Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
We slept all the way through to the next morning. Muted sunlight streamed through the curtains, highlighting the golden hue of Rowan’s skin. I was still having trouble believing he was here with me, permanently etched onto my heart and soul.
But alas, the real world had to intrude someday. I toyed with Rowan’s hair, tracing my fingers down the edge of his jaw.
Rowan awoke with a smile. He nipped at my finger and growled.
I grinned at him. “Are you always this cranky in the mornings?”
He hauled me on top of him. “Yes.”
I pretended to bite his nose. “Thorvin has already texted twice asking what time I’ll be there.”
“Want company?”
I loved the way he sounded in the morning, all sleep deprived and husky.
“Never stop looking at me like that,” Rowan rumbled. His hand swept down my back, stopping at the curve of my hip. His eyes began to glow that strange new color.
“Your eyes are different.” I traced my finger down the curve of his cheek.
“Yours are too.”
I blinked. “Really?”
Rowan grinned. “Yup. They’re still blue, but there’s a touch of silver and pink and green in them now.”
I frowned. “Weird. Think it’s the bond?”
“What else could it be?”
The evidence of his growing desire rested against my thigh. I wiggled a little bit.
“What time did you tell Thorvin you’d be there?” His fingers tightened.
“I didn’t.” My voice was a little breathless.
In one elegant move, Rowan turned and trapped me underneath him. “Good. You’re booked for a last-minute appointment with me.”
He tugged on my earlobe with his teeth, setting my nerves on fire.
“You got twenty minutes,” I breathed.
Rowan’s eyes burned silver. “Challenge accepted.”
We were just about to head out the door when Rowan’s phone went off. His jaw tightened when he saw the caller.
“It’s Caelan.”
My stomach lurched with dread. “Do you want to take it? I can wait outside for you.”
He shook his head. “Come to the office. You should be here for this.”
Rowan took me by the hand and led me to a room off the living area. Once we were shut inside, he answered the video call.
“Caelan.”
“Are you sitting down?”
“No, but I can’t speak for long. I have a prior engagement.”
“You should. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Rowan’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “Just so you know, Evie’s with me.”
A long silence, then, “Good. This concerns her.”
Rowan sat on the small loveseat and patted the space beside him. I sat down and watched Caelan. He sat in his office, his face a mask of stone. Our eyes met.
Fury turned his eyes golden.
“Evangeline is cheating on you.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
“Oh?” Rowan said, not a hint of concern in his tone. “By the way, she doesn’t like when anyone besides her parents call her Evangeline.”
Caelan leaned forward. “Did you not hear me, Rowan? Evie is a faithless bitch.”
The words felt like sparks of fire touching my skin, each word a burn.
Rowan straightened. “I’ve warned you before about speaking of Evie like that.”
“I’m trying to save you from making a huge mistake!” Caelan bared his teeth. “We were friends at one time, weren’t we? Or was everything a lie?”
I was beginning to feel bad. “We should tell him,” I murmured.
“When did you see this supposed infidelity?” Rowan asked.
“Evie was in Joy Springs a couple of nights ago with Moira and her mother. She had another man with her.”
Rowan’s form shifted into the male from the other night. I sucked in a breath. I’d forgotten he could do that. Mom never had to spell him with a glamour, but she’d done so anyway, probably so Caelan wouldn’t smell anything off about Rowan’s power.
“Is this the male you speak of?” Rowan asked.
Caelan sucked in a sharp breath. “It was you,” he growled.
“Guilty as charged.”
“Evie’s magic has grown in leaps and bounds, it seems,” he said, wrongly attributing Rowan’s shift to me.
“Every single day,” Rowan agreed.
“You encroached on my territory,” Caelan said.
“Evie’s lands do not belong to you,” Rowan reminded him. “As she is now officially my mate—”
Caelan’s obvious flinch made my chest hurt. Even after everything happened, he wasn’t completely guilty. He was a victim as much as I was, though everything that had happened during the time we were together made me see other things he’d done or said to me in a different light.
We were not good for each other. We never had been.
And now that I was here, sitting beside Rowan, my chest warm with the bond between us, I felt grateful for Caelan in a strange way.
If it wasn’t for him, I’d still be working in my flower shop, totally ignorant of how wonderful love could be when it was right.
“Evie holds domain over my territory as well,” Rowan continued.
“Mates,” Caelan said softly. “Truly?”
Rowan let out a soft, regretful sigh. Not regret for us, but the situation, I knew. “Yes. Truly.” He said nothing of the fae bond.
I stayed silent. There was nothing more I needed to say to Caelan.
