Chapter 4
Nia
“THE DUCHESS OF CHARITY MARRIES THE UNWANTED HEIR.” —THE STELLA RUNE GAZETTE
“You won’t be the only ones coming in today,” Vinny said.
He was a local Stella Rune lawyer who’d handled Ivy’s hasty annulment. An energy witch, Vinny could sense emotions in a way humans might call empathic. It probably made him an excellent lawyer, able to read people in ways they couldn’t even read themselves.
He sat behind a large mahogany desk, sorting through the paperwork to finalize the annulment.
“They should pass a bill pausing all marriages during equinox gatherings,” he muttered.
Nia flinched at the word marriage. She couldn’t believe she was sitting here. This wasn’t her.
It could be worse. As far as husbands went, Lochlan was hot—no denying that. He was the classic tall, dark, and handsome cliché, all sharp cheekbones, broad shoulders, and just the right amount of scruffy stubble. And, well… that ass.
She swallowed a groan.
He also seemed sweet, in a quiet, barely talking kind of way. But she had vowed to never be in this position, no matter what. Now she had to vow that it would never happen again. Maybe she should do a spell, or find a potion to help make it stick.
“How is your friend Ivy doing?” Vinny asked.
“She’s amazing, and happily unmarried,” Nia gave him a pointed look and then dropped her gaze to the papers in his hands.
“Right, right. I’ll just take these to the back, confirm the information, and get you out of here in time for brunch.”
Vinny walked away and when the door closed behind him, Nia bent over and rubbed her eyes. Once this was taken care of, she would have to make sure nothing leaked to the media. They loved following anything she did, for some absurd reason.
“Are you okay?” Lochlan asked.
She waved the question away. She wasn’t okay, but she would be, and either way it wasn’t any of his concern.
“You’ll be rid of me soon.”
Memories of the night before flickered through her mind like elusive flames, impossible to hold on to, yet they left her burning all the same. She had never enjoyed an equinox celebration so much, never danced so freely, never been so… carnal.
They hadn’t had sex. He wouldn’t let them.
But they had been naked, tangled together, her legs spread over his thighs as she chased relief with desperate, breathless urgency.
He’d held her through it but refused to take that final step, no matter how many times she’d begged.
Her moans had pressed against his throat, her teeth had sunk into his skin.
The marks she’d left were red and angry, and yet, she couldn’t bring herself to feel ashamed.
What would it feel like to have all of him?
To feel him inside her, with nothing between them but heat and want?
When they woke up, he’d been sweet and attentive, but he’d marked her as roughly as she’d marked him, and she wanted that side.
That darker, hungrier part of him. The one that would leave her sore and aching in all the ways she craved.
She blew out a shaky breath, her cheeks flushing as the images swirled too vividly in her mind. Stop it. There was no good in dwelling on what couldn’t—wouldn’t—happen.
She forced herself to look anywhere but at him.
On the lawyer’s desk sat a plant, its leaves drooping and dull. Nia’s gaze lingered on it, sensing the faint pulse of life, clinging on but desperate for care. This was Lochlan’s magic, now hers.
He had noticed the plant, too.
Shadows curled from his hand, twining gracefully around one of the water bottles Vinny had offered them and lifting it toward the thirsty plant. As the dry soil greedily absorbed the water, Nia could feel the plant’s immediate relief, like a breath finally taken after too long without air.
“You caught on to that pretty fast,” she murmured, grudgingly impressed.
Lochlan glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. “Your shadows—they’re magnificent. They remind me of the vines I can conjure.”
His compliment sent an unexpected surge of warmth through her, but she shoved the feeling aside, focusing instead on the plant.
She had the sudden urge to steal it, to bring it back to her office where she could tend to it properly.
She could picture it thriving among the small collection she’d somehow accumulated over the years—plants she had, against all odds, managed to keep alive.
She wasn’t sure when or why she’d started collecting them.
Now, it felt almost like some kind of twisted joke from fate.
“You’re taking this a lot better than I am,” she said.
“I’m used to being someone’s mistake.” His voice was laced with quiet anger. Nia was about to ask him what he meant when the lawyer came back, his face pale.
He sat behind the desk. “I’m sorry.”
Nia and Lochlan shared a glance.
“For?” he asked.
“I can’t grant your annulment.”
A faint ringing filled Nia’s ears.
“Excuse me?” she demanded. “Why the fuck not?”
