Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Icollapsed in a puddle of sweat. “Whyyyyyyy?”
Dad snorted and sat beside me. “You’re thinking too hard.”
I glared at him. “Honestly, that should be a boon these days because most people don’t think. And here I am thinking too hard and being punished for it.”
“Magic is will, not thought.”
“I’m going to punch you in the kidney.” I sighed. “But I’m too tired right now. I’ll punch you tomorrow.”
“Thoughts are polluted,” Dad continued. “I’m hungry. I’m thirsty. Why does my sock feel weird? My couch needs new throw pillows. I need to work out more. I forgot my water.”
“Are you a frazzled Mom?” I asked. “Your internal monologue is weird.”
He sighed with barely concealed impatience. “It’s an example of all the thoughts running through someone’s head on a daily basis.”
“Will, on the other hand, is demand. You’re in one place now.
You demand to be somewhere else. The magic responds.
Boom. You’re here, then you’re there. You must clear your mind of the pollution and ensure only your will responds.
Once you master that, you will find your fae magic, outside of your Floromancy, much easier to command.
You’ve already conquered the natural world.
Even now, the grass and flora bend to you.
Fear prevents you from mastering the other. ”
“Can I not master anything for a bit?” I begged, spitting out a piece of grass.
Barrett was sitting against a tree texting something on his phone. “You don’t have much time. The swans have disappeared, and with them all our leads are gone.” He lifted his gaze. “It’s not a stretch to think they’re amassing their forces to come after you.”
A shiver rolled down my spine. I’d told Moira some time ago I planned to kill them all if they came after me. Time had not mellowed that thought. Reaching me at Rowan’s Keep was all but impossible unless they had outside help.
I felt rather than heard Rowan coming toward me. Heat colored my cheeks, making my dad raise an eyebrow. His lips twitched, but he held his tongue. Thank the gods for small favors.
“If the swans set foot on my lands, it’s a declaration of war.” Rowan took one look at my dirty face and grass-stained clothes and frowned.
He and Dad had a brief stare down before Rowan glanced at Barrett. The Chimera hadn’t moved from his place against the tree and was giving Rowan a curious look. Then his gaze went to me before he inhaled a soft gasp.
“Oh,” he said thoughtfully. “Things make a lot more sense now.”
Rowan straightened. “Do we have a problem?”
Barrett snorted and waved a nonchalant hand. “Not even a little bit. I wish you both good luck.”
I rolled to a seated position. “You couldn’t sense anything before?”
Barrett chewed on the side of his lip, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Contact of a certain kind sometimes strengthens bonds in our kind.” He coughed to try to keep from laughing.
My face went crimson.
Barrett grinned. “I see it is the same for shifters and possibly fae.”
“Gods,” I groaned and covered my face.
Rowan let out a wicked chuckle. “You can assume recent contact adds a certain flair to all shifter senses.” He winked at me.
“Rowan. Shut. Up.”
He plopped down next to me and ruffled my hair. “You can’t hide much when it comes to a mating bond, Evie.”
“I don’t want to hide it, maybe just not talk about—” I waved my hand around. “The other stuff.”
Rowan leaned in and whispered in my ear, so low Barrett couldn’t have caught it. “We don’t have to talk about it as long as we do it again. And again. And again. For practice.” His teeth caught my earlobe, sending liquid heat through my entire body.
Dad jerked his head at Barrett. “We’re done for the day.”
The Chimera and my dad walked away, both chuckling under their breath.
When they were out of sight, I launched myself at Rowan, tackling him to the ground. He caught me by the hips, delighted laughter shaking his chest.
“Rowan!” I loomed above him, my annoyance draining at the happy look in his eyes. “Damn you,” I grumbled.
A second later, I was kissing him, and he was kissing me back. His hands tightened on my hips, and things below the belt tightened, and gods help me, I was in so much trouble.
I pulled away, breathless. “What is happening to me?”
The amusement faded from his face. He rolled me over, gently pinning me beneath him. “My hope is you’re falling hopelessly in love with me, just like I am with you.” He kissed my throat. “And once that happens, my hope is that we can both have our pants off at the same time.”
A surprised laugh broke from me. He grinned and kissed me again. I ran my fingers through his thick hair tugging the strands gently. Rowan’s eyes went golden.
“Do that again,” he whispered against my skin.
“Oh,” I murmured. “You like this?” I tugged a little harder. Rowan bit down on my collarbone, gently but hard enough to leave a slight impression.
“Oh,” I breathed in an entirely different way.
