Page 35 of Final Shift
Chapter
Twelve
ROWAN
Letting Evie walk into Caelan's territory was one of the most difficult things I'd ever done, but they both needed closure, however it might come. I stood at the edge of the Keep property, the bag over my shoulders slowly starting to twitch.
I opened the bag an inch or two and peered in. Seymour was just beginning to stir, the effects of Caelan's magic wearing off. The flytrap had gotten so worked up when he thought we were going to see Caelan, he became impossible to deal with.
When he bit Cernunnos twenty minutes before the trip, the god had lifted one eyebrow at the plant, and Seymour had shrunk in on himself in terror.
Without a word, Cernunnos flicked a finger at him, and Seymour had stiffened and clunked right over, unconscious to the world.
“Don't tell Evie,” he said with a wince.
“I don't think she remembered she wanted to bring him,” I'd said. “She's dealing with deep feelings about this trip and is wrapped in her own thoughts.”
Evie's dad and I had carefully nestled a bed of soft towels in a canvas bag and laid Seymour down inside.
“How long will he be out?”
“At least two hours,” Cernunnos said. “He's lucky I didn't knock him out the rest of the day. The little bastard needs to realize he can't express his feelings by biting.”
I'd almost laughed at Cernunnos' complete disbelief at Seymour's behavior. But he was right. Seymour couldn't act like an asshole and get away with it. In some ways, the flytrap was like a teenage shifter, all rage and hormones.
And when Evie had come out of the restroom, she hadn't remembered to take Seymour with us, which was unlike her. She'd remember him by the end of the trip and would regret not having him with her, which was the reason I'd put him in the canvas bag in the first place. At least I could do one good thing here, instead of just waiting for my wife to come back from visiting her ex-fiancé and hope we were still fine.
Disgusted with myself, I shook those thoughts away. Evie and I were mates. But even more than that, she wouldn't rekindle a relationship with a male who'd treated her like less than the dirt under his shoe. My wife was smarter than that.
Even I couldn't argue they both needed closure. Evie needed to realize she was more than the sum of her failures, even if the breakdown between her and Caelan was never her fault, and Caelan needed to realize Evie was no longer on the board of the game he was playing.
This would be their final goodbye, whether they realized so or not. Once we left Caelan's property and dealt with the god threat, I planned to start the long process of retiring. Finding someone to step into my shoes had been difficult, but recently I realized I had a pretty good candidate. I was still watching, though, waiting for the right time to approach.
Once I felt like I could hand the territory over, I would, though the Keep property could prove difficult to figure out as Iowned it, not only as a Lord, but personally. The land belonged to me by right of might but also by law.
When everything was said and done, I planned to follow Evie wherever she wanted to go, and if she stayed in Emberwood, I'd happily stay there, too. Eventually, we'd have to take up more duties around the fae crown, but since Cernunnos and Cliona seemed just fine running things, Evie and I had decided to stay out of it. Neither of us wanted a crown.
We only wanted each other.
The bag squeaked, Seymour's displeasure at his predicament toned way down after Cernunnos got a hold of him.
“Bite me and I'll have grandpa knock you out for a week,” I said to the bag.
Seymour piped down and went still.
My cell went off, the familiar notes ofWildflowersplaying. I'd changed the ringtone once Evie had come to the Keep, and I never tired of hearing the song when she texted me.
I forgot Seymour, she'd written, along with an ugh emoji.
I opened the bag, wiggled my finger at Seymour, and snapped a picture of him lying there looking dejected. Once the bag was zipped, I sent the picture to Evie.
IS HE DEAD?
No! Just grumpy.
I paused before sending another message.How's it going?
Caelan is serving tea. I'm in the Twilight Zone.
