Chapter 25 #3
Willow’s hands floated as if she couldn’t wait to take my measurements. “Oh, no. You are…” She bit her lips together and hummed. “You must know everyone’s talking about you.”
“They are?” I said stupidly. “Who’s everyone?”
“Literally everyone.” Willow beamed. “I worked with the Grierson’s team to make that dress for you on such short notice. It was bold of you to come out with no family support. Where are you from again?”
My brain couldn’t keep up with all of Willow’s chatter. I hadn’t realized the lengths Everly had gone to have my dress made. Or that anyone outside of the Architect’s family would be talking about me. I blinked stupidly as once again, the little world Miss Q created for me expanded.
“I seem to have overwhelmed you,” Willow said into my silence. “I guess where you're from doesn’t have a simple answer.”
“Ah, yeah, you’ve got that correct.” I smiled. “You have a lovely shop.”
“Oh, thank you.” Willow beamed again and gestured around. “I’d be honored to have you in any of my dresses.”
“Really?” I asked.
Willow reached out and put a hand on my elbow. “Are they treating you well in that castle?”
“We’re here for a reason,” Rowan smoothly cut in. “Not to feed the rumor mill.”
“Quite right.” Willow’s smile didn’t falter. “A dress for the Mixer, then. You’re short, but I can hem anything, or if you give me some parameters, I can design a gown.”
“I don’t know what The Mixer is.” I batted my eyelashes, and Willow’s smile finally faltered. “Actually, I’m hoping to sell a few things.”
Willow ran her fingers down her cheek, recovering her retail poise. “Oh, I guess I can take a look.”
The three of us followed her to the back of the tent. Floating dresses partly hid a long table. I wondered if this was where Rowan found me. Cayden came up on my side and squeezed my elbow, distracting me before I could relive my fall.
Willow studied Cayden for a moment before she arched an elegant eyebrow. “You must be Cayden Lawson.”
Cayden inclined his head before making small talk with Willow. He was good at it, too, unlike my stuttering answers and awkward pauses. In my defense, pretty much everything Willow said surprised me.
It took me a few tries to get exactly what I wanted out of my pocket-void, but soon enough, I had four pieces arranged on the table.
“I'm hoping to get enough from these, but I have a few more, too.” I patted my hip as if the items came out of my real pocket.
“We can always come back if the situation changes.” Cayden ducked his head. “Quinn’s not a prisoner, right, Rowan?”
Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Quinn’s not, but with no family, an escort is essential, as Willow understands.”
I rolled my eyes. The pissing contest continued.
I honestly wasn’t sure Willow heard a word they said. Her eyes were like saucers as she stroked each of the dresses. She ran her hand over a little floral pre-teen dress last. “Don’t you want to keep these for your daughters?”
“No.” I smiled brightly. “I need the money now.”
Cayden finally looked away from Rowan and let out a little pained grunt. He leaned down close to my ear. “What are you doing?”
“Exactly what it looks like, selling my clothing,” I whispered back.
Willow ran her hand down the sparkling prom dress again. “This is priceless.”
I chewed my lower lip. In my time, we were looking at probably two hundred bucks, so maybe not so priceless. “Well, I was hoping to get a price for it.”
I stepped away from Cayden, only to bump into Rowan as he moved forward, which bounced me back the way I came, only to run back into Cayden and find myself effectively sandwiched between the two.
My libido loved it, and my clit tingled with the image before I shoved it away.
Even if they did like me that way, this was not the time or the place.
I focused on Willow. “So, how much can you give me for them?”
“How can you part with any of this?” Cayden pointed at the child’s dress. “You wore that. Don’t you want to see your daughter in it?”
The thought had honestly never occurred to me.
“The poly condition is remarkable,” Willow said, inspecting each item. “This dress.” She went back to the prom dress. “I mean, it looks hardly worn.”
“Once.” I reached into my pocket-void. “One of my more awkward nights, no one would come near me, and I never went to a school dance again.” I pulled out the matching shoes. “Here.”
Willow squealed with excitement.
Cayden gripped my elbow hard, and I winced in pain.
“Don’t sell the little dress,” he demanded.
Rowan reached down and gripped Cayden’s wrist, forcing him to let go of me. The enforcer put his arm over my upper chest and pulled me into him.
“Back off,” Rowan growled, his low voice rumbling at my back.
Cayden slid his legs into a fighting stance and balled his fists.
