maelíosa detected that although he wasn’t going to show it, he was in a lot of pain. “I’ll be going now. Hopefully I’ll hear from you sooner rather than later.”
Maelíosa escorted him back to his daughter and tried to push the objections of her mare out of her mind.
“Take care,” Maelíosa said once they were back in the lobby. “As I mentioned, I’ll be in touch.”
She watched as Sage took Carina by the hand and led her outside, into the bright sunshine of Inis Mór. Her mare shook her head in disapproval. She scowled. For fuck’s sake, what did her beast expect her to do?
