Chapter Nine
Ava
I returned to consciousness quickly. A gasp escaped my lips as I sat up and clutched my chest.
Immediately, a handsome face filled my vision and I was caught in the trap set by worried green and gold eyes.
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Macgrath asked, his hands resting gently on my shoulders as his eyes moved down to where my own palms were pressed to my sternum.
I released a long breath and relaxed, taking a moment to evaluate how my body felt. “No, no. I’m fine.” I stiffened. “Savannah? Rhys? Harrison?”
Macgrath squeezed my shoulders gently. “They’re all fine. You protected us all when you cast that spell.”
I collapsed in relief, lying back on the pillows on the bed. After a moment of staring blankly at the ceiling, I realized I was at Savannah’s, in the guest room. It was also dark outside. I’d been out for hours at least.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Nearly three a.m.,” he answered quietly. “Rhys and I managed to convince Savannah to sleep in her own bed rather than on the floor in here.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad. She would have been uncomfortable for nothing.”
“For nothing?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
I lifted my upper body and scrunched the pillow against the headboard behind me. Now I was half-reclined and half-sitting, making it easier to see his face. “Yeah. I just needed a few hours of rest to reset after channeling that much power so quickly. If I’d had another second or two, it wouldn’t have been so hard on my body.”
He considered me in silence for a long moment. “You were also injured,” he commented.
I glanced down at my torso and flexed my arms and legs. Then I lifted the neckline of my shirt and looked down. I checked my chest and abdomen for bruises. There were none.
I dropped the material and met Macgrath’s stormy gaze. “I’m all healed now.”
He nodded. “Yes, you are, because Harrison healed you with magic, not because of your own power.”
“I’ll have to thank him, but it wasn’t necessary either,” I commented. “I would have healed on my own while I slept.”
Macgrath frowned at me but didn’t say anything else.
I didn’t bother to ask him why he was here. I already knew. No doubt he felt responsible for the explosion, but I didn’t blame him. I froze at the thought. Just two or three days ago, I would have been suspicious of him, wondering if perhaps he was Rhiannon’s inside man.
Somehow I’d let two kisses undermine my wariness where he was concerned. Granted they were delicious and mind-scrambling, but I couldn’t afford to be weak. Not now.
I stared at where he sat on the edge of the bed, his thigh pressing lightly against my lower leg. “You appear unharmed,” I mentioned, keeping my gaze on his face.
“Rhiannon wasn’t after me.”
I glanced down at the ring on my right hand when he spoke, surprised to see that the stone inside it remained dark blue. It was a truth amulet, a stone that contained a spell. If the person speaking lied, it would turn black. If they spoke the truth, it remained dark blue.
I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes on the stone. “Did you know she was coming?”
When he didn’t answer, I glanced up and saw that he was watching me with narrow eyes. His gaze moved from my face to the ring on my hand.
Somehow I managed not to stiffen, but it hit me then that he knew exactly what my ring contained.
He closed his eyes and scrubbed his hands over his face. Then he groaned. “I don’t want to answer.”
A sharp, hot spike of pain went through my heart. No, it wasn’t pain. It was betrayal. “You knew?” I whispered.
“I knew she would come eventually,” he confirmed. “I just didn’t know when.” His eyes met mine. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not working for her or with her. I hated every moment of her presence, but…” he trailed off and looked down.
I took a moment to consult the stone in the ring and it was still blue. He was telling the truth. He wasn’t working for Rhiannon, only basing his actions on his inside knowledge of her behavior.
“If you hated her,” I began, “Why did you stay with her for a century?”
His dual-colored eyes were sad as they returned to mine. “She said she could find out who I am. Who I was before I woke up in the middle of a field with no memory of my past, my name, or how I became what I am. She said we would help each other. I was desperate enough to believe her.”
Skeptical, I raised a brow. “For nearly a hundred years?”
He huffed out a laugh that held no amusement. “That wasn’t blind faith, that was resignation. I had nowhere else to go. Nowhere to turn.”
