Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
Dad came through. The next morning, the small cottage was filled with my most important things. All my clothing was in the master closet, and my toiletries were deposited in the bathroom closet. He’d brought my bedroom furniture and all my pots and pans and spices.
Most importantly, he’d brought all my shelves and plants.
“Holy shit,” Rowan said when he stepped into the room. “Looks like a jungle in here.”
“I need to organize everything.” Hope was right about all the natural light coming through the windows. Even in an area of gray days, the house was brighter than my other had ever been. “The living room window is amazing. Most of the plants will thrive there.”
Rowan was dressed in a pair of dark gray slacks, shiny black shoes, a dark blue pullover sweater that brought out the green flecks in his eyes. His hair was artfully mussed and he’d shaved this morning. My fingers itched to trace the line of his jaw.
“Evie?” His tone held a wealth of amusement.
I picked up a snake plant and carried it to the window. “Hmm?”
“You’re still in your pajamas.”
I took two of the pothos and arranged them on the small shelf Dad brought from the house. “Maybe too much light.” I clicked my tongue.
“Evie?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you forget what we have to do today?”
I set down the pothos and turned to him with a frown. Realization dawned a second later. “Shit. Shit!” I clapped my hand over my mouth. Today was the emergency meeting with the Lords. “What should I wear?”
“Whatever you want to.”
Yanking on his hand, I dragged him to my bedroom and started flinging clothes aside. “You look nice. I need to look like you, but authoritative so they take me seriously.”
Rowan tugged on my hand, pulling me away from my frantic clothing shuffle.
When I tried to release him, he pulled me close and trapped me in the circle of his arms. “Hey.” He tilted my chin up with his index finger.
“No matter what you wear, they’ll all take you seriously because you’ll be the biggest predator in the room. ”
I snorted. “Sure.” I tried to pull away again, but Rowan wouldn’t let me go.
“Evie.”
I huffed and stilled. “We’re going to be late.”
His lips twitched. “They will wait. The meeting is about us, after all.”
“Yes, but I don’t want them making any major decisions without us.”
“Do you always worry this much?”
My eyes narrowed. Rowan made it difficult to be cranky. “Yes.”
He grinned. “You made me the largest territory owner in the U.S., and they can’t take the land back, can they?”
I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “They can try, but now that I’m keeping a closer eye on things, they won’t be successful.”
“Then we have nothing to worry about.”
“The Lords don’t seem like the kind of crowd who’ll let something like this stand.”
He lowered his voice and bent to touch his forehead to mine. “Then we’ll teach them why it’s a good idea to learn a new skill.” The words are low and deadly, his self-confidence over this dangerous gambit making something tug deep inside me.
Rowan had a deep sense of self-possession I found profoundly sexy.
Caelan was always in your face, prone to violent outbursts of rage.
The man had destroyed my shop over the automaton I’d made when he forced me to work for him.
Standing here now, I could never picture Rowan doing something like that.
A certainty clanged in my head like a gong.
Rowan would never hurt me.
“I can almost hear the gears in your brain turning,” he murmured.
“I’m wondering why I made the decisions I’ve made.”
His smile was sad. “We’ve all made decisions we’ve come to regret later. The only thing you can do is learn from them for the future.”
“I’m scared,” I admitted. “Not of the Lords necessarily, but of what might happen today. Every time I have to deal with them, I become regrettably angry.”
Rowan’s laugh soothed something inside me. “They’re skilled at getting under everyone’s skin. I must have missed that day in class when they were handing out Lord lessons. Remember you are no longer under their authority.”
“I’m under yours.”
Rowan shook his head. “You are the queen of the fae and under no one’s authority.
You live in my territory because you’ve chosen to.
” He brushed my hair away from my face. “Never doubt your power, Evie. The Lords are merely shifters. Powerful ones, no doubt, but shifters all the same. If they wish to play dangerous games, show them why those games are a bad idea.”
I put my hand over his. “You always say such wonderful things to me.”
Rowan said nothing but brought me in for a tight hug.
“It’s far too cold for a dress.” He let go and flipped through my clothing with a critical eye, setting a few pieces aside.
“Warm slacks and a sweater. Blue or green will bring out the color of your eyes. Minimal jewelry. Wear boots you can run in.” He winked and stepped back. “Just in case.”
“I’ll be out in less than ten.”
Rowan stepped out of the bedroom. “I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
The Lord had a good eye. I dressed in a pair of brown slacks and a maroon crew neck cashmere sweater with a pair of comfortable, heeled brown boots.
I added a leopard-print belt with a gold buckle.
To keep with the minimal but stylish look, I added a pair of gold hoops and a gold necklace with a London Topaz drop.
There wasn’t enough time to curl my hair, so I wove a quick fishtail braid, securing the bulk with an elastic tie I found in the toiletry bag Dad had left me. Rowan was waiting for me in the living room, testing out my new couch.
He nodded when he saw me. “You look nice. No one who sees you today will assume you could take out the entire room with a snap of your fingers.”
My lips twisted. “A snap is probably an exaggeration, but being underestimated is one of my favorite things.”
We grinned at each other. Rowan handed me a travel mug of coffee and a small black box he took from his pocket. I hesitated and met his eyes.
“A small token, a secret between us. No one else will know what it means, but it would honor me if you wore it today.”
I set the mug down and snapped the box open.
A gold necklace rested within the velvet, but that wasn’t what made me gasp.
Hanging on the end was a carved golden owl, its eyes two small rose-cut rubies.
“Rowan,” I breathed. “This is stunning.” My fingers brushed over the delicate wings.
“We haven’t had much time to speak about your fae form. ”
I glanced up to see him watching me, his irises outlined in gold. “You know my mother is a shapeshifter.”
I nodded.
“The owl was one of her favorite forms when I was a child. She preferred the horned owl, but mine was always a snowy owl.” A soft smile hovered over his mouth. “I don’t see her much these days, not since…”
I needed to check with Mom and Dad to see if anything had come from my request. “I’m sorry. I’ll fix that, I swear to you.”
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “Not your fault.”
Untrue, but he kept speaking. “I’ve never shared that secret with anyone else. It helps knowing someone who is a little like me shares a small part of me.”
I wanted to say I couldn’t accept such an elaborate and expensive gift, but there was so much hope and a tender vulnerability on his face, that I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’d be honored,” I said in a hoarse voice.
Rowan stood. I handed him the box and turned, sweeping my braid over my shoulder. While he was removing the owl necklace, I unfastened the topaz pendant and set it on the coffee table.
Rowan settled the pendant around my neck. His warm fingers swept across the back of my neck as he fastened the new one. When he finished, I adjusted the pendant and turned.
Rowan’s eyes glittered with warmth.
“I love it,” I said quietly. “Thank you for trusting me with something so precious.”
A knock on the door interrupted. Rowan stepped away. “Ready to go? I secured us a ride.”
I snatched my purse from the hallway table and checked inside to make sure I had everything I needed. “Ready if you are.”
Rowan opened the door. My father stood on the steps, his eyes swirling with magic. I kissed Dad on the cheek and waited for Rowan.
“I’ll be close by if things go sideways,” Dad said. “Hold on to me and don’t let go until we’ve arrived.”
A moment later, we were traveling through space and time.