Chapter Thirty-Nine
The sun was nearing midday as I ran lightly down the garden path toward my cottage. Excitement coursed through me.
Charles was alive.
Well, he was a tree.
But given the way my life had been going, Charles revealing himself as an ancient entity wasn’t the weirdest thing to have happened. The main thing was, he was alive, and I couldn’t wait to tell Owen.
A smile spread across my face as soon as I spotted him waiting on our porch. I paused at the bottom of the steps, a lump in my throat. “Charles is the Yew tree and the Rootstone Guardian. He’s alive.”
Owen stared at me before a grin split his face. “I heard his voice in the Veil, but at the time I was too worried about you to ask questions. And then when you mentioned you saw him at your bedside… Honestly, I thought it was his spirit or something.”
I took a seat, and Owen immediately drew me into his side. I inhaled his familiar scent, feeling for a moment that all was right with the world.
“Yes, your grandfather seems to have his own way of doing things. And Owen, if you’re the grandson of the Rootstone Guardian—”
“Then I’m a Druid…”
“Yes. And a Veil Walker. No wonder the Tree Spirits accepted you.”
“Granddad called me a Veil Walker when I was trying to save you…”
“You never told me that!”
“Most of that time is a blur, and I try not to think about when you…” He trailed off, his expression haunted, and I decided to change the subject.
“Wait until you hear what your grandfather has been up to.”
I quickly filled him in on Charles’s matchmaking, and Owen couldn’t stop laughing.
“Thank goodness for him, Kira. His methods might be a little strange, but you can’t deny they’re effective. I mean, look at us now.”
“We owe him a great debt,” I agreed. Then I sobered. “He says it’s time to fight. I’m sorry I haven’t been helping with battle plans and whatever’s been going on in the outside world.”
“Hey. None of that. You needed to regain your strength, not just in body, but in spirit. The Yew told Freya and Shamus that in time, when you were ready, it would speak with you. Did your conversation help?”
“I think so. Let me try something.”
I walked down into the garden toward a purple iris wilting in the warm sun.
I closed my eyes, listened, and then requested the use of the Yew’s power.
As I let it flow through me, my dark power gnashed its teeth and raged, but I kept it stamped down, refusing to allow it to grow and take over as it had in the past. Focusing on the water in the soil, I encouraged it to travel into the flower’s roots and up its stem.
When I opened my eyes, the iris stood straight, its vibrant lavender and violet hues shining in the sun.
Owen raised his eyebrows. “Impressive.”
“I used my Druid magic, the magic that comes from the Yew tree and this garden. I didn’t touch my dark power.” I beamed as I skipped back to Owen, then I straddled his lap, threw my arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly.
“Thank you for giving me time to heal,” I whispered, rubbing my thumb along his lips.
“Of course,” Owen murmured, nipping playfully at my fingers. He settled me more firmly onto his lap, and his growing arousal pressed against my thigh. I rubbed myself against him, feeling powerful when his eyes darkened.
“I’m ready to start fighting but…” I nuzzled his neck.
“But?” Owen rocked into me.
“I don’t want to fight now,” I whispered, delighting in the low growl that rumbled through his chest.
In one smooth motion, Owen rose and carried me into our cottage. I wrapped my legs around him and kissed him desperately. I couldn’t get enough of his taste, his scent. I had no idea what the future held, but right here, right now, I had Owen in my arms, and I didn’t want to waste a minute.
Owen kicked the door closed and set me on my feet only long enough for us to rip our clothes off.
Then he sat on the couch and pulled me onto his lap.
I bit my bottom lip as I ran my hands over his chest and muscular arms. I was already so wet, and I couldn’t wait to feel him inside me.
Owen was the only person who had ever made me feel this way, like I was melting and burning all at once.
Like I was coming alive, and every touch of his skin against my own sent waves of heat rolling through me.
Like I would die if he didn’t touch me more, or press harder, or move faster.
I was desperate for release, yet I never wanted our time together to end.
“I like this position,” Owen rasped. “Makes it easier to do this.” He cupped my breasts, leaning forward to take my nipple into his mouth, lathing the rigid peak with his tongue. I moaned, my hands in his soft hair.
“Owen…” I breathed.
“I can also do this.” He ran the pad of his thumb across my swollen clit, exerting just enough pressure to drive me wild.
I bucked into him and spread my knees so I could press down on him.
He captured my mouth in a searing kiss, stroking my tongue with his own while his thumb circled my sensitive bud, pressing and rubbing exactly the way I liked.
I keened and mewled, writhing on top of him, frantic to fill the emptiness inside of me. The pressure between my legs crested, but it wasn’t enough. Owen slipped two fingers inside me, pushing me over the edge until I splintered around him, throwing my head back as I called his name.
“So beautiful,” Owen growled, raining kisses across my chest. “Need to be inside you. Now.”
I was still shuddering and tingling from the high when he lifted me by the hips and brought me down, sheathing himself in my warmth all at once.
