“Ladies,” Garrett drawled. “We don’t have all day.”
Moira fanned herself. “Man. First choice for my upcoming man harem.”
I covered my mouth to hide my smile. “Thalia might fight you.”
Moira snorted. “I don’t think your sister cares much about anything these days.”
She wasn’t wrong, but Garrett was quite besotted with Thalia, even as my sister wasn’t all that besotted with him. For a while, things seemed to be going well between them. Over the last few months, though, Thalia had regressed.
Garrett hadn’t said a word, but no one missed the fine tension riding his shoulders these days. My Second or whatever Garrett was to me these days cleared his throat.
We scurried after him. “If you do,” I whispered under my breath, “I want to know.”
Moira wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Martini and gossip night?”
“As long as we don’t get into another arm-wrestling contest.”
“Party pooper.”
“Stop yapping,” Garrett hissed. “At least try to pretend like we have our shit together, okay?”
“We’ve never been very good liars,” Moira drawled.
“For fuck’s sake,” Garrett said under his breath. “Did you bring her for a reason?” he asked me.
“I have very sharp claws and an even sharper tongue,” Moira said with a smile.
Caelan’s wards shimmered. A small opening appeared. Garrett walked through without stopping.
“Confidence,” he said quietly. “You’re the predator here, Evie.”
I straightened my shoulders and followed behind, Moira at my heels.
Here goes nothing…
Chapter
Eleven
He stood in the doorway, a storm in human form. His eyes held the warm molten gold color of alchemy. The Lord wore jeans today, a lighter wash, the waistband frayed with age. He wore a short sleeve t-shirt, powerful biceps bulging against the cotton. Unlike Emberwood, where the mornings were usually chilly and required at least a light sweater, a Joy Springs summer took no prisoners. Even with the cloud cover, the day was scorching hot.
Even with the mate bond warm inside my heart and Rowan waiting half a mile away, I wasn't blind. Caelan was beautiful. He always had been, and even with shadows resting heavy on his face, today was no exception. Grief at what might have been punched me in the solar plexus.
Once upon a time, I imagined a life with him. I thought we would grow old together, have children, and live a life of maybe not complete peace, but enough for us to remain happy, and comfortable. He'd been my everything, and I thought I was his.
But that fickle bitch doubt had crept into Caelan's psyche. And doubt allowed a worm of dark magic to wriggle its way in, and that worm had destroyed us.
Golden warmth crept into my heart, Rowan sensing my distress. Love swept through my entire body, his presence surrounding me, even from a distance.
I dragged in a breath. Another. One more.
Our gazes locked, Caelan's burnished gold, and mine the multi-colored whirl of my mixed heritage. Light flared in the space between us.
Blood thundered in my ears. Heat roared through my veins. My fists clenched.
I didn't love Caelan. Not anymore. Not like I did. But I still cared for him. I cared about what happened to him.
And I cared that we had torn ourselves apart over pride and power.
