Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
I’d forgotten all about Caelan for a while. Turns out, dropping a naked fae from thin air was a good distraction from one’s troubles.
But now, I wondered if Lou might be another addition to our trouble.
It seemed like our errant fae didn’t want to return home. This was his first time “earthside” as he said, and he quite liked the look of the shop and the outside.
We sat around the small seating area in the shop, gaping at him.
“Let me get this straight,” Moira said slowly. “You popped out of thin air into a strange place with no clothes, no money, and no identification, and now you want to stay a while?”
Lou shrugged. “It has been far too long since I’ve had an adventure. And this…” he swept his hand out, “is more of an adventure than I’d ever hoped to find.”
Ash let out an exasperated breath. “Why haven’t you come here before now?”
“I never had a reason to, I suppose. It’s easy to never leave home unless you have to. Home is so cozy and warm. But now that I’m here, I find I want to see more.”
“You have no money!”
Lou laughed. “I am fae. We always have money.”
“If the Shifter Lord catches you passing sticks and leaves off as currency, you will find yourself in more trouble than you can imagine,” Moira murmured.
“I will be long gone before then,” Lou assured us.
“And the shop owners you’ve duped?” I asked.
He shrugged. “They should expect no better from the fae.”
Ash’s expression darkened. “And fae like you are the reason why. Many of those shop owners you seek to cheat are fae or descended from your people.”
Lou’s eyes flicked to me. “And her people.” And back to Ash. “And yours, though the dryads do not love being grouped in with some of the fae.”
“Regardless,” Moira said. “Stealing is wrong.”
“You stole me from my garden,” Lou said, his lips twitching.
“That was an accident!” Moira huffed and crossed her arms over his chest.
Lou held his hands up in surrender. “Fine. I promise not to dupe or steal while I am here.” He laid a hand against his heart. “I swear it upon my honor.”
“We have no idea who you are,” Moira grumbled. “So how do we know you have any honor?”
I put a hand on Moira’s arm. Saying something like that to certain fae would be a mortal slap to their honor. Thankfully Lou only stared at Moira, an amused tilt to his lips.
“You’ll just have to trust me then, won’t you?”
I did not like this. Not even a little bit. But what could I do? And who was I to begrudge a fae who’d never been here the opportunity to sightsee?
“Fine. Three days.”
“Seven,” Lou fired back.
I barked a laugh. “Not a chance.”
“Six then.”
“Three. Any more and you’ll need to report to the Shifter Lord. I’ll notify him of your presence. Do not be surprised if he goes looking for you.”
Lou’s eyes narrowed. “Five.”
“You want to report to him yourself?” I shrugged. “Fine. I’m still telling him you’re here, though.”
“Done. Five days hence I will return to your shop for transport home.” He rose. “I will return your clothes at that time, Ash. Thank you for your unusual hospitality.”
“That’s it?” Moira blurted. “You’re not angry or upset that I brought you here?”
“At first, sure,” Lou said. “Until I began to see this as an opportunity.”
“But I can send you home right now,” Moira argued.
The tremor in her voice told me she wasn’t so sure she could.
“I’m sure you can,” Lou said, his eyes sparkling. “Since I’m here, I’d like to see what this big wide world is all about.”
“Alright then. Five days. No more.”
Lou grinned. “I’ll find your Shifter Lord faster than he’ll find me.”
And with those ominous words, Lou snapped his fingers and disappeared.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Ash said, echoing my own thoughts.
“How much harm can he do?” Moira said.
Ash and I both sent her matching incredulous looks.
Moira groaned and put her hands over her face. “I know. I’ll call Hazel tonight and see if she can help.”
Ash nudged her over and sat beside her. “Fae magic hit you a few months ago. During Evie’s transformation at Caelan’s.”
The words were not a question. Ash must have seen what happened.
There was no way to forget that night. I’d transformed into the true Chimera form, the mythical beast with dragon wings, and killed Finn and Rhona. Magic had been flying all over the place that night.
Moira nodded miserably. “I thought it was fine. And it was for a while. But odd things started happening a couple of weeks later.”
“And they’re getting worse,” I added.
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “This power isn’t going away, and I have no idea what to do.” She waved a hand in the direction where Lou had disappeared. “And I certainly can’t keep doing that! Who knows what I’ll bring through next time.”
“All that means is we need someone who can help you learn to control the magic. I was in the same boat not too long ago.” Things weren’t perfect with my magic, but they were way better. For the most part, I had a handle on things, but I still needed guidance.
Enter Barrett. Handsome, annoying, and adept with Chimera magic, as he was one. We had yet to have our first official training session since both of us were still trying to clean up the mess with the swans and figure out where they were holding a male Chimera.
To Barrett’s credit, he was far busier with that than I was, but I did pass on information after picking Caelan’s brain about where they might have stashed the missing Chimera, and I ensured I was aware of my surroundings at all times.
Nadia might be out of the picture, but the swans wouldn’t stop until they saved their people.
Unfortunately, they saw me and my intact womb as their savior.
“Evie?” Ash’s brow furrowed. “We lost you for a minute.”
I shook the dark thoughts away. “Sorry. I was thinking about Barrett.”
Moira grunted. “How’s that going?”
“Very little progress on that front,” I said with a laugh. “But let’s get back to you. Barrett can’t help, but this town is full of people who can. I can ask my father, too.”
Ash tilted his head. “You don’t seem enthused about that, either.”
“He’s being…difficult right now.”
“Typical dad stuff?” Moira asked.
If typical dad stuff was bringing an old lover around to tempt your current one and trying to force you into a crown you didn’t want, sure. “I wish. I’m heading over to the diner later this evening to take care of the plants. I’ll ask for recommendations.”
Moira stared down at her hands. “I wish I could get rid of whatever this is.”
Ash slung an arm over her shoulders. “Maybe you’ll learn how to start pulling really cool things from other dimensions. Like alien rabbits.”
“Or something just like chocolate! You could start a craze and become a billionaire.”
Her lips tugged into a smile. “Sure. I’ll share my wealth with you.”
“Sold,” Ash said. He pressed a kiss to Moira’s temple. “Try not to worry. If Evie can get the Chimera under control, you can stop pulling men from thin air.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Moira said dryly. With a long sigh, she stood and straightened her sweater. “I’m going home. It’s been a long day.”
I stood and reached for a hug. “I’ll text you later.”
Before she pulled away, I gave her a little squeeze. “Don’t worry. Lou just wants a little time to explore. Who knows? Maybe he’ll discover Sirena’s gelato, and she’ll distract him for the next four days.”
Ash grinned and pulled out his phone. “Great idea. I’m texting her now.”
The first real smile in hours reached Moira’s eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she was out the door, and it was only Ash and I left, he slumped against the couch. “Lou’s going to be a problem, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “I suspect so. Caelan won’t want an unknown fae running around Joy Springs unsupervised. I’ll talk to him this evening.”
“I’ll reach out to my people as well. Dryads see everything.”
“Let me know if you hear anything. I’ll do the same.”
With that agreement, we worked quickly to close up the shop. As I was driving to Caelan’s a little while later, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of doom creeping over me.
Disturbed, I shook it off before adjusting the mirror to fluff my hair before heading inside the Keep.