Page 46 of Final Shift
Caelan got to his feet and dusted off the seat of his pants. He laid a hand over his heart. “Thank you.”
Without giving me time to respond, Dad grabbed my hand. A disorienting lurch later, I stood with Rowan, Moira, Garrett, and Mom on the steps of the main Keep house in Emberwood.
“Dad!” I yanked my hand away. “You didn't let me say goodbye!”
Dad gave me a look that made Moira cover her mouth to hide her smile. “I know you can take care of yourself, but Caelan's foolishness does not concern you. Let him and Danu hash this out.”
I gaped at my father. “I could have helped him!”
Dad's derisive snort made me blink. “Just like he helped you a few months ago?”
Rowan looked down at his feet and didn't say a word.Et tu, Rowan?
“We made peace with each other.”
Rowan glanced at me, one of his eyebrows raised.
My Dad clicked his tongue. “And that seed of poison you left inside him, Evangeline? Doesn't seem very peaceful to me.”
Dammit.
Mom's crack of laughter made Moira snicker. Even grumpy Garrett's lips twitched.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “An insurance policy.”
Dad waved the words away. “You tried. We all know you did. Caelan is not a child, but this is another lesson he must learn. If he's too prideful to accept your help, then you must let the chips fall as they will.”
“And if the gods claim his territory?” I asked.
Dad shrugged a powerful shoulder. “Then the Lord was not strong enough to keep it. Such is the way of kings and queens and gods and Lords. Since the dawn of time, this is how the game is played.”
I knew he was right, but it was hard to accept. My feelings about this were all over the map. Caelan's death would devastate me because I would know I was the one who inadvertently caused it.
Rowan straightened and shook his head. “No. I can sense what you're thinking, and the answer is no. You'd be happily working away at your shop if he hadn't come in and upended your life. As much as I hate agreeing with your father?—”
Dad rolled his eyes in such an exaggerated way I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing.
“He is right in this regard. Caelan has been a Lord for a long time. We've always had trouble with the fae pressing against our boundaries. Small tests here and there. Repelling them usually worked for a while. This would have happened with or without your involvement, so wipe that guilty expression off your face. Caelan has made his bed. If he seeks our help, I will let you decide what aid, if any, we provide. But until he does, I believe we should stay out of his business.”
My lips thinned. Rowan was right too. What were the odds that not one but two men in my life were both right aboutsomething at the same time? Astronomically low, and yet here we were. Since when had I gotten myself involved with reasonable men?
Cats and dogs living together and all that…
“Fine,” I snapped.
Rowan grinned, his eyes sparkling. He knew how much it was killing me to defer to them. He snagged me around the waist and pressed a hot kiss into the crook of my shoulder. “You can punish me later,” he murmured against my skin.
“On that note,” Moira drawled, “I'm out!”
Garrett threw up his hands. “Me too!”
Mom and Dad stepped closer together. “We must be on our way as well. I trust you both are prepared for your visit to court in a week?” Mom asked.
I gave her a halfhearted shrug. “Sort of. Can I borrow a dress?”
Mom sighed. “Evie. Really.” She rolled her eyes. “You still haven't touched your bank account?”
“It's not like I can roll into a department store and shop off the rack for a fae princess dress, Mom.”
