Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Aloud honking noise greeted me when we pulled into the driveway.
Moira hit the brakes, jerking the vehicle to an abrupt stop. “Shit,” she hissed. “How could they know this soon?”
I didn’t believe in coincidences, but there was no way the swans had already discovered us and gotten to my property. But there was one shifter in the wind.
“Nadia,” I said grimly.
Moira exhaled. “I’ll get out with you.”
“I don’t see a knife,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Or blade wings.”
“Maybe they’re retractable,” Moira said with a quick grin.
She turned the car off, and we stepped out of the vehicle at the same time.
A flash of silver light lit up the night revealing a small, nude woman who resembled Gianna, Caelan’s ex-fiancée.
“Would you like some clothes?” I asked.
Nadia blinked. “What?” Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, and her slight frame shivered in the cold weather.
“It’s freezing out here, and you’re naked. Do you want something to wear?”
“I—” She frowned at me. “Yes, if you don’t mind.”
Moira hurried through the wards and inside the house. “We’ll have you something in a minute.”
I didn’t make any sudden moves, but I’d primed my magic and sent it spiraling down into the earth until it was right underneath her feet. If she came at me, she’d get a surprise.
Moira came back out with a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a pair of thick socks, none of them from my good stash. Moira was a good friend.
Nadia kept her eyes on me while she dressed. When she was finished, she straightened.
“You killed her, didn’t you?”
Nadia might be a lot of things, but it didn’t stop her from loving her family. Even the worst of us had someone who loved them. “No,” I said honestly. “I had nothing to do with her death.”
“But she was here.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
She closed her eyes. “Do you know how she died?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know the circumstances surrounding her death.”
“Do you know who killed her?”
“Yes. A woman named Rhona, and two men—Finn and Donovan.”
Nadia sucked in a shocked gasp. “The Lord?”
“Yes. He was trying to destabilize Caelan’s rule.
” I could have lied to her, but I was so tired of all the lies and subterfuge.
This woman grieved for Gianna, and even though she wanted to take me and keep me in servitude, the first wrong had been served to her.
It didn’t lessen or offer forgiveness for what she planned to do to me, but I could, in a fucked-up kind of way, understand where the swans were coming from.
I could understand their desperation and their longing for children and to continue their family tree.
Nadia slumped. “May I sit on your porch?”
I wanted to let her, but I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. I know what you’ve done to the Lords, and I know why you’re interested in me.”
Her eyes widened. “How—You—” She sighed. “You found Gianna’s notebook, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“This wasn’t my idea,” she said, a note of desperation in her voice. “We need help,” she admitted. “And nothing is working.”
“And you thought trying to kidnap a woman and force her to bear your offspring was the best way to go about it?”
A flicker of annoyance rolled over her face. “No one will help us. Swans are not popular because we aren’t powerful.” She took a step forward. “And you have so much power in your blood.”
I couldn’t let her know I knew she already had one of us.
Playing dumb was the best way to delay her.
Moira stood off to the side, watching carefully.
She’d more than likely called someone when she went inside to get Nadia some clothes.
All we had to do was delay a little while longer and someone would show up and take her.
I didn’t want to kill Nadia. I felt sorry for her.
Which was all kinds of fucked up when I thought about it too hard.
“You can help us,” she insisted. “Even if it’s something small, like an egg donation or something we could use to try to boost our fertility.”
An egg donation would mean whatever child was born would be…mine. “I can speak to Caelan and try to get you some assistance.”
Nadia sneered. “We’ve already asked the Lords. They’ve refused our requests. Our kind will die if we can’t breed.”
“You’re going about this all wrong. Find the reason for your problem first. Shifters always have low birth rates, so that’s not abnormal in itself. Humans have high-tech labs and hire paranormals. We can find someone who’s willing to help.”
“It’s not physical. We are under a curse.”
Moira and I both stared at Nadia. “A curse,” we said at the same time.
“A witch and a swan shifter mated hundreds of years ago, but the male was unfaithful.”
I sucked in a breath. “They were truly mated?”
“Yes, but there was something wrong with the bond.” Nadia looked down. “The witch tried everything to repair their bond, but it was no use. When they finally sundered, the witch swore our line would die with him. From that moment on, none of us ever conceived again. Not even outside of the clan.”
Moira inhaled and shook her head. “You’ve tried with other species already.”
Nadia nodded. “Everyone except for the Chimeras. Our mage believes there is something in their blood that may break our curse.”