We both groaned at the perfection of being joined at last, and Owen stood up, his hands gripping my ass, and took two long strides until my back hit a wall.
He pumped into me, his hips driving forward in a relentless rhythm that sent white-hot pleasure whipping through me.
“Need to fuck you so hard,” he gasped, his powerful thrusts propelling me up the wall, but I didn’t want it any other way. “Love being inside you. God, I never want to be anywhere else. Love you so fucking much, Kira. Do you hear me? You’re mine.”
His eyes held a feral glint, and all I could do was hold on as a storm surged between us and pleasure gathered and built, spiralling up my spine and sparking through my entire body.
I was lost to it. Nothing existed in this moment except us.
There was only Owen pounding into me, his balls slapping against my skin.
We were fucking and making love at the same time.
There was nothing better than this. Right here. This moment. Us.
Pressure coiled, tighter and tighter, and when it finally burst, I cried out Owen’s name over and over. He thrust twice more, and then shouted his own release, burying his face in the crook of my neck, holding me like he would never let me go.
“Did I hurt you?” Owen asked when we could both speak again. I was sprawled on top of him on the couch, my chin stacked on my hands as Owen trailed his fingers over my naked body.
“Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“I’ve never lost control like that. I was mindless with need for you.”
“Never?”
He shook his head, and I realized there had always been a part of Owen that had maintained discipline and control when we made love.
But just now he had felt uncontrollable.
Wild. As if there had been a hidden part of him that he had finally unleashed.
A grin spread across my face. I had made Owen lose control. Me. I had that power.
“It was hot, and I’m happy to be your first in that respect,” I said. “You can lose control with me anytime you want. I know you’d never hurt me.”
“It terrifies me.”
“What does?”
“How you make me feel. I like control. I like having a plan. I can be flexible when things go sideways, but—”
“You have multiple backup plans for when they do?” I finished his sentence with a knowing grin.
“Yes,” he conceded with a soft laugh, but he quickly sobered and his arms tightened around me.
“But with you…I’m terrified something will happen that I haven’t planned for, that I can’t control, and that I’ll lose you.
That we’ll lose this incredible life we’ve only just started to build… How would I survive such loss?”
“You can’t think like that.” I kissed his chin. “I should know. I’ve lived that way and it’s horrible. You taught me to seize each day. You taught me to take risks and fight for what and for whom I love. So, what’s changed?”
“The outside world.”
“What about it?”
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s bad, love. Our world is falling apart.”
“How do you mean?”
“Storms. Major ones. The type where thousands die and the cities never recover. We’ve had more than a few now along the coasts all over the world.
Freya says it’s because the rift to Craos’s realm is wider than it’s ever been, and it’s taking its toll on our world.
The Prime Ministers of Canada and the UK and the top military personnel from those regions are the only ones who know so far what we’re facing.
They’re sending representatives to Neamh tomorrow for our first battle briefing. And to meet you.”
I pushed against his chest and stood up, looking at him with horror. I’d been napping—napping!—in an enchanted garden while people and animals were dying and the world was drowning. There was a fucking battle briefing happening tomorrow, and I was only just now learning about it?
“Why didn’t you tell me?! I thought there was just some flooding.” Had I, though? Or had I known it had gotten worse but refused to face it? “Oh my God, Owen. If I’d known it was that bad, I would have…” What would I have done? Would I have been ready to fight any sooner?
Owen watched me carefully without making a move.
“I wanted to tell you. But, Kira, you literally came back from the dead. You were so weak. I knew if I told you, you would have been too worried to heal. You would have insisted on being out there with us, seeing what we’ve been seeing.
We’ve been trying to help the locals as Loch Tay floods.
Filling sandbags. Assisting with evacuations.
Handing out food and supplies. Administering first aid when needed. ”
“We can bring them here! To Neamh!”
“Everyone? Besides, Shamus already asked the Yew—er, Granddad—but his magic is limited and dwindling each day. There’s simply no room and not enough resources.”
“I’ve been napping, Owen! Gardening! Jace and Shae must think so little of me!”
“You’ve been healing. Learning to work with nature and hone your power.”
“I could have been helping! Those poor people!” My voice shook.
“Listen to me, love. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.
The world is ending outside this garden, but if there is any hope—any at all—it’s you, Kira.
You. And we need you strong. Ready to fight.
The Yew told us that you’re the key to winning the battle.
No one begrudges you the rest you need.” His voice turned hard.
“And if they did, they would answer to me.”
“We’ve been dancing, playing games, making love…” I whispered, sick to my stomach.
“We’ve been living,” he corrected me. “Celebrating life. Setting aside our pain so that we can go out the next day and face the horrors all over again. And I wouldn’t give up one minute of the time we’ve shared, so don’t you ever feel guilty about taking time to heal.”
Tears welled in my eyes as this amazing man glared back at me, trying to protect me from my own guilt. I still felt bad for not helping, but I could also admit that he was right, that my blissful peace had likely allowed me to heal faster.
“I hear you,” I whispered, returning to his arms. “Thank you.”
“Good. Now, let’s live a little more.”