Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Of all the people to catch me naked and disheveled after a heavy make-out session, it had to be my damned father.
A slight warm breeze rolled over our skin as a heavy blanket appeared from thin air, draping itself over us.
“Thanks,” I muttered. “Did you kill my roses?”
Dad rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. “There. All better.” The damaged cocoon repaired itself, the snapped brambles mending themselves.
“Yes, but you killed them first, and they had to experience it.” I untangled myself from Rowan, sat up and ran my fingers over one of the pale pink roses. “Can I take some of these back to your Keep?” I asked.
“You can take whatever you want,” Rowan rumbled.
My father held the Lord’s eyes longer than necessary, a silent conversation passing between them.
Dad’s eyes narrowed for a second before a thoughtful look crossed his face.
I don’t think they were speaking mentally, but something had happened, something that made my father watch Rowan in a different way than normal.
Dad reached over and dropped the bag with our clothes between us. “Get dressed. I’ll transport everything back to your Keep. We need to talk.”
Rowan dug his clothes out and turned his back to me. I did the same, and we were dressed in no time, every inch of exposed skin freezing in the harsh wind. A heavy jacket landed on my shoulders, and Rowan’s earthy scent washed over me.
Something fundamental had changed between us. After today, he was not only my friend. Rowan was something more, something that sent a frisson of terror roaring through me when I tried to examine it.
I don’t know why he stopped, though thank the gods he had, because if my dad had ripped off the top of our shelter when we were in the middle of that…
My cheeks went crimson at the thought. I would have self-combusted on the spot.
Dad’s soft chuckle made me pick up a ball of snow and throw it at him. “Should I ground you?” he teased. “For making out with a boy when your parents weren’t home.”
“I’m going to murder you if you don’t shut up,” I said through gritted teeth.
Dad gasped. “Regicide?” He laid a hand over his heart. “My own daughter.”
I laughed. “Shut up. And it wouldn’t be regicide. It would be patricide. You’re no longer a king.”
His eyes widened with mock hurt. “Yes, because my murderous daughter took my throne.”
“If I recall, your murderous daughter didn’t want your throne. The current king twisted her arm.”
“Semantics.”
I rolled my eyes and finished tying my boots. Rowan was already standing, eyeing my father suspiciously. Even stranger, my father was ignoring him. Dear ol’ dad had shown up very conveniently.
Frowning, I rose and gathered the blankets up, neatly folding them to tuck under my arm. “There’s a truck some ways back,” Rowan said. “I’d appreciate it if you took that back with us.”
Dad inclined his head. “Certainly. Evie, gather the flowers you want to take, so we can make a hasty exit. What I have to say will not wait.”
I snipped a few of the stems away and tucked them into the jacket pocket. A quick sweep of the area revealed nothing we’d forgotten.
I nodded to Dad.
“Join hands with the Lord.”
Not Rowan or your Lord. Just the Lord. Was Dad being pissy for a reason or was he just having a bad day? I opened my mouth to ask, but magic swept me away before I had the chance.
I swayed on my feet when we landed right in front of Rowan’s main home. “A little warning next time would be nice,” I croaked.
“Evie, go on inside. I need to speak to Rowan for a moment.”
My eyes narrowed, and I looked at Rowan, who nodded once. “I’ll follow you in a minute.”
His lack of concern made me feel a little better, but not by much.
I pointed at Dad. “Be nice to him.”
Dad laughed. “You know, you never said that to me when it concerned Caelan.”
I crossed my arms. “Caelan usually had it coming,” I grumbled before turning to head inside.
The way those two were glaring at each other made me think they knew each other better than they pretended. I tried peeking through the door curtain once I was inside, but Dad was staring right at me and threw up an opaque barrier.
Just in case I could lip read, I guess.
Deciding to worry about them later, I carried the roses out to Rowan’s greenhouse.
He had a few empty beds he set up for me after my arrival, and I’d only planted a few things inside.
The temperature was still cold enough for them to do well, and I anticipated being here for at least another week or two so I could help get them settled before Rowan took over.
That thought pained me more than I expected.
I couldn’t very well continue living in his house.
Caelan and I had damn near been married, and we still lived apart.
The thought of leaving my land in Joy Springs hurt, but home was wherever a Floromancer landed, and this area had always sung to my natural soul.
Joy Springs was a pretty place, but the spring and summer greenery tended toward scrubby rather than lush, and the summers could be unseasonably warm if the weather mages didn’t step in. Rowan’s land settled the restless pieces of my soul.
He wanted me here. Or at least he had before our make-out session in the cocoon had gotten so out of hand. With him being so weird now, had he changed his mind?
I blew out a breath and shook the thoughts away.
No reason to let my anxiety spiral into full-blown paranoia.
We’d never kissed before today, and that kiss had turned into something far deeper.
I rubbed the place in my chest where that light had penetrated through.
The warmth was still there, and I could swear I still felt a piece of Rowan.
“Paranoia will get you nowhere,” I said in a little sing-song voice as I sat down on the edge of the garden beds.
The temperature here was cool but warm and humid enough to keep everything alive.
Rowan had installed heaters inside, but the roses would do better if there were a few nights of frigid temperatures.
I’d boost everything up before I left this evening so no harm would come to any of his plants if he didn’t turn them on.
My magic was almost back to normal levels again, the nap I’d taken doing much to restore me. I had a while before I needed to siphon again, but working in here today would keep that at bay a little longer.
With a smile, I gently extricated the roses, my heart tugging a little at the reminder of just a little while before when Rowan told me I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
I’d never be able to look at these and forget what had almost happened between us.
Once I’d situated the roses in the ground, I closed my eyes and got to work.