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Too much was going on at once like always since Bevin had come into our lives. No, it wasn’t fair to put on her. She was the catalyst for the change that was desperately needed—long overdue even.
So really, it was her, but the fault was on everyone who had let it get like this like my aunt and uncle—the whole council.
Which is why I laid part of the blame at their feet.
I saw them as the problem now that the curtain had been pulled back for me.
I’d always thought they could do more but had always seen it as an uphill battle the original council had started and the current one continued.
Now I saw it for what it was, and it maybe had started that way, but these current members had plateaued with corruption and laziness. Fear and fine with the status quo in a way that I was pretty sure would have made the founding council ill.
Because all they’d really done was given the top-tier families—the fallen noble families who used to rule—time to circle the wagons and become more powerful.
That was beyond dangerous and now we were on the verge of war and it was largely their fault.
They wanted everyone else to fix it, probably most of us council guards to be their soldiers.
And a teenager their general to do it all for them.
So not only was the curtain pulled back, but my faith in the council was mostly lost, and I was looking at everything with new eyes… And I didn’t like what I was seeing. I really didn’t.
Most of us didn’t.
Which meant too much was always going on.
I knew in my gut that was why too many were brushing off whatever was going on with Eunice.
We were all trying to balance and handle too much.
It was constant, and if one more councilman tried to corner me into using my “relationship” with Bevin to get more out of their sessions, I was going to end up losing my job.
Or prison because I’d decked a councilman.
She’d pulled off a miracle, unlocking the key to ramp up my magic in a crazy way and they wanted it. They wanted the key. They wanted her. They wanted the same but without the work I’d put in. They wanted to use me as a tool to control her now after the gift she’d given me.
Hanson had brought up several times that I should be her priest, not Wyatt, so clearly he still wanted someone related to a council member with her even if it wasn’t his bastard son.
I made it clear that she was too young for me and to drop it or I would bring it up to my uncle because he wasn’t taking his time-out seriously.
He got pissed and said that wasn’t for me to discuss. I threw right back that I thought the same and assumed that was the end of it.
No, he simply waited a few days to try again.
Fucker. So clearly he knew I was attracted to Bevin, but like… Who wasn’t? Gay men?
Right, some of them would still look at her and wonder what it would be like to be with her. Even women said she was gorgeous and could tempt them. It honestly wasn’t just her looks, but the person she was. She was so good inside and it was like… It was hard to put into words.
So yeah, there was too much always going on.
Getting Maddie Dotson to our side was a huge win.
She was much smarter than I’d thought and completely tapped in.
The way she’d played the head of her family and collected a ton of information she’d turned over was amazing.
She even set up the path for Taylor to record and trace people in that family.
But we all hurt for the woman when she kept begging Bevin not to leave her as roadkill or to just let her die now. Seriously, how horrible were the people in our world that this was what the women in the top-tier families suffered?
I saw a few of the councilmen look truly upset as Taylor and Bevin gave a quick, informal report even if they didn’t name Maddie. They didn’t trust everyone on the council after what had happened.
Shocking, right?
Uncle and Councilman Reid told people to shut up when they demanded to know who it was. I wasn’t the only one who agreed it was ridiculous.
When it was over, there were some more things to handle, and I went to the new land Bevin had bought since there was some housing being put in.
Taylor had asked for some help on the magical side since his people were behind there.
No idea why the plan suddenly changed, and now there were six duplexes going in and a bunch of townhouses being discussed.
And like where the fuck had the money come from for that?
Then again, with the way Bevin made money from everything… And didn’t charge? I had no idea.
But then it wasn’t Bevin’s land, but Taylor’s, where he had a few houses built for his people and were putting in more. Yeah, I shot him a few looks that he ignored.
“I was surprised you guys reported about Maddie,” I told him as I looked over the list of what they wanted and the map.
“I told Dad, and your uncle was involved in all of it, but I think it’s stupid for the rest to know.
Bevin wants to keep her word and be transparent even if less so.
She wants to keep showing the progress and that she was the right one to bet on.
” He gave me a look that he knew it would probably backfire.