He lifted his head, curiosity in his glowing eyes. “No one has taught you where the edge of pain ends, pleasure begins?”
I blinked up at him.
“Hmm.” One of his eyebrows went up before a dark chuckle escaped him. “You and I are going to have so much fun.” He kissed me once more and rolled off.
I wanted to pull him on top of me again and ask him to show me. As if sensing my thoughts, Rowan’s smile became edged. He held a hand out to help me up.
“I want you to stay with me tonight.”
My throat went dry. “In the Keep?”
“Or in your cottage. Either way, I want to wake up with you in the morning.”
“Rowan.” I wanted to. So badly. But we obviously were having a hard time keeping our hands off each other.
“I will never ask you for more than you’re willing to give. But I enjoyed sleeping with you, and I want to do it again. If we decide to fool around—” His eyes sparkled. “I will let you lead.” He bent his head and whispered in my ear. “I’ll even let you tie me to the bed, so my hands won’t wander.”
My breath caught.
“Or, if you’re concerned about your hands wandering, maybe you’re the one who should be secured.”
“Gods,” I choked. “Rowan.”
He laughed and tugged me toward the Keep. “Come. Lunch awaits. Your mother called me earlier and requested entrance to the Keep a few days from now.”
“Wow. Mom is being nice.” Cliona could walk right through Rowan’s wards if she chose. Sometimes she did, but she usually tried to play by the rules.
“I am not Caelan.” There was an edge to his voice that made me still.
“Did something happen?”
He pulled my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my wrist. “Our meetings together rarely go well. Nothing to worry about. Posturing is inevitable with the Lords.”
He held the door open for me. Lunch had already been spread out on the table. Comfort and routine were doing much to heal my body and soul.
With a smile at Rowan, I took a seat and dug in.
Mom and Moira showed up at the door a few nights later grinning like thieves after a successful mission.
I frowned. “Do I need to worry about this?”
Moira’s expression grew innocent. Too innocent. “Worry about what?”
Mom held up a bottle of booze and a large thermal bag. “I brought taco fixings!”
Both women breezed in. Moira dropped a kiss on my cheek and followed Mom to the kitchen. When Mom opened the bag and started pulling things out, I inspected the meat very thoroughly after her joke about fae eating people for dinner.
She clicked her tongue. “Honestly, Evie. It’s ground beef. The other one is grilled chicken.”
Moira dug through the cabinets until she found a cocktail shaker, then started mixing an alarming number of ingredients inside.
“Just checking,” I said. “One can never be too sure.”
“Plus,” Mom added, an evil glint in her eyes, “you don’t use that kind of meat for tacos. That’s more steak night fare.”
Moira snickered.
“I’m not sure when to take you seriously anymore.”
“Just get the sour cream out of the fridge, will you?” Mom rolled her eyes and unpacked the rest of the bag. She’d even remembered to bring cilantro.
Once we fixed our plates, Moira brought over three drinks and set them on the coffee table. I clicked on the fireplace and turned on some music. We didn’t speak all that much until we finished.
“What is this?” I asked Moira, swirling the pink drink around in my glass.
“Some kind of raspberry mixed drink. I can’t remember the name. Delicious, right?”
It really was.
Mom took a sip. “I’ll have that recipe. You have my number.”
“I’ll text you.”
I watched Mom and Moira with trepidation. “Are you two hanging out without me?”
Moira laid a hand over her chest. “Evie! I would never.”
Mom grinned. “You’ve been a little busy, darling, trying to save the world and whatnot.”
“I can’t believe it. Mom and my bestie going on girl’s nights without me.
” But I wasn’t mad. How could I be upset with either of them?
Everything I thought I knew about Mom had been wrong, and Moira deserved all the friends she could make.
She’d spent so long taking care of all of us and working at the shop that her social life had suffered, big time.
If she and Mom wanted to hang out, who was I to begrudge them?
For years, Moira was terrified of her. If she liked Mom and enjoyed hanging out with her, I’d never get upset by any time they spent together.
Moira leaned over and put her head on my shoulder for a moment. “Cliona is helping me with the extra magic from that night.”
My stomach lurched with guilt. The extra magic happened at Caelan’s Keep when Rhona, another female Chimera, tried to kill me.
Magic had been flying everywhere, and Moira had been exposed more than anyone else.
The power had manifested in curious and sometimes disturbing ways, the latest when she pulled a god from the fae lands into ours, though now we suspected Lugh had taken advantage and helped that along some.