Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“You two looked serious,” I remarked.
Cernunnos had just dropped us off on Thorvin’s land. The Lord briefly greeted us, thanked me for my help, and hurried back inside. Thorvin was a weird one. He seemed like a decent enough dude, but half the time his head was in the clouds.
I almost felt bad about the time Moira glittered him. Almost.
Moira shrugged. “Ethan is intense.”
Yes, he was. I watched her for a moment. “You’re going, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” She let out a heavy sigh. “But I won’t live there. And I guess I need to ask Rowan if it’s okay.”
My brow furrowed. “Why would you need to ask Rowan?”
Moira leaned against one of the oaks dotting Thorvin’s property. “I don’t know. I live on Keep property. Will it be weird for me to go between them?”
“No. You’re your own person. You’re not a shifter, Moira. And you’re my best friend.”
Relief spread over her face. “I’m not sure why he’s pushing me this much, but he backed down tonight and offered to do whatever I was most comfortable with if I would help him.”
Interesting. “He’s not just asking you to come to try to get you in the sack?”
Moira laughed. “Anything but, I think.” Her eyes slid away. “He needs my help with something and claims he trusts me.”
“Do you trust him?” Moira was like me in many ways. Earning her trust was a long and arduous path, but once you got to the end, you wouldn’t find a more loyal friend.
She sank down onto the ground and sat. I joined her, kicking off my shoes to bury my toes in the dirt.
“He didn’t try a single thing when he took me home from the bar that night.” She threw up her hands. “He was a perfect gentleman!”
I snickered. Moira would have happily gone along with whatever Ethan wanted that night, even though she was furious at him when he carried her out of the bar.
“Every time I’ve been around him, he hasn’t been a gentleman, exactly, but I’ve never felt in any danger. I guess my answer is, I trust him more than I do most people, but not as much as you, Ash, or Tess.”
“Good answer. You’ve known us much longer. Ethan is a wildcard, but your instincts are good.” I reached over and patted her knee. “If you want to go, go. You don’t have to ask for our permission.”
“I’ll come up with something and see if he signs on.” She smiled. “I do want that tea shop.”
“And I want to open my store up again.” I sighed. “Caelan and Danu threw a wrench into everything.”
“You’ll get there. This fae thing can’t last forever.”
My nose wrinkled, and Moira laughed. “Well,” she corrected, “everyone involved is immortal, so maybe it can.”
“Watch out for me for a little while?”
Moira nodded. Thorvin had already gone back inside and shut the lights off, so we knew we’d receive no hospitality from him. “It’s nice and cool tonight, and the skies are clear. I’ll enjoy the quiet for a little while.”
I smiled at Moira and closed my eyes.
Thorvin’s land took a little longer than Ethan’s, as Dad thought it might. When I opened my eyes, Moira was in the same place, her pale face tilted up to watch the stars. I stayed perfectly still and watched her, noting the loneliness etched on her face.
I hoped whatever this was between her and Ethan turned into something positive, but part of me dreaded what might come for her. Soren would have been a nice plaything for her if he hadn’t been such an idiot, but I suspected if he approached her now, Ethan might rip his throat out.
“Moira.”
She jerked and turned. “Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts.”
I smiled sadly. “If things don’t work out, you always have a place to come back to. And, if you only go to his property for a few days a week, you can still eat dinner with us whenever you want to.”
Moira stood and dusted off the seat of her pants. She held out her hand and helped me up. “Anyone else to take care of, or can we go home?”
I grimaced. “Gotta hit up Soren.”
Moira winced.
“Dad will take you home if you want to go.”
She nodded. “I’ll probably take him up on that.”
Dad, as if saying his name summoned him, appeared out of thin air. “Finished?”
I nodded and jerked my head in Moira’s direction. “Mind dropping her off first?”
Dad gave her an odd look. “You don’t like Soren?”
“Soren is fine,” Moira insisted, rolling her eyes at my knowing look. “I’m just tired. That’s all.”
Dad held out his hand to Moira. “Back in a moment.”
In a flash, they were gone.
I stuck my hands in my pockets and walked some of the perimeter of Thorvin’s land.
The last time I’d been here, the bastard had shot Garrett.
I still hadn’t forgiven him for it, even as I couldn’t say a word to him about it.
If I did, I’d have to admit to trespassing on his land, something that could get me and Caelan in big hot water.
So I kept my grudge at a distance.