“Surely your offspring—” I began.
He shook his head. “At the time, we weren’t speaking. There was an incident. I have no doubt that Callum and Marcus would have killed me at the time if they had been able to find me.”
The ring shimmered like a dark sapphire, the blue in its facets deep and true. As were his words.
I clasped my hands on my lap and sighed. The truth amulet could be fooled, but it wasn’t easy. As far as I knew, Macgrath carried no magic. It would be difficult for him to trick me.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “For shielding me at the shop.”
He cleared his throat. “I was still too late,” he replied, his voice rough and tight.
I shot a quick look toward him, but his eyes were fixed on the darkness outside the window. “You were there when I needed you,” I stated. “And that’s what matters.”
“Is it?” he asked, turning back toward me.
“It is to me.”
An emotion flickered in his eyes, too quickly for me to identify it. I was saved from doing something stupid, like touching him, when my stomach growled loudly. I hadn’t had a chance to eat the lunch Macgrath brought me earlier that day. Between his pissing match with Harrison at the store and the explosion, there hadn’t been time.
I laughed and pressed a hand to my belly. “Goddess, I’m hungry.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, never completely taking over his lips. “Savannah made some kind of pasta for dinner and there are leftovers. She mentioned it was your favorite.”
My mouth watered immediately. I loved Savannah’s chicken and broccoli in cream sauce. She knew that. And she always used lots of butter and garlic. I threw the blankets back, but Macgrath stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll get you a plate and warm it up.”
I shook my head. “No way. It’s even better the day after she makes it and right out of the fridge.”
He eyed me as though my words were strange and I waved him off.
“I need to use the bathroom anyway.”
After a moment’s pause, he dropped his hand and stepped back so I could throw my legs over the edge of the mattress. I stood, grateful my legs were only shaky for a second before they held my weight easily. Macgrath seemed to recognize that I was fine and nodded.
“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen.”
I walked quickly to the bathroom as he moved down the hall on silent feet. After I finished in the bathroom and washed my hands, I followed him, trying to be quiet. When I reached the end of the hall, Satchel appeared next to me and rubbed her cheek against my ankle. I glanced around and saw that we were alone.
Crouching down, I gently stroked her head and back. “I’m okay, sweet girl. I promise.”
She moved, lifting up until her nose touched mine and her eyes stared at me unblinkingly. I smiled then. The cat always pretended she hated me when Savannah was around, but as soon as we were alone, Satchel became affectionate and sweet.
I rubbed my nose against hers. “Thanks for the love.”
The cat dropped down onto all fours and swayed out of the room, her tail waving in the air.
“She likes you,” Macgrath stated quietly.
I jumped. I hadn’t heard him approach. Straightening, I smoothed down my skirt. “Yes, she does, though she pretends she doesn’t when Savannah’s around.”
Macgrath wasn’t looking at me, but into the living room where Satchel had vanished. I suppressed an eye roll and brushed past him into the kitchen. I was starving and there was a bowl of pasta with my name on it.
The large container of leftovers was already on the counter next to two pasta bowls and the sight made me grin. Macgrath was hungry as well, it seemed.
I began dishing up the pasta, putting a large pile in his bowl, and grabbed two forks out of the drawer. Then I realized I’d forgotten something. I moved to the fridge and grabbed a wedge of Parmesan cheese.
Macgrath came into the kitchen as I was grating it over the pasta.
His eyes widened at the small mountain of cheese I’d created in one bowl. “I don’t need that much cheese,” he commented.
“Good, because that one’s mine.”
He grinned at me and his eyes sparkled with genuine good humor. “Like cheese do you?”
I finished grating and put the cheese back in its bag. “Yes, cheese and I are in an adulterous relationship.”
His grin widened. “Adulterous relationship? Are you married?”
“Yes, coffee and I had a lovely ceremony several decades ago, but it’s important to spice things up from time to time.”
