I kicked off my shoes and went straight to him, curling in his lap and tangling my hands through his hair. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me fiercely.
When we finally came up for air, I took his face in my hands. “I know how hard that was for you, and I’m sorry. Caelan was…” I exhaled. “Dangerous. The power you Lords hold is terrifying.”
“He really would have enslaved his people?”
I nodded. Rowan sighed. “I want so badly to hate that bastard.”
A laugh bubbled from my lips. “Me too.”
“You did the right thing, Evie. Even if he didn’t deserve it.”
“His people are blameless.”
Rowan snorted. “Garrett and Simone are blameless. The rest of them watched him treat you like shit and did nothing about it.” He paused, then begrudgingly said, “Though no one deserves to be enslaved.”
“Right,” I agreed. “I did it for both. Caelan, because of how desperate he was, and his people, because no one deserved a consequence like that.”
“And those trees?”
“I’m hopeful everything can be done at a distance.”
“Good.” He rose in a fluid motion, taking me with him. I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“I plan to keep you busy for the next twenty-four hours. Text Moira and tell her to eat breakfast with Ethan.”
I cackled. “Careful. She’s the kind to kill you in your sleep.”
“As long as I was beside you, I’d die a happy man.”
The things he said to me…
True to his word, the world was quiet while Rowan kept me happily trapped in the bedroom, coming up for air only for food and bathroom breaks.
Two mornings later, someone banged on the front door.
A deep male voice shouted, “None of us are going into your den of sin. Evie’s father is here! Get your ass out of bed and let her train.”
“Fucking Declan,” Rowan growled.
I snickered and rolled over. A proprietary grip on my hip kept me from sliding out of bed. “One more round?”
“Rowan! I’m tapping out. I need a shower, food, and fresh air.”
“How you wound me, woman.” His chestnut hair was mussed, and his hazel eyes were twinkling as he watched me. He lay on his stomach, his face turned to watch me.
I reached over and ran my fingers through his hair. “I will always be yours. No one, no matter our history, will ever tear us apart. The moment that bond solidified between us, there would never be another. You are mine, and I am yours.”
Rowan’s eyes turned that strange mix of colors. Silver, gold, and watermelon tourmaline. “Mine,” he growled.
“Yours,” I promised.
I slid away to his groan of protest. “Now get up and shower.”
His eyes lit up. “With you?”
I laughed and took off running. “If you can catch me!”
“Any word on Danu?” I asked Dad half an hour later.
