Chapter 21
After my morning sessions and a quick lunch with the coven, I retreated to the Reading Room to comb through the codex. My time with Cupid had led to as many questions as it had answers.
Before I started reading, I made arrangements for Cupid’s Wednesday session. Then I made a quick phone call to Psyche. I knew she wouldn’t answer, and at that point, I didn’t blame her. Still, I left a message that, I hoped, would encourage her to come on Friday.
I didn’t know if the plan we’d devised for his arrows would work.
But if it did, it might be the key to more than Cupid’s growth.
It could be a step toward their reconciliation.
But we didn’t have time to handle every arrow he’d fired individually, so I still needed a Plan B.
I scanned volume five, hoping there was a spell a word witch could cast to undo his handiwork.
There wasn’t.
No matter how powerful, one being cannot undo the work of another.
While some spells can be counteracted, it requires full participation from the original caster to fully integrate.
Even when widely cast, it's unwise to use power generically or in a public setting in the hopes of solving a magical problem.
And even you can’t fix the trouble a god causes, Simone.
I hated it when the books talked to me.
“Well, fuck.”
“That bad, huh?” Ethan was leaning a touch too casually on the banister. His briefcase rested by his feet. Somehow, he’d managed to walk up the stairs and set it down while I was engrossed in the codex.
“A little.” I deliberately closed the volume and set it aside, inviting him in with a smile and gesture. “Just trying to solve a problem.”
“Anything I can help with?” I had to admit, it was fun to watch him enter a room. He had a swagger that couldn’t be ignored, and he used it to cross his fancy-suit-covered legs and clasp his expensive-watch-wearing hands like he was commanding a courtroom.
It was hot, the way Ethan wore his power and confidence. There was no denying it. And yet it was also detached, like he was a version of himself and not actually the man sitting across from me.
I did want his help, though, with another matter entirely.
“Maybe.” I angled my body so we were facing each other rather than the fireplace. “It’s about Lauren’s new manager.”
“Funny, I came up here to talk to you about Lauren as well. Thanks, Cecelia.” She’d placed a mug of coffee on the table between us, along with a blueberry muffin, because she adored Ethan and wanted to keep the man fed and caffeinated.
“Nothing for me, thanks.” I joked to Cecelia, who hadn’t even bothered to give me anything. To be fair she probably knew my basic needs better than I did. I wasn’t hungry. Still, an offer of an afternoon treat would have been nice.
A tiny square of chocolate arrived on a silver platter. Cecelia shared my sense of humor. With a snort, I shoved it in my mouth. “You first,” I said to Ethan. “Since you came all this way on a Monday afternoon.”
“Fair.” He brushed crumbs off his lapel and reached for his briefcase. For one fleeting moment, I had a horrible flashback.
“I swear to God if my divorce papers are in there …”
“What?” He wrinkled his nose, smoothing it out and chuckling when the memory hit him. “No, those are all signed and filed. I check periodically.”
We shared a laugh while he fished out several brochures. He set them on the now-clear table between us. I thumbed through them, my heartbeat quickening with each one.
Waterfall rappelling in Belize. Scuba diving in Indonesia. Whale spotting in Alaska.
They were all vacation spots. Really, really adventurous ones. My hands were trembling by the time I reached the last one.
“Ethan, I …” I stopped, swallowing the sudden golf ball lodged in my throat, then continued. “I don’t think we should take a vacation together right now.”
“Huh?” He turned the brochures as if they had changed, flipped through them, then dropped his head back and laughed. Way too damn hard, if you ask me. “These are for Lauren,” he finally said when he’d recovered.
“Oh.” No amount of magic was gonna stop the blush I knew was forming. My cheeks were practically on fire.
“I’m worried she won’t actually take the vacation she promised. We talked about helping, remember? At the board meeting?”
“The board meeting?” The conversation drifted back into my brain, little by little. So much had happened I’d forgotten about it. “Oh, right. You wanted to plan her vacation.”
“No way. I’ve met her.” He laughed again. “I want to offer some suggestions or give her a date range. Something to help her actually leave the Magnolia. She has Nina now. She just needs a little nudge.”
Sweet Ethan. I squeezed his hand. For all his reputation as a womanizer, Lauren still held an important place in his heart. He was gonna take care of her until both of them were old and gray. He had an inherent kindness. A knack for helping people out.
But not everyone could be helped. And if my sessions with Cupid had taught me anything, it was that people should not be manipulated.
“We did talk about that.” I studied the brochures a moment longer. “But I don’t think it's wise for us to push her.”
“Why?”
“She’s a grown woman, Ethan. And while we both may think we know what’s best for her, it’s not right for us to back her into a corner.” I patted his hand. “I can’t help but think some of this focus on her vacation is fueled by your guilt.”
“Guilt?” Ethan swept invisible crumbs from the table. “What would I feel guilty about?”
“Us.” I said it simply, letting him meet my eyes. “We both know we have Lauren’s blessing, but I think it, I mean she, is still sitting between us.”
“I don’t know,” Ethan said after a moment, tugging at one of his coils. “Maybe.”
I didn't want to talk about the elephant in the room. I was still feeling the effects of my nacho night and processing all my own feelings. Maybe it was cowardly, but I changed the subject.
“There’s something else.” I lowered my voice, even though I knew from experience it wasn’t necessary in the Reading Room. “I don’t trust Nina.”
Ethan did the wolf thing where he tilted his head so his ears could hear better. Then he did the other wolf thing where he lifted his nose and scented the air. He moved his tongue around in his mouth, as if tasting it. “I don’t sense anything dangerous.”
The memory of running into Ray the other night came flooding back to me. He’d done something similar, mentioning allergies. Maybe he hadn’t sensed me. Maybe we were that disconnected. I pushed the hurt down and focused on the more immediate issue.
“Twice now, she’s tried to lure me … somewhere. With a sort of song she hums.”
“Do you think she’s a siren?” Ethan craned his neck to look down into the main lobby. “But she has the weird feet.”
“I don’t know what type of being she is. And I’m not even sure she’s malicious. She just makes me feel … funny.” I rubbed my hand over my stomach, as if that explained everything.
“Have you asked Lauren about it?”
“No,” I said. “And I don’t know that I want to. She’s so excited about Nina, and I don’t want to mar that without cause. At least not yet.”
Ethan made a note in a tiny pad. “I’ll look into it. A simple internet search should tell us something.”
“I can look into it,” I said. “I was mostly hoping for a vibe check from you. I trust your opinion.”
“As your lawyer?” His voice hitched, the sound of hope lurking under a confidant facade.
“Because you’re a good friend,” I replied. And it was true. But I could have bitten my tongue clean off when Ethan flinched at my words. “That didn’t come out right.”
“No, I think it did. But I see your point about Lauren.” There was a resignation in Ethan’s voice that worried me. He gnawed on his lip. “Why didn’t you kiss me the other night?”
“Oh.” Welp, so much for not discussing that yet. “I did kiss you.”
“On the cheek. Then you slid out of my embrace like I could give you cooties.” Ethan was up again, pacing the floor like he wanted to wear a hole into it. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot.”
“Oh, yeah?” I tried to keep my voice light. “Do you have a theory?”
“Actually, yes.” He stopped walking to stand in front of me. “But I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”
“I’ve heard a lot that I don’t like lately.” I half-jokingly braced the arms of my chair. “Let me have it.”
But he didn’t let me have it. Before he could utter another word, a sharp growl reverberated through the room. We turned in unison toward the stairs and the source of the sound. My breath stopped short in my chest.
Ray stalked forward. In wolf form. Hatred-filled eyes laser-focused on Ethan.
And before either of us could react, he pounced.