Chapter 6
Nia
Nia rested her head on a makeshift pillow of event flyers, the colorful papers crinkling beneath her cheek.
They advertised a pancake breakfast to raise funds for better gear for local police dogs.
But how could she focus on pancakes and pups when she’d just come face-to-face with the man she despised more than anyone?
It hadn’t always been hatred her father inspired.
For the first seventeen years of her life, she’d adored him—he had been everything to her.
He’d hidden her away in the grand manor that loomed in the shadow of the Videt, overlooking the sea, always claiming it was to protect her.
He had said no one could know she existed, or she’d suffer the same tragic fate as her mother.
Only later did she uncover the bitter truth: he’d lied about everything.
Her mother’s death had never been an accident.
It had been his fault.
Nia wiped her eyes against the sleeve of her jacket—or rather, Lochlan’s jacket. It smelled faintly of fresh grass, lingering embers from last night’s fire, and him. Not that she wanted to recognize the scent of her new husband.
Husband.
She was married, and she couldn’t get unmarried unless she proved to her father that he was wrong. It should have been easy: Nia wasn’t right for anyone. And she suspected Lochlan was already in a relationship with someone named Jade.
Easy.
So why did she keep revisiting the look on his face when he’d called himself a mistake? Or the way her stomach had twisted when she saw him take in the loss of so many family members? Or, worst of all, the way her heart ached when he’d wiped away her tears.
At that moment, she’d almost confided in him.
It was an instinct and urge she had never felt before.
She wanted to tell him all the fears that came bubbling up after seeing her father again, fears that stemmed from her mother’s death and had led to her vowing to never marry.
But she had six weeks to prove her father wrong, and confiding in Lochlan wouldn’t help her case.
Nia’s head snapped up as the foundation’s double doors flew open.
Ivy stormed in, her hair and the loose fabric of her skirt billowing behind her. “Where have you been?”
Nia groaned and put her head back on the desk.
“I’ve been worried sick! No text, no call, no freaking cat. Nothing. I wouldn’t know if you were dead or alive, if it wasn’t for that damned social channel where fans follow your every move.”
“Are you done?” Nia grumbled.
She heard Ivy huff, and imagined her nostrils flaring like they sometimes did.
Nia didn’t lift her head, but her hand, and summoned a mess of dark flowers and leaves.
“Oh. My. Goddess!” Ivy squealed. Nia winced at the sound. “You have shared magic! You’re married! I never thought it would happen. Was it that strapping man you were hanging around with all night?”
Nia whipped her head up and the room spun. She really needed to find food. And coffee. Quickly. “You saw him?”
“Nia! He was so handsome, and his hair was so dark, and his scruff…” Ivy practically swooned into a chair.
“Ivy. Why do I drag myself to those parties?”
“So I won’t get in trouble or get married accidentally again.”
“And what happened to me last night?”
“You—” Her blue eyes widened like saucers. She chewed on her lip for a moment. “You don’t want to be married?”
Nia glared at her best friend.
“But marriage is so wonderful. You have a partner for life, you get to use their magic, not to mention the sex. And you can kiss them whenever you want.”
“I have not eaten, I have not had coffee, and you were married for five minutes.”
Ivy’s face scrunched in annoyance. “Only because you worked so fast to get it annulled. You could have waited a few days!”
“You married a wood devil! A wood devil. They eat their spouses after the marriage is consummated.”
“But he was so tall,” Ivy said dreamily, sinking further into the chair. “And though I couldn’t speak his language, he was really sweet and attentive. If he was going to eat me, I bet it would have been painless. Maybe even a teensy-bit hot.”
“Please stop.”
Ivy was about to continue when Eddie, one of Stella Rune’s three delivery people, entered the waiting area of their office.
“Thank the goddess you ordered lunch,” Nia said.
Ivy shook her head. “I didn’t order anything.”
Before either of them could say more, the other two delivery people—Maria and Joel—followed Eddie through the door, each carrying a bag or tray.
They all paused, staring at one another with varying levels of confusion.
“Hey, Nia,” Eddie said, holding up a bag. “This is for you.”
“Me?” she said, confused as he handed over the bag.
Maria stepped forward with another. “Someone’s feeling generous today,” she said with a smirk, handing her bag to Nia.
Joel, a glamoured wolven, was last, balancing a tray of four different cups from The Goblin Grind. “Here you go, Nia,” he said with a grin. “Guess someone thinks you like variety.”
“What is this?” Nia asked, staring at the tray as if it might explain itself.
“We just deliver the goods,” Joel replied with a shrug, clearly enjoying the situation.
Nia and Ivy dug into the bags and unearthed Italian from Joe’s, Mediterranean from Theo’s, and greasy burgers from the Burger Barn. The variety only deepened the mystery. Nia’s phone vibrated from where it was charging on the desk.
Unknown
I had food delivered to your office. I’m sorry, I should have fed you sooner.
Unknown
I’m not sure what you like so I had a few things delivered.
Unknown
This is Lochlan by the way.
“Why does it feel like you’re about to cry?” Ivy asked, frowning slightly. Nia felt the familiar brush of Ivy’s magic ripple between them. She probably sensed the chaos brewing in Nia’s chest. “Who is it?”
Nia waved her off and began to text back.
Me
I figured. How did you get my number?
Unknown
From the annulment paperwork.
The failed annulment your father sabotaged, he should have said.
Nia threw her phone onto her chair and grabbed the coffee that looked like her usual order from The Goblin Grind.
One sip of the iced quad with orange, caramel, and cardamom, and her headache began to ease.
She glared at her phone, sitting innocently on the leather.
It wasn’t Lochlan’s fault today didn’t work out.
In a way, it was her fault he was caught up in this mess with her father.
And his fault she was beginning to feel better.
She sighed, grabbed her phone, and quickly typed a reply.
Me
Thank you.