Dad reappeared, making me jerk in surprise. “You know you can do this on your own,” he drawled. “Instead of using your old man as a taxi service.”
“I don’t want to get lost in an infinite stretch of space and time.”
Dad rolled his eyes. “Hand, please.”
A few seconds later, we stood on Soren’s land.
The Lord was already outside waiting for us. I’d been to his property only once before, when the weather was much cooler.
Tonight, I grimaced as humidity smacked me in the face.
I didn’t miss Joy Springs as much as I thought I would, but the one thing I would never miss again was 100% humidity.
We were far enough up in the state to avoid the worst of it, but Soren’s territory was located in the deep south.
Some of his states were Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Tonight we stood in Louisiana, in a small city close to New Orleans. This house wasn’t Soren’s main Keep home, but it’s where the Lord preferred to spend his time. He liked being where all the action was.
I suspected that was because he had a revolving bedroom door and showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
He rose from his seat on the wrap-around porch and walked over to us.
Soren was gorgeous, an absolute specimen of male in peak physical condition. He was tall, around six foot five, and had the build of a quarterback. His skin was tanned, either from a lot of sun or some undeclared heritage he never spoke about. But the most stunning thing about him was his eyes.
Where mine was an azure color, sometimes becoming more green or bluer depending on my mood or what I wore, Soren’s stayed a bright, startling blue, the color of a sunny sky. His hair was wavy and the color of a roasted chestnut, and his jaw was sharp and clean shaven.
Like Ethan, Soren had grown on me a little, but I hated one thing about him.
He knew he was stunning, and he used it to manipulate people sometimes.
Or maybe all the time. Hell, I don’t know.
Moira and I were probably the only ones who hadn’t fainted right into his bed, so he wasn’t sure how to take us.
He also used his physical beauty to mask his true self. So much so, he’d made Moira give up, which she almost never did if she liked someone.
“Hello, Soren,” I said politely.
His lips twitched. “No Lord Soren anymore?”
“I’m a Lady now, so I can call you whatever I want to. I’d suggest being careful.”
Soren grinned, his teeth white and straight, and damn it, did that guy have a small dimple on the edge of his mouth? The world was not fair. How had I not noticed that before?
“Do you want me to stay?” Dad asked in a low voice.
“Your daughter is safe with me,” Soren said, dipping his head to my father.
Dad stared at him for a long moment before he nodded. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Forty-five minutes,” Soren said quickly. “If you don’t mind. I wish to speak to Evie before she starts.”
Shit. I hoped this wasn’t about Moira.
Dad looked at me. I shrugged. “Forty-five is fine.”
“Very well.” He disappeared in a shower of light, leaving me and the other Lord alone.
I’d never spent alone time with Soren. He had never done anything untoward or tried to harm me, but he also didn’t come around too much. He and Rowan were not friends, only acquaintances and their territories weren’t close to each other.
“Would you like a drink?” Soren asked.
“Not before magic but thank you.”
Soren dipped his head. “Come, sit for a few minutes. I made a small charcuterie board.”
I blinked in surprise. Rowan had accidentally taken the bag of snacks, and I was starving. Thorvin hadn’t even come out to say goodbye, much less offered me a bite.
“Alright then.”
Soren laughed as he led me up the porch steps. “Let me guess. Thorvin was the prior visit?”
I sat in the chair next to the one he was sitting in when I arrived. To my great delight, the small charcuterie board was enormous. I suppose to a shifter, this would be considered small.
“Help yourself.” Soren poured himself a glass of wine and me a glass of water.
I gave up all pretense of being cool and piled my plate high with cheese, meat, olives, and nuts. “Thank you.”
Soren was buttering me up for something, but only a fool passed on free food.
“My Keep hosts many mages. Our grocery bill gets astronomical when they’re training.” Soren added a few things to his plate and watched me while I ate. Not in a creepy way. More in a curious way.
“I know you want something,” I said through a mouthful of salami. “Spit it out.”
Soren snorted. “Through everything, you’ve been kind to us.”
At my startled look, he pressed on. “We did not deserve your kindness, Evie. Not even a little bit. And at the end, neither did Caelan.”
I swallowed and watched him warily. Where was he going with this?
“None of us are surprised you ended up with Rowan. He is the only one of us who has managed to stay in power and build a vibrant community at the same time. Plus, the bastard is like you. Far too empathetic to be a Lord.”
“Careful how you speak of Rowan,” I said softly.