Chapter 8 Nia
Nia
“QUIZ TIME! WHAT SOLSTICE ARE YOU MOST LIKE?” —THE STELLA RUNE GAZETTE
Nia glanced at the clock again. Five minutes until six. She’d spent the last hour pacing and overthinking, nerves buzzing like static.
Her suitcase sat ready beside her, thrifted and well-worn, packed with essentials—toiletries, her favorite clothes, the blanket she couldn’t sleep without.
She could have waited upstairs in her apartment, but it had never felt quite like home.
Too plain. Too practical. Ivy’s place next door had life and personality, while hers just… existed.
Down here, she felt grounded. The work, the office—this was hers. Just like the tunnels that wound beneath Stella Rune, where magic moved freely and she could sit with coffee in hand, watching the world drift by.
The building itself was familiar in a way that settled her nerves.
Four apartments upstairs—hers, Ivy’s, a reclusive older man’s, and a young artist’s, who’d left paint smears along the hallway and around her doorknob.
Below, the first floor held a mix of businesses that made up the heart of the block.
The corner bookstore, crammed with everything from bestsellers to dusty old tomes; the sandwich shop, where the smell of fresh bread and sizzling meat still triggered memories of her first job; the antique store, where the right eyes could spot magical glamours woven into the displays.
And finally, the Charis Foundation’s office—small, neat, and buzzing with quiet purpose.
This was where she belonged: in the steady rhythm of this building, this street. Here, where life made sense.
Tonight, though, even the comfort of her office couldn’t settle her nerves.
Any minute now, Lochlan would arrive, and she’d follow him to a home she couldn’t imagine and a life she hadn’t asked for.
She worried about what the coming weeks held and what would happen when she saw Lochlan again. And also: who the heck was Jade?
Every way she might succeed in winning back her freedom was written on a notepad in her desk.
1. One of us is in love with someone else.
Nia knew that would never happen with her. She purposely sought out partners that screamed one night stand, so she hoped whoever this Jade was would throw a wrench in her father’s plan.
Though the thought of another person holding Lochlan’s affections made something shift beneath her skin. Just slightly. A faint prickle of shadows stirred at her back before the magic faded. It was probably better not to think about that.
2. They were utterly incompatible.
That felt less easy. After the initial shock of waking up married, she found herself liking Lochlan. He was calm, quiet, and not bad to look at. But that didn’t mean love. That certainly didn’t mean marriage. But, if she were looking for friends, he might be at the top of her prospect list.
3. Murder.
Murdering her father was an option. A difficult one—what with his mind-reading powers and his whole all-powerful Sword of the Goddess thing—but not impossible. She had spells. She had tricks. She just needed an opening.
As The Sword, Wulfric was the goddess’s mouthpiece among supernaturals. Keeper of rituals, interpreter of signs, and self-declared authority on what counted as sacred. He didn’t control everything, but the things he did were enough to make people kneel. And worse? They adored him for it.
Nia knew the truth—Wulfric came from a long line of tyrants dressed as divine keepers. Just because he wore the title convincingly didn’t make him any less of a monster.
But before she could contemplate possible patricide, she had to get through her first night with Lochlan. Nia envisioned some sort of domestic torment: fighting over the remote, his dirty clothes all over the place, him using her toothbrush. Horror movie stuff.
The rumbling of a truck jolted her to her feet. She left her office and peered through the waiting area windows. Lochlan sat behind the wheel, parked in front of her motorcycle. She watched as he took a deep breath and stepped out.
When he rounded the front of the truck his eyes instantly found hers.
She walked to the door and waved awkwardly. A few too many birds fluttered around her rib cage as he stepped into the Charis space.
“Hi, Nia.”
“Hi, Lochlan.”
Did her voice always sound so breathless?
“So, where do we go so you can grab what you need?”
She arched a brow. “You mean besides upstairs, where I live?”
He winced. “Right. I meant to ask if you’ve packed.”
“I have.” Her tone softened just a little.
He nodded and followed her gesture to the adjoining office. When he reappeared, her beat-up suitcase looked almost comically small in his hand.
“This is it?” he asked, his voice low and even.
“Yes.”
He cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at her. “Ready?”
Nia nodded, trailing after him as he carried her bag to his truck. He placed it gently in the passenger seat. She locked the office door, double-checking it out of habit, and when she turned back, he stood there, waiting. Their eyes met and a flash of memory hit her.