He laughed then and the sound was arresting. He seemed so happy and looked young and carefree. It caused my heart to skip a beat. That was the only way to describe it. My heart stuttered once in my chest, its normal rhythm interrupted by emotion.
I couldn’t speak. Instead I backed up to the counter and used my arms to boost myself up so that I sat on the smooth granite top. I reached for the pasta and dug my fork in, twirling it so the thin strands wrapped neatly around the tines.
“Did you get something to drink?”
Since I’d just shoveled a huge bite into my mouth, I merely shook my head as I chewed. His eyes twinkled at me and he walked over to where I sat. I nearly choked as he leaned over me, his arm reaching above my head.
Then he stepped away, a glass in his hand. I’d forgotten that I was sitting right in front of the shelf where Savannah kept her glasses and mugs. I managed to finish chewing the pasta and swallow as he carried the glass to the fridge and filled it up with water from the door. He didn’t bother with ice and brought the glass to me. I realized as he set it by my hip that he knew I didn’t like ice in my water because he’d spent so much time watching me.
At the very least, I should have thought that was creepy. Instead I found myself melting a little because it meant he paid attention. Then I gave myself a mental slap. He’d been stalking me for months. True, it was because he wanted to protect me, but he’d been watching me without my permission. It wasn’t charming, it was disturbing.
“What are you thinking?” he asked as he leaned back against the counter perpendicular to where I sat and picked up his bowl.
“That stalking is always creepy.”
He frowned at me as he twisted his fork in the spaghetti. “I wasn’t stalking you.”
I waggled my fork at him as I chewed another bite. When I swallowed, I said, “That’s semantics. You followed me everywhere I went and watched me from a distance, even though you knew I didn’t want you there.”
“But my motivation wasn’t obsession,” he argued.
He winced and glanced down at my hand. I followed his gaze and noticed the stone in the ring was no longer blue. It was black. He’d lied.
I lifted a brow at him. “So you’re obsessed with me?” I asked.
I wanted to laugh at the expression on his face. He looked chagrined and a little scared. I liked that. Any male who truly understood women had a healthy respect for pissed off females.
“I’m obsessed with keeping you safe,” he replied.
Pointedly, I glanced down at the ring, but the stone was once again glowing blue. Shit, he was telling the truth.
I decided to change the subject. “How is it that Rhiannon hasn’t found you yet?”
His face shut down. There was no other way to describe it. All expression, all humanity, vanished from his features. What remained was a remote, beautiful shell.
“I can’t tell you,” he stated, his voice monotone.
I tilted my head to one side, wondering why my idle question caused such a reaction in him. “Because you’re afraid I’ll be angry or because you’re afraid the information will somehow be used against you.”
He didn’t respond, taking another bite of his pasta.
I sighed, set my bowl to the side, and reached for the water he’d brought me. As I lifted it to my lips, he watched me closely. Never taking my eyes from his, I took a large sip.
At my overt show of trust, he relaxed slightly, but still didn’t answer my question.
I decided to clarify my reasons for asking, something I rarely did. “Will you be safe from her?” I asked.
The tension in his shoulders faded completely at my words. “Yes, I will,” he answered.
I nodded and picked up the pasta once again. Though my appetite had vanished, I forced myself to eat more. I’d channeled a tremendous amount of power through my body earlier. I needed to refuel. Spells of that magnitude could drain a witch to near death without periods to recharge both the body and mind.
“Would you tell me all your secrets?” Macgrath asked abruptly.
I stared at him in confusion. “What?”
“Right now, here, would you tell me all your secrets?” he repeated.
I shook my head. “Of course not. You haven’t earned my trust yet.”
He nodded. “Exactly.” He put the bowl to the side and moved toward me. “Trust has to be earned, at least the kind of trust that leads to the sharing of secrets. While I believe I can trust you with many things, there are some things I’m not ready to tell you. After centuries of being alone, it isn’t easy to reveal certain parts of myself.”
I studied him. I didn’t even need to consult the ring on my finger to know that he spoke the truth. It was in every line of his body, every angle of his face, and each nuance of his voice. He didn’t want to lose the tentative truce we’d established the last two days and it made me soften toward him a bit more.