“You are the fae king, I take it?”
Rowan nodded.
Caelan’s eyes burned. “Will you be renouncing your position as Lord?”
Rowan’s brows lifted. “Why would I do that?”
“You now have a conflict of interest. A Lord cannot be beholden to another people other than his own.”
“True,” Rowan mused. “Evie’s people are now my own. By your own account, if this is true, you should resign as well. There are numerous fae living in your territory, including Evie at one time.”
“We are meeting soon,” Caelan said in response. “At that time, I will ask for a vote.”
He clicked off the call without another word.
Rowan shook his head and tucked his phone back into his pocket. “That went better than I expected.”
A surprised laugh bubbled from my lips. “Yes, he seems enthusiastic about the future.”
Rowan chuckled and rubbed his chin. “This will get worse before it gets better. He’s pissed off enough to force a vote.
There’s no way to tell which way Ethan will go.
Ben might side with me. Thorvin should. Soren is always a wild card.
Caelan will obviously vote against me. It’s possible they could force me out. ”
I leaned against him, my hand touching his heart. “Do you still want to be Lord?”
“I never wanted it in the first place.” His fingers toyed with my hair. “Power doesn’t discriminate. Magic like ours becomes a beacon. I had no choice. Once that first ring of gold appeared around my iris, I couldn’t hide it, and the other Lords eventually found me.”
Rowan pressed a kiss against my hair. “I’ve gotten everything I wanted, Evie. If they force me out, I won’t mind too much for myself, but this would affect my people. They are the ones who would suffer.”
I thought about his predicament and how I might be able to help. A slow smile curved my lips. “Well,” I said slowly, “I might have a plan for that one.”
Rowan’s brow furrowed. I gave him a quick kiss. “We can talk about it later. I’ll need your people’s permission before we do anything. In the meantime, I want to go smell the baby’s head before we go to Thorvin’s, so chop chop.”
I slid off the couch and headed out the door.
Moira, Ash, and Tess were almost to the house when I walked out. Moira carried Misty’s car seat and handed it off to Ash when she spotted me. She took off at a run and stopped a foot before me, dark eyes searching my face.
“You really did it,” she breathed. Tears swelled in her eyes, and she jerked me in for a tight hug. “Holy shit, Evie.”
Moira was overwhelmed. Her almost too slender frame trembled as she held me. “I was so afraid for you,” she whispered. “I’m so happy you let yourself have this.”
My throat clogged with tears. “Me too.” It was all I could say in the moment. “I mean, how could I say no to that guy, right?”
Moira sniffed. “Yeah. Hot. Kind. Turns into a fucking bear?” She pulled back and shook her head. “You’d be crazy not to grab that with both hands and hold on tight.”
We grinned at each other until Ash passed the baby to Tess and shoved his way in. “My turn!” He grabbed me around the waist and swung me around, planting a smacking kiss on my cheek before setting me down. “Congrats. Rowan for the win.”
Rowan had come up behind me a second ago. Odd feeling him through the bond, but he felt good, all warm and calming. Tess floated over and handed the baby back to Moira. She wasn’t a big hugger, so I was surprised when she reached in and enveloped me in a cool embrace.
“You deserve the most love,” she said in her tremulous voice.
“We are happy here and can see you are, too.” Tess turned to Rowan.
“Thank you again for allowing us to stay here. Ash loves it so much he finally took my virginity. Apparently, Joy Springs wasn’t green enough for him, but ever since we got here, he hasn’t been able to keep his hands off me. ”
Ash choked. “Tess. Gods.”
Rowan burst out laughing, his amusement a bright and sparkling thing through our bond. Moira gaped at Tess. I put my hand over my mouth, hopeless to contain my snicker.
“What?” Tess demanded. “It’s true.”
Ash’s face had turned crimson. “Yes, but talking about your sex life isn’t really done.”
Rowan brushed his words away. “You are in a Keep full of shifters. Do not be surprised if you occasionally run into some couples enjoying their outdoor time, if you know what I mean. Especially with Evie’s presence.”
Moira grinned. “You might want to contact the record keepers. I’ve never seen so many knocked up shifters in one place.”
It was my turn to blush.
Rowan put his arm around my waist and tugged me closer. “Her presence makes the land content, but her magic encourages life. Of all kinds. In a few months, our Keep will be overrun with children, an auspicious blessing for the future.”
If he was still Lord. A trickle of unease ran through me at the thought. I had a backup plan, one I didn’t want to use until absolutely necessary because it would make me enemies.
I had more than enough of those these days.