It probably would, but I sighed. “They’d use not getting information as proof that you were abusing her or something else. I’m just done.”
“I never thought to hear that from you.”
I swallowed down something nasty on the tip of my tongue. “I was never a lackey, Taylor. You saw more directly being their son. I was a nephew and not always read in.”
“Fair.” He sighed when he knew that wasn’t enough. “It wasn’t a judgment. It was—I saw you more fighting to change it from the inside and saw the flaws. Not just…”
I nodded. I got him more. “I don’t know what I am, just pushing on.” I let it go when he snorted and took it as dropped.
What I couldn’t let go was Bevin because she was obviously up to something. She wasn’t one to eavesdrop even though I’d asked her to, but she was moving closer to us, like the worst spy. Taylor clocked it too and raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her a few times.
He finally sighed and just focused on her. “What did I do wrong now? Are we about to have another uncomfortable conversation? I’m going to start needing blood pressure medication like humans, aren’t I?”
She blinked at him and then flushed, absolutely thinking back to when Taylor and Tracey’s familiars had snitched that Taylor was too rough with Tracey during their sex. “I cannot believe you just brought that up in passing. You’re stupid and I’m telling on you.”
“I cannot believe you just said that and it actually works,” I mumbled, losing the battle not to laugh. I actually brought the file up to my forehead and tried not to and keep it together.
“Please do, because I enjoy Tracey’s punishments and I’m totally stressed out,” Taylor drawled.
That was it. I lost it. I doubled over laughing it was so good, and Bevin’s face was so red. Tracey wouldn’t like that, and even Taylor realized it and apologized, but Bevin kept moving closer to me… While glancing at someone.
I followed her line of sight while still laughing, but immediately lost my amusement when I did. I stood up straight and caught her gaze, mine not amused. “Whatever is going on here, leave me out of it.”
She did a double take but then froze, her eyes wide. Taylor and I watched as Bevin did a great impression of a fish and then just frowned like she was trying to work out something and coming up short.
I felt bad because she was so smart but socially inept because of her abuse. “Whatever boundary you’re testing with Winter—I’m glad he groveled or whatever, but don’t involve others. I didn’t do anything wrong and I don’t want issues, Bev. I’m not looking for drama from your relationship.”
She winced, the pieces fitting now for her. She opened her mouth, probably to apologize, but then frowned. “Wait, he was supposed to grovel?” She blinked at me and slowly looked over at Winter. “You were? I’m pretty sure I did!”
“I didn’t need to know that or be included in this conversation,” Taylor bitched.
And I didn’t want to have the visual I now did in my head because she was already starring in my dreams and I needed that to stop… Not get worse.
“You want to lie and tell me you didn’t enjoy it, little sexy?” Winter called over, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.
“No, but I want the groveling too,” she answered, sounding like she was debating if she should pout.
Winter chuckled and tilted his head to study her. “Twist my arm. Sure. Now? Later? Repeatedly?”
She made a noise that was part shocked and part turned on, which was not what she should with the amount of males around her. Then she basically imploded and stormed off, the best parts of her bouncing as she did.
I didn’t watch like others did, knowing I was being watched, and merely meeting Winter’s gaze with my own neutral one. He simply smirked, wrapped up what he was handling, and then went to chase after his girlfriend while about a dozen men adjusted the way they were standing.
Myself included.
“Playing with fire there,” Taylor said under his breath.
“Playing with nothing,” I clarified. “Just not blind and noticed something men noticed including your dad.” I gave him a look to shut it and he let out a heavy breath and did.
I had a gift for doing that. Shutting people up.
Yeah, I mediated well, but my parents said I was born with the ability to shut down any conversation or win any verbal sparring from the moment I’d learned to talk.
It wasn’t about being an only child, but along the lines that I wasn’t much of a talker, so what I said was always pointed and mattered.
I used a lot of magic to lay what was needed while teaching some of Taylor’s people. Winter and his friends were a huge help and they were loaded with magic, a few really powerful for still being students. Then Tracey came and blew us out of the water and honestly took our breath away.