“It seems…” Vinny tugged at the collar of his shirt, the movement small but telling. “Well, I… I just can’t.”
Nia’s jaw tightened.
“I can feel your anger.” His magic must have been clawing at him, dragging every bit of her fury straight through him. Good. “Please, calm down and—
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You annulled Ivy’s marriage, and that devil didn’t even need to be here!”
Shadows darkened the room, rising with her anger.
“That was a different situation,” the lawyer said, his hands trembling. “I can’t help you. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Nia stood so fast her chair fell and clattered to the ground behind her. This couldn’t be happening. She fixed things. That was what she did. Her mind began to work, looking at all the options. Extorsion would take time; threatening would be a lot quicker.
She searched the office, looking for—
A gentle hand wrapped around her forearm.
“Come on, Nia.” Lochlan’s voice was cool and calm in a way that eased her anger. “I know someone who can help us.”
Despite the tension in the room, his expression was all careful concern.
Nia turned back to the lawyer, the tips of her writhing shadows pointing at him, each sharp as a blade. “You’re going to regret this.”
* * *
The second lawyer’s office was nothing like what she’d expected.
A gaming table covered in tiny painted figures stood in one corner, while mostly tasteful posters of half-naked people lined the walls.
A mini fridge sat in one corner, stocked with more beer than water, and numerous plants thrived in the small, eclectic space.
And then there was Becket—tall with dark skin and a careless grin, his slacks and shirt rumpled like they’d spent the night on someone else’s floor, or possibly like he’d just rolled out of an orgy.
She instantly liked him.
Something in her stirred, perking up like a cat scenting the air. It wasn’t a conscious reaction, more instinct than intent: You have magic, it hummed, but what kind?
It was always like this with other supernaturals. Her powers stirred, too, eager to root around in his darkness, to get a feel for what lay beneath. But when he gave Lochlan’s shoulder a squeeze and she caught the twitch of his lips out of the corner of her eye, she pushed down the urge.
“You just had to have all the fun without me, didn’t you?” Becket said, taking a seat behind his messy desk.
“We probably have you to thank for this,” Lochlan answered.
“If I’d been there, I wouldn’t have stopped it.” Becket held one hand by his mouth and stage-whispered. “She’s freaking hot, dude.”
Lochlan ran a hand over his face and Nia rolled her eyes.
“Now,” Becket continued, “I don’t usually deal with ruining a lovely couple’s life with divorce–”
“Annulment,” Lochlan cut in, his tone clipped.
Becket waved a dismissive hand. “But I don’t see any reason why I can’t file this and send you on your way.” He glanced over the papers. “Yep, everything’s in place. You sign here, Lochlan. And Nia, there.”
Lochlan signed quickly and slid the papers toward Nia. She found herself hesitating. Yes, she wanted this over with as quickly as possible, but—
“I just want to say,” she began softly, her fingers brushing the pen, “if there was anyone to be accidentally married to, I couldn’t do better than you.”
Lochlan’s eyes widened as wonder flickered across his face. Caught off guard by the emotion, she quickly turned away. With a steadying breath, she signed her name.
“Now, my turn. Then we can crack open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate,” said Becket.
“It’s nine in the morning,” Nia pointed out.
He shrugged and turned to sign the paper. The pen hovered over the blank line. Nia watched as it continued to hover, then tremble.
“What?” Becket’s eyes flicked between the both of them.
“We didn’t say anything,” Lochlan said, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Huh, weird.” He shook his head and went to sign again. This time, Becket’s hand began to shake violently. He grabbed his wrist, trying to force the pen to paper, but it wouldn’t budge. The lights began to flicker as Becket shook his head. “I will not submit to you… you…”
Becket began mumbling incoherent words.
Lochlan stood as Nia gripped the arms of her chair.
Becket looked up from the papers, his eyes unfocused and nose bleeding. “Mommy, I would like some cereal,” he said before his face fell to the desk with a painful thump.
“Becket!” Lochlan rushed to his friend and checked his pulse before trying to wake him with light slaps on his face.
Nia’s heart pounded so violently she thought she might pass out. Memories surfaced, flashes of a time she was too young to understand: a man tied to a chair, his body straining, his mind under siege.
Her stomach turned. “That fucking asshole.”
“He didn’t do anything!” Lochlan’s voice was harsh, commanding—and, annoyingly, kind of hot.
“Not him.”
Lochlan’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”