Caelan stepped onto my land, and I sensed another presence, so I quickly tweaked the words, allowing another Lord, maybe Thorvin or Ethan to follow. They were too far away to distinguish, and I wasn’t completely familiar with their magical signatures yet.
Nadia sensed it at the same time. “You can kill me, but it won’t stop us coming for you.”
“How many know about me?”
A flash of glee in her eyes. “We all know about you. Your secret won’t be safe for much longer if you refuse to cooperate with us.”
“You’re not asking for my cooperation. You want to steal my DNA to break your curse.”
“I don’t see you volunteering to help us.”
“If you’d come to me and asked, I may very well have, but you’re being kind of a bitch about it, so my answer is no.”
Caelan and Ethan came around the corner.
Nadia shifted in a flash of light and launched herself up from the grass, throwing off my magic. Shit. I forgot she could fly.
She came right at me, bright yellow beak open with a honking cry.
And, goddammit, Moira was right, retractable blades on her wings.
She got me right in the shoulder, a deep slice rendering my right arm useless. Roots shot from the earth, but Nadia was an agile flyer. She rolled and dodged every attempt at spearing her ass, lunging toward me every time she saw an opening.
Moira couldn’t help much, not with the roots and wing blades. But Ethan and Caelan had shifted into their wolf forms and circled me from behind.
I stiffened, uncomfortable with having Ethan at my back. Caelan would protect me from any opportunistic strikes on the other Lord’s behalf, but I wouldn’t relax until Ethan was off my land.
A screeching cry sent a thrill of victory through me. One of my roots punched right through her wing. Nadia’s flight dipped, but she still kept coming.
She was keeping her strikes to my arms and sides, staying away from my face, or anything that might cause my death. Nadia didn’t want me to die. She wanted me to suffer.
But she was one swan up against two Lords, a vampire, and a Floromancer, and the fight didn’t last long. I didn’t even have to shift.
Ethan leapt into the air, snatching Nadia by the neck. One shake, two shakes, and the third, the sound of a loud harsh crack, and the swan shifter went limp in Ethan’s mouth as he landed on the ground in a crouch, his eyes glowing with power.
He dropped her body onto the ground and rose. I kept my eyes carefully above waist level and nodded to the Lord.
“Thank you for your timely intervention.”
Ethan inclined his head. “Why was she so interested in you?”
Moira was right. The man had muscles for days. Damn. I would not have expected Ethan to be dead sexy underneath those tailored clothes, but he was.
“Evie?” Caelan questioned.
I blinked and dragged my mind out of the gutter. “Yes. Sorry. Um. She thought I had something to do with Gianna’s death.”
One of Ethan’s eyebrows rose. “And did you?”
“Wouldn’t you love it if I did? Always searching for some way to put me down, aren’t you, Ethan?”
A small smile.
“But no,” I growled. “My answer is the same as it’s always been. I had nothing to do with Gianna’s death.”
I couldn’t tell him about the real reason she was here, but Caelan would need to know. He stepped up beside me and winced as he touched my bloody collarbone. “Do you need to visit the Keep Healer?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll be fine in an hour or so.”
He took my hand and interlaced our fingers. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
Ethan watched us. “I hear there are congratulations in order, Evie.”
Caelan had already started telling people. I slapped a smile on my face. “Yes, thank you.”
“We will marry in a few weeks.”
“What?” Moira screeched, her eyes wide in her face. “You’re engaged?”
Caelan looked back and forth between us. “You went to dinner tonight to tell her, and you didn’t say a word?”
“We got busy with other…things.”
Moira looked shellshocked. “Evie. Married? Are you sure?”
“I’m right here,” Caelan drawled.
I tugged my hand away and went over to Moira. She dragged me into a tight hug and whispered against my hair. “Are you sure about this? Were you under duress? Is everything okay?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you.”
Moira sighed. “You should think more on why you forgot rather than feeling bad about not telling me.”
“Stop being so wise,” I hissed back.
“I want you to buy the most hideous bridesmaid dresses ever created.”
I let out a wet laugh and stepped away. “We’ll see.”
Ethan walked up to us and held out his hand. “I know we have our differences, but it’s not every day a Lord meets his match. Soon we will be…” He paused. “Not quite family, but close enough. Congratulations.”
I shook his hand, surprised by the work-roughened feel of his palm. “Thank you, Lord Ethan.”
He inclined his head and shifted once more before trotting off into the night.
Ethan being nice to me? The world really was about to go apocalyptic.