Chapter 21
Oh God. Jena’s eyes snapped open as the spell from the photograph released her with a puff of bergamot. She wrapped her arms around her clenching stomach, willing herself not to vomit.
Beside her Chase panted. “What the fuck was that?”
She whipped her head around to look at him.
“You saw?” How was that possible? But the expression on his face was all the confirmation Jena needed.
She wet her lips, her stomach roiling. “I’m pretty sure that was your mother screwing around with dark magic to summon an unseelie prince into this realm, and I don’t think it was her first rodeo. ”
All of which qualified as some major sin. Never mind whatever her mother had seen that Ms. Montgomery had been freaking out about. Jesus. That woman’s karma had to be blacker than the devil’s asshole.
“Is that all?” Chase barked out a laugh. “And here I was, hung up on being conceived in a bunch of rabbit guts. What the fuck, Jena? I thought you said Malcom was my father.”
She winced at Chase’s indignation. “Yeah, he is. Apparently knocking up your mom up pissed off some unseelie queen, she cursed him into his current form, and then exiled him here for the duration.”
Chase just stared at her.
“Look, I don’t make the sin, I just eat it.
You want your legs healed or not?” Jena scowled when he didn’t answer and drew a stupid glyph over them anyway, her head buzzing with the power she’d gotten from that little trip down memory lane.
Magic flared purple, and that was enough of that, thank you very much.
Chase closed his eyes with a groan of relief. “Yeah, thanks…and I’m sorry. That was just…a lot.” He pulled her against him and kissed her temple. “My mom’s a bitch, but damn. I didn’t know she was evil.”
“I did,” Jena muttered. Well, maybe not that evil, but still.
She snorted, things clicking into place.
If Mary Montgomery had hated Jena’s mom because she’d known what her sins were, it stood to reason she’d be worried Jena could figure them out, too.
Ugh. She shivered. After what she’d just seen? Chase’s mom could keep them to herself.
He chewed his lip. “So…does this change things?”
Jena’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Chase shrugged, dusting his knuckles against his palm. “I dunno. How do you feel about us? You know, now that you know what shitty stock I come from.”
“What?” She laughed. “Trust me, your family wasn’t exactly a selling point before. What about you, now that you know about my dad and how sin-eating works?”
He pulled her close. “Baby, I already knew he was a piece of shit, and it’s going to take a lot more than you seeing someone else’s skeletons to get rid of me.”
“Oh. Then I guess I have to try harder,” she teased.
Chase chuckled, skating his nose against hers. “You need a reminder of who you belong to? Because if you keep talking like that, you’re gonna get one.”
Jena’s gaze drifted to his lips. “Maybe?”
He grinned and kissed her softly, then with more passion. Lord, she wanted nothing more than to drag him back into her bedroom. But if that happened, neither of them was coming up for air, and she had a needy node to deal with. Damn it. The sooner she did, the better.
Jena reluctantly broke away from his embrace and stood, holding out a hand for him. “Let’s go down. I need to drop this with Aggie and get back to the ruins.”
“You mean we need to—hey.” He caught her hand, staring at the rings on her finger. “You’re wearing the set I bought.”
Jena’s cheeks heated and she looked away. “I—Mr. Fynbender gave them to me. H-he said he thought—that ring you gave Crystal binds you to her, whether you meant it or not. He and Ms. Pao think me wearing this might mitigate whatever hold it will have on you—but if they’re not—”
“What? No. I-I got them for you, I just…” Chase’s throat bobbed. He wet his lips. “Does that mean yes? T-to me, to all of it?”
Jena’s mouth went dry her gaze searching his. “I dunno. What are you asking me?”
“Marry me, Jena,” he rasped. “Be my mate, my love, the mother to my children.”
“I…” She swallowed the lump in her throat, her joyful disbelief tempered by the thought of kids—but with him…? Jesus Christ, she was seriously considering an addendum. “H-how about yes to you, and the possibility of continuing negotiations on the rest?”
Chase laughed, his dimples studding his cheeks. “Fuck, baby, I’ll take it,” he said, pulling her down onto his lap to kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck, stupidly happy, his mouth on hers—
“Since you’re already kissing the bride, I suppose I should pronounce you man and wife,” Sweets declared, sweeping a quick sign of the cross through the air as they sprang apart. “May no man tear asunder what’s been ascribed by fate.”
“Oh my God, I love weddings.” Felix sniffed from behind her.
Jena blinked at them. “Excuse me?”
“You just got hitched. Mazel tov,” Matilda said, toasting them with a teacup. “Sweets is an ordained minister and like she said, it’s fated, no point in waiting.”