“I understand,” I whispered.
I could see the relief in his expression and the way he held his body.
We stared at each other in silence as a different kind of tension took hold of us. One filled with heat and things whispered in the dark. Tighter and tighter it wound until I thought a single breath would cause it to snap. If that happened—no, when that happened—there would be nothing to stop us from devouring each other.
The doorbell rang, the low chime echoing throughout the house. Macgrath’s demeanor changed immediately as he whirled, crouched low, and snarled.
It seemed one thing could stop us and that was unexpected visitors in the middle of the night.
I hopped down from the counter and laid a hand on Macgrath’s arm. “If they meant us harm, they wouldn’t have made it past the sidewalk,” I stated softly. “Whoever they are, they’re not a threat.”
The doorbell rang again, followed by three thumps against the door, probably from a fist.
“Rhys Carey, it’s freaking cold out here! Come open the door!” a feminine voice called out, loud enough to wake the neighbors. There was more pounding. “And I have to pee!”
I bit back a laugh at the desperation in her voice because it wasn’t nice to laugh at desperate people and walked toward the front of the house.
I heard Savannah and Rhys moving around in the back of the house, but I didn’t think it would be right to make the woman outside wait when she was in such dire need.
“Wait,” Macgrath said, putting a hand on my arm. “You don’t know that they didn’t break whatever spell you put over this place.”
I patted his hand and hoped I didn’t sound patronizing when I said, “Yes, I would know.”
Okay, so I knew I sounded patronizing, but he seemed incapable of recognizing that I wasn’t a young witch with little experience. I’d survived as long as he had, during times when my kind was hunted openly. My magic might not be infallible, I might not be infallible, but I was careful.
“Let me answer the door,” he argued.
A male voice joined the female’s. “Rhys is a friend. We’re here to help. However, if you don’t answer the door, you’ll have one hell of a mess on the front porch.”
“Finn!” the woman yelped. There was the distinct sound of a smack. “I can’t believe you said that.”
I grinned and stepped forward, using magic to unlock the door before Macgrath could move. He growled behind me and I knew I wouldn’t hear the end of it later.
A witch and a vampire stood on the front porch. The witch had long curly brown hair that was currently spilling out from beneath a knit cap and she was tucked beneath the arm of the vampire next to her. He looked familiar, but I didn’t think I’d met him before. He was handsome enough that I would have remembered him.
As soon as they saw us, they both froze, neither of them blinking or even breathing.
“Dear Goddess,” the witch whispered when she finally did draw in air.
Before I could ask her what the problem was, I heard Rhys approaching and moved to the side so he could see the couple on the porch.
The witch’s eyes shot over my shoulder as she looked at Rhys.
“Kerry?” he asked, clearly shocked. “Finn? What are you doing here?”
The witch, who I assumed was Kerry, stepped forward. “We’re here because of Rhiannon. We can help you.”
“Maybe you should come inside,” Macgrath suggested, his voice low and laced with an underlying threat.
The familiar vampire scowled at him. “Do not speak to my mate in such a way.”
Though he was still tense, Macgrath bowed his head forward. “Apologies, but Rhiannon attacked us today. It seems very…” he paused, the silence ripe with suspicion. “Convenient that you’re suddenly here now.”
The witch rolled her eyes. “I had a vision, okay. Now, let me in because Finn wasn’t joking about me making a mess on the porch.” Without another word, she pushed past Macgrath. “Bathroom?” she asked Rhys.
He gave her directions to the half bath.
“Thanks,” she sighed, hurrying out of sight.
I felt the vampire’s presence as he moved closer to enter the house as well. While Macgrath just stared at him, I sighed and got out of the way, shutting the door behind him.
“Thank you,” he said, his words slightly stiff but polite.
“You’re welcome,” I replied as I looked up at him with a small smile on my face.
When our eyes met, I realized why he looked familiar.
His eyes were the exact shape and color as my own.