Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Caelan was waiting for me at the edge of Keep property. Moira and Garrett had gone back home. There was nothing more they could do, and Caelan couldn't risk killing me until I'd let go of his land.
I didn't think he'd kill me either way, but Rowan wasn't so sure. He stood close behind me.
“Only her,” Caelan said, staring at my mate.
“Evie,” Rowan warned.
I put my hand on his chest. “Safe passage, Caelan.”
The Lord stared at me for a long moment before he snorted. “Once upon a time you never would have said that.”
I held his gaze. Gold flickered around the edges of his irises. “Much has changed since then.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his gaze flicking to Rowan. “Indeed, it has.”
Caelan looked back at me. “Are you happy, Evangeline?”
Rowan stepped forward, but I held my hand up. “You know the answer.”
His gaze lingered on my face, snagged on my lips for too long of a moment, and dragged back to my eyes. “I do.”
Caelan let out a heavy sigh, and he lifted his eyes to the sky. Rowan put his hand on my shoulder and gently squeezed. When Caelan looked at me again, his expression was different. Less haunted.
In that moment, I thought he might have let me go.
Even though it took everything I had, I realized I had to do the same for him. I looked back at Rowan. Sadness glimmered in his eyes, but all he did was nod.
“I'll be back.”
Rowan took a step back. “Take care of her.”
Caelan stared Rowan down. “Come, Evie.”
He held his hand out. I took it briefly as he opened his wards and let him go as soon as I was on Keep land. “I'm only going to ask you one more time. Are you sure?”
“Where do you need to be?”
I blew out a breath, unsurprised by his refusal. Slipping off my shoes, I buried my toes into the earth, feeling the sickness in the land buried deep below. My magic penetrated his land, concentrated at the center of Keep territory. I closed my eyes against the memories assailing me.
“Where the tree was would be best.”
Caelan's eyes met mine. My time in that tree had opened my mind to all the possibilities in my life. My friends and the Lord had called me home, and I thought at that moment, Caelan would be it for me. If someone told me then I'd be here now, I never would have believed them.
I saw in his eyes he was remembering the same. When I'd come out of that tree, I received a second chance, and when Rowan carried me out of Joy Springs, I'd received what felt like a miracle.
He jerked his head. “Do you need anything to eat or drink?”
“We brought snacks.”
Caelan tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded. We walked in silence for a while.
“I'm sorry things turned out the way they did.”
I glanced at him. Sorry wasn't the right word for me. “Was it worth it?” I asked quietly.
Caelan's soft snort made me smile. “I burned my life down, lost most of my people, and alienated the only woman I've ever loved.” His eyes crinkled at the edges, and I saw a flash of the old Caelan.
He looked away, his expression sobering. “No. If I could go back and do everything different—if I could be better, say the right things, I would.”
He smiled. “But if I went back and did everything right, I would punish you, wouldn't I? I'd keep you from Rowan.”
Back then, I had no idea Rowan was my mate or that he'd be so important to me in such a short amount of time.
He was my friend, and that was all. Knowing what I knew now, the thought of being without him made my chest hurt.
Caelan was right, but wrong at the same time.
If he'd done everything different, we would still be together.
“None of it matters. We're here now, and all we can do is live in the now.”
Any answer I gave him would hurt him. And we weren't here for answers.
“It's hard to live in the now when I'm trapped in stasis.”
“For now. In a minute, I think your life will get very interesting soon.”
Caelan chuckled. “And yet, you won't be here to participate in any shenanigans.”
“I'm sure Moira will take up the slack.”
We shared a grin, and something eased in my chest. The still empty space where the tree once stood came into view. But this time instead of grief, I felt a new beginning opening up inside me.
Caelan and I might never be friends, but our shared history ensured we understood each other. And even though he had some reasons to hate me, I felt confident Caelan and I would be okay eventually. At least enough for him to successfully work with Rowan again.
“I'll need you to sit beside me,” I said as I settled myself into the bare spot where the trunk once stood. Caelan nodded and settled beside me, the deep wildness of his scent teasing my nose.
“I hate to ask this, but I'm going to need you to bare your chest.”
Caelan blinked. “Excuse me?”
I snorted. “I need to remove the poison from the spear, and I need to do that at the same time I free your land.”
“So you need bare skin.”
I rolled my eyes at his suggestive tone. “I need bare skin.”
His face creased in a wide grin. “Oh how I wish Rowan were close enough to witness this.”
“Don't be an ass,” I huffed. “Take off your shirt.”
Caelan's eyes twinkled. “Oh the things you say to me, flower girl.”
I wiggled my fingers in a come-on motion. “Don't make it weird.”
“But you make it so easy.” He wore a t-shirt today and slipped it over his head, tossing it to the ground beside him.
I averted my gaze. Caelan, like all the Lords, was a beautiful man, but it didn't feel right to ogle him anymore. I was a red-blooded woman, sort of, and I'd be blind not to appreciate his gods given assets, but the desire I once had for him was gone.
He still cut a stunning figure, though.
“Closer.” I reached my hand out.
Caelan obliged, scooting closer until my palm rested against the place where I speared him.
“I didn't think you'd actually do it, you know.”
I glanced at him. “Do what?”
“Stab me. Poison me.” He snorted and threw his hand out to encompass his land. “Hold me hostage here.”
He never knew me at all. I'd do anything to protect those I loved. And I would have done it for him if things had been different. “Mmm,” I said noncommittally. “There are no limits to how far I'd go to protect my friends and family.”
“And I'm no longer included in that.”
Loaded question there. “Caelan.”
I could say a million things, drive the knife in a thousand times, hurt him in a million ways, and it would do nothing to bridge this gap between us. At one time, I might have considered saying them. But I'd never been one to hurt someone on purpose. Not the way he'd done to me.
He looked away. “I can see the wheels turning in your brain. After all of this, why are you still kind to me?”
I laughed. “Poisoning and imprisoning you isn't exactly kind.”
Caelan shrugged. “But it is deserved. Less than I deserve, actually. Rowan had every right to kill me. So did Ethan. And neither one of them did it because of you.”
He wasn't wrong. Caelan had broken one of the Lords' fundamental laws. But death wasn't suffering. And I'd wanted him to suffer the way he made me suffer. I guess sometimes I did believe in an eye for an eye.
“You can still be my friend. Not like we were. Not with Rowan in the picture and this new life I've somehow managed to build. But if you're in trouble and you call, I will come for you. If that's what you want.”
Caelan bowed his head for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was rough. “I do want that for us. And I will do the same for you.”
He reached up and placed his hand over the one I held against his chest. “I will do my best not to betray your trust again.” Caelan swallowed and held my gaze. “You've taught me a terrible lesson, Evangeline. One I will not soon forget.”
My smile wobbled. “And you've taught me one as well.” But unlike his, mine had led to a happiness I never thought possible.
Hot tears spilled from my eyes. “Are you ready?”
Caelan's eyes began to glow. “Yes.”
I closed my eyes and sank my power into the earth.