I knocked the back of my head against Rowan’s chest, which was a solid, unyielding wall of muscle. “Not again, please.”
I glanced at Willow, who quietly watched our show, before I ducked out of Rowan’s arms to wrap a hand around Cayden’s fist. “Why don’t you want me to sell the little dress?”
Cayden swallowed, and pain filled his eyes. “Your—”
“No, Cayden.” I cut him off. “I don’t know if I want kids.” I squeezed his fist. “Why don’t you want me to sell the little dress?”
Cayden took a deep breath, then another, before relaxing his fist and pulling me into his chest. His wrists twitched as he traced runes with his fingers. The air crackled around us, and a bubble of forest green shielded our bodies from view. Our breaths echoed in the stillness.
“I had a daughter.” He wrapped me in his arms as if I was the only thing keeping him afloat. “But she came out wrong.”
So much pain filled his voice. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed with every muscle in my body. He shuddered as if holding back waves of grief. In a more private space, I would have held him until his sea of loss finally crashed against the shore.
I didn’t understand what the bubble surrounding us was, but I was pretty sure we were still in ‘Willow’s Weaving and More.’ With Rowan, who didn’t trust Cayden as far as he could throw him. Cayden seemed well aware. Another shudder racked his body before he controlled himself.
“I want to hear all about her,” I said.
Instead of my words giving Cayden the support I was hoping for, fear flashed in his eyes. “You don’t.”
I cupped his cheek. “I do. I want to know all about you, Cay, the good and the bad. You won’t lose me, I promise.”
Before he could argue, I pushed out of his arms, and my back hit the magic surrounding us. It burst into a shower of sparkles, revealing Rowan, with his hand out as if he’d been pushing on the bubble, and Willow, who might as well have popcorn in her hands at this point.
I turned back to the table as if nothing had happened and put the little dress back into my pocket-void. “The dress is literally off the table.”
Willow raised an eyebrow. “The condition of your garments is truly remarkable. Has your family not produced enough women to wear them regularly?”
“Um. Yes,” I answered. It was close enough.
Cayden squared his shoulders and let out a haughty breath. “Willow can’t afford what these are worth. I suggest we go to The Mile.”
“What?” I exclaimed.
Cayden looked at Rowan and jerked his head. For the first time, the two exchanged a look that wasn’t negative. Rowan gently guided me to the far side of the room.
I scowled. “You have no idea what I went through to get here and sell those.”
Rowan covered my lips with his finger. “I know more than I want to.”
He’d found my broken body. I dropped my gaze.
“The Lawsons are good negotiators. Their righteousness makes them stubborn as hell and difficult to argue with.” He reached toward me, as if he wanted to rest a hand on my arm, but pulled back. “He’ll get a better price than either of us.”
The last of my frustration dropped. I would have taken Willow’s first offer, and Cayden was difficult to argue with. I snorted. “You’re probably right.”
“That’s outrageous,” Willow exclaimed from across the room.
“Your initial offer was insulting. However, I’m willing…” Cayden said calmly.
Their ‘negotiations’ faded into the background. I ran my hands over a leather ensemble floating next to me.
Rowan took an unhappy breath. “Is what Cayden said about Ezra isolating you true?”
I met Rowan’s gaze. “It’s his honest observations.”
Rowan growled. “I know you hate talking about yourself. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to ask me for help. But Quinn, I am here for you. Tell me what Cayden said isn’t true.”
“I don’t know.” I threw my hands up in the air.
“All I know: Ezra’s keeping me busy with everything he wants me to do, and until the Architect wakes, that’s all I’m going to get.
” I dropped my gaze. “I’m not getting help with my magic.
I don’t have any control or choices.” I don’t know if this is real, I wanted to add, but didn’t.
“You’re leaving something out,” Rowan stated. “Quinn, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “They’re fears.” I locked my fingers together. “He’ll wake up any day and I’ll know.” I wasn’t sure if I was talking about the Architect or myself.
Rowan cupped my cheek. “No matter what happens, I’m on your side.
I trust Commander Ezra, though I don’t always agree with his methods.
I don’t know the Architect well, but I believe in what he’s building.
” Rowan dropped his hand from my cheek and squeezed both of my wrists.
“If you truly feel unsafe, I’ll take you to my family.
You can decompress. We would be honored to host.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What about Angela? And everything you’ve worked for?”
“I am one of seven,” Rowan said bitterly. “My contract stipulates one-on-one time, which she has yet to grant me. I can disappear for a while to help out a friend.”