I blinked. Tea? Shaking my head, I sent her one more.Finishing up soon?
He asked us to eat lunch. I'll discuss the issue Mom told us about in a minute. Half an hour?
I gritted my teeth. Every second she spent in his presence made me want to scream.
I can feel your irritation from here. This had to be done. It's almost over.
Sometimes I forgot how sensitive the mating bond could be. Come back to me, Evie, I thought, even knowing it was silly.
Love you, she texted before falling silent.
I love you more,I wrote before tucking my phone back into my pocket and sinking to the ground to wait for my mate to finish lunch with her ex-fiancé.
Chapter
Thirteen
We finished a lunch of chicken salad on buttery croissants and peppery potato chips. The cook had made a wonderful lavender lemonade I begged Caelan to get me the recipe for and topped everything off with a light but airy lemon mousse.
Garrett spoke before I could broach the subject. “Have you sent scouts out lately?”
Caelan nodded. “I'm well aware that Joy Springs is a ghost town.”
“Do you know why?” I asked.
Caelan glanced at me. “Rumors are the gods have arrived, though my shifters have seen neither hide nor hair. I've only seen Danu once. She has not returned since her failure to render me to dust.”
“Neit is here.”
The Lord nodded. “Is he the one responsible?”
“No. He's been here gathering intel, though he's been mostly unsuccessful. Neit suspects Titania and Danu are both here.”
“What does Joy Springs have that they cannot find somewhere else?”
“Two things,” I said apologetically. “Me. And land held by a Lord.”
Caelan locked eyes with Garrett. “My paranoia was not so crazy now, was it?”
Garrett shrugged. “Never said you were crazy, only that Evie was the reason they were here. We were both partially right, so let's call it a draw.”
“They want to take Joy Springs and all my land.” His brow furrowed, and I saw the second realization dawned in his eyes. “Your land seizure is preventing them from taking what they want.”
He slowly shook his head and let out a belly laugh. “I'll be damned. The one thing you ever did to punish me is saving my life. Karma really is a bitch sometimes, isn't it?”
I stayed silent, but Moira grinned. “If Evie drops her hold, Danu and Titania would be on you in an instant.”
“They're lying in wait like spiders,” Caelan mused. “Can we turn this around on them somehow?”
Garrett's eyes warmed. “There you are,” he said with a decisive nod. “Glad to have you back. At least for a moment.”
Caelan's eyes glittered, but he didn't spar with Garrett. “Is there a way to get them out of the way permanently?”
“Gods are notoriously hard to kill,” I said. “We thought Titania was dead, and here she is popping up again like a bad penny. But I am still the gate. A bad gate, yes, but a gate nonetheless. The more powerful gods can travel without the gates, but maybe there's a way we can rip that power from them.”
Caelan's face turned thoughtful. “You think it's possible?”
“No idea,” I said honestly. “I was able to trap Lugh, but it wasn't easy. He's still there as far as I know, unable to return home.”