She was curled against his naked chest, his hand stroking her hair, laughing low in a way that made her stomach flutter.
Her cheeks burned as the memory slipped away like smoke, leaving only the heat of embarrassment and the faintest ache of longing. Fairy wine had done this: left her with gaps filled only by phantom sensations, a horny haunting that refused to leave her alone.
Lochlan shifted awkwardly and nodded toward the motorcycle parked nearby. “Yours?”
Nia followed his gaze to the bike she’d bought at eighteen—the only thing she could afford at the time. She’d built it up, cared for it, kept it running ever since. “Yeah.”
“Is it safe?” He sounded curious, but there was an edge of concern beneath it.
She blinked, expecting to bristle at the question, but instead felt… almost touched. Without answering, she grabbed her helmet. “I’ll follow you.”
The streets of Stella Rune were alive and full of charm.
The sun hung low over the ocean, casting warm light that danced across the cobblestones.
People wandered in and out of shops and restaurants, chatting and laughing.
Glamours hung thick in the air, cloaking the more supernatural sights—fairies dancing in the trees and wolven moving through town in their true forms—from mundane eyes.
As they rode through the historic part of town, the scenery shifted.
The cobblestones grew older and more uneven, and the trees lining the streets became denser, their branches intertwining above to create a canopy that filtered the warm orange of the sky.
A canal ran alongside them, its dark water catching glints of light from the lanterns posted along its banks.
The hum of the motorcycle and Lochlan’s truck engine filled the air as they turned onto a quiet street.
Lochlan pulled into a spot at the end, his truck coming to a smooth stop in front of a quaint townhome.
The deep red bricks glowed warmly in the sunset, and its green door evoked both the comfort and vibrancy of growing things.
It was charming, disarmingly so, and as Nia parked her bike behind his truck, she felt an unexpected calm settle over her.
She swung off the motorcycle, watching as Lochlan grabbed her suitcase from the truck and carried it toward the door without a word. She followed close behind, her boots clicking softly on the pavement.
Before he unlocked the door, Lochlan turned to her. “Just a warning,” he said, his tone cautious, “Jade can be a handful.”
Nia’s eyebrows lifted. “She’s here?”
Lochlan frowned. “Of course.” He turned the key, pushed the door open, and stepped aside to let her enter. “Jade, I’m home.”
He dropped his keys into a tray by the door, and the eager tap of claws on hardwood approached, building to a frantic rhythm with each step.
Nia braced herself as a blur of white fur and floppy ears launched itself at Lochlan with unrestrained joy. Lochlan laughed, catching the massive creature in his arms like it weighed nothing.
“I’ve been gone less than an hour.” He hugged the dog like it was his favorite person in the world.
Nia blinked, caught off guard by the scene. The affection between them was so natural and sincere, it felt like she was intruding on something private. Her heart twisted in a way she couldn’t quite name.
The dog turned its head, locking light green eyes on her from over Lochlan’s shoulder. The animal began wiggling uncontrollably, and Lochlan barely had time to brace himself before he had to let go or risk getting knocked over.
“Jade, wait—”
Too late. The dog launched toward Nia, large paws landing on her hips as a cold, wet nose pressed into her stomach, sniffing her like she was smuggling contraband.
“Whoa! Okay, hi!” Nia laughed, stumbling back under the eager inspection. “Is this normal?”
She expected a quick answer, maybe a dry remark, but instead, Lochlan was silent for a beat too long. She glanced up and caught him watching—not just Jade, but her. His expression shifted too fast for her to pin it down. Hesitation, maybe?
“Not to this extent,” he said.
A strange satisfaction curled in her stomach, but before she could think too much about it, Lochlan cleared his throat and straightened.
“Jade, this is Nia. Nia, this is Jade.”
Nia tilted her head, scratching behind the dog’s floppy ears. “Jade is a dog?”
“What else would she be?” Lochlan’s brow furrowed in genuine confusion.
“I don’t know, a girlfriend?”
His laughter came suddenly, warming in the space around them. It caught her off guard, and to her surprise, she found herself smiling.
“You thought I brought you home to my girlfriend?” he asked, chuckling as he shook his head.
“You didn’t explain!”
“You didn’t ask,” he teased, his grin widening.