Jena gaped at them. Were they serious?
“Works for me,” Chase said, grinning ear to ear. “Now you can’t change your mind.”
“What? I wouldn’t—” Jena huffed at him then turned to stare at them. They had to be kidding. “How long have you three been standing there?”
“What you should be figuring out is how much longer you’re going to be,” Felix said. God, he was wearing her jumpsuit, and damn him for looking better in it than she ever had. “I need to get to work, and you need to get back to the node. The streets are already filling with people.”
“You’re going in?” she asked.
“Yeah. I should at least make an attempt at damage control.” He frowned, glancing back at the other room where Kelsey and Liam were. “And five of us will be a little too cozy in Liam’s Jeep.”
He had a point. “Okay. We’ll head out as soon as I get this to Aggie,” she said, gripping the album as she stood. “Stay safe.”
“Same. You better take care of her,” he said to Chase.
He put his arm around her. “Trust me, that’s all I want to do.”
Felix grunted as they parted ways, and she and Chase went to Aggie’s room. Jena rapped on the door before she opened it.
“Well, well. It’s about damned time.” Aggie smirked from her pillows as they stepped inside. “Congratulations. I expect you to name your firstborn after me. Now where’s my damned tea?”
Chase froze. “Uh…”
Jena rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, leave him alone, and what do you mean congratulations? Your door was closed, how did you—wait a minute, our firstborn?” Her gaze narrowed at the older witch. “Tell me you didn’t see that in one of your visions.”
“I’m not telling you anything with that attitude.” Aggie huffed.
Jena gritted her teeth. “How long, Aggie?”
Chase glanced between them. “How long what?”
“I wanna know how long she’s known about us, and I’m not giving her this until she fesses up,” Jena said, tapping the album.
“Don’t you threaten me,” Aggie shook her finger at Jena. “You already saw what was most important. Now close the door and sit your asses down for a hot minute so I can fill you in on the rest.”
“You know, you’re awfully feisty for someone who almost died a couple of hours ago,” Jena grumbled, tossing the album onto Aggie’s bed. Whatever the node had done to save her, Aggie sounded suspiciously like her old self, and that wasn’t particularly helpful.
“And you’re awfully mouthy, period.” The witch narrowed her eyes at Jena, and she rolled hers in turn. Chase found a chair. “See? Him, I like.” Aggie sniffed, pulling the album over and flipping through it. “Maybe even more than you. Now, why did you huff in here like we’ve got rats again?”
Jena scowled and perched on Chase’s knee.
“There’s no rats, but the roof’s leaking like a sieve, Wallace Montgomery is dead, Chase and I are both half-unseelie, his real dad is Malcom who is trying to create a mound, the entity haunting the garden is my father—Oh, and Mary Montgomery practices dark magic naked at an altar out in the southwestern swamp.
” Jena said, ticking off her fingers. She frowned at Aggie’s lack of reaction.
“And you don’t look surprised…” Wait. That conversation they’d had when Aggie was drunk…
“Shit. You knew about my dad, didn’t you? ”
“Not looking surprised is easy to do when you don’t have eyebrows,” Aggie murmured, slowly turning the pages and squinting at the images like she was looking for something. “And yes. I knew about your father. Tell me more about Malcom. You’re positive he’s unseelie?”
“Yes,” Jena said, trying to rein in her temper.
God! Aggie had known all this frickin’—Why hadn’t she—Ugh!
Jena huffed out a breath, fighting for calm.
The rotten woman would totally clam up otherwise.
“Phil had my mom’s grimoire. She spelled a memory in there of a meeting between him and my father talking about how Malcom had been banished here by some dark queen for knocking up Chase’s mom. I think her name was Mogha—”
“Pst!” Aggie interrupted holding up a hand. “Don’t say it. Especially not today. Last thing we need is that rabid bitch showing up in a flaming chariot of skulls.”
“Seriously?” Chase asked.
“Mmm. And if you wanna see some rats, the ones that pull it are the size of clydesdales.”
“You know who she is?” Jena blinked at Aggie’s scowl. Wait a minute…
“Unfortunately.” Aggie frowned, glancing askance at Jena. She bit back the accusation at the tip of her tongue, and Aggie sniffed, flipping through photos again. “Now, what were you saying about Malcom?”
Jena took a slow breath, attempting to swallow her indignation. Aggie was the other sidhe in town. She had to be. Damn it. No wonder no one had called the feds. “He wants to turn the node into a mound to impress her and get back into the sidhe realm.”
Aggie snorted. “Like that would ever happen.”
“Apparently it will if I don’t claim the node,” Jena said, throwing up her hands.