“I don’t want any answers.” She sipped some tea and then carefully put the cup down. “Do you want to buy my crossbow or not?”
A flash of dazzling opalescent light suddenly shone around the edges of the door to the shop, and I jumped up.
“Now what?” I muttered, hurrying over to see what was going on. “I’ll be right back, Mrs. Frost.”
“I’ll be here.”
I opened the door just in time to see Jack walk through a magical portal into the shop, followed by a small, dark-haired woman and a tall, muscular, dark-haired man who had a distinct resemblance to Ven and his brother Conlan, the king of Atlantis.
Jack’s smile was brilliant, and he dropped his duffel bag on the floor and swept me up into an almost-crushing embrace.
“Jack? What … where …”
“Honey, I’m home!”
22
Tess
I wrapped my arms around him, so glad that he was safe that everything else flew out of my mind. But when he tried to kiss me, I stepped out of his hug.
“I’m glad you’re back. Boy, did you miss a lot. Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
The woman had such an air of fierce competence that I was pretty sure I already knew who she was. She wore all black—shirt, jeans, jacket, and boots—and studied me intently. Her hair was choppy, but suited her. Either she went to a very expensive, trendy stylist or she cut it herself. If this was really Quinn Dawson, former co-leader of the rebel army, I bet she’d never been in a hair salon in her life.
The man was … terrifying. His face looked like it had been carved in stone, and his silver eyes flashed with the same keen intelligence I’d seen in the woman with him. His long, black hair framed that forbidding face; his long, black coat covered similar black clothing to hers, and the complete package added to the overall impression that this was a truly dangerous man.
And possibly one who had never smiled in his life.
“Tess, meet Quinn Dawson and Alaric. I’ve told you about them. Quinn, Alaric, this is my Tess.”
I glanced up at Jack at the “my Tess,” surprised, but his smile lit up the room. The wonderful thing about Jack is that he was completely unafraid to show his feelings. And now that he was in love with me, he was happy for everybody to know.
Even Uncle Mike. But that had been a different story, involving threats of tiger-skin rugs.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I told them. “I’ve heard so much about you from Jack. And I’ve read a lot of the news accounts.”
I took a deep breath and looked at the woman I’d been afraid Jack would always love. “Quinn, thank you for keeping Jack safe during the rebellion. I’d hug you if I could.”
Her wary expression softened into a smile. “He kept me safe, too. We had each other’s backs, for sure. It was a long ten years.”
“And now I keep you safe,” Alaric said, his voice deep and slightly rough.
Quinn rolled her eyes and elbowed him. “And?”
He sighed. “And you keep me safe. Is there food? Jack said there would be food.”
“Alaric!” Quinn glared at him.
His silver gaze focused on me. “I’m told that centuries as high priest of Atlantis have made civilized discussion and small talk difficult for me. It is good to meet the woman who brought happiness to Shepherd, so I no longer must worry he’ll try to take Quinn from me.”
“Um …”
Quinn dropped her head into her hands and sighed, then looked at me. “Sorry, Tess. He’s a work in progress. But also, Jack said there would be food. We haven’t eaten since … yesterday morning?”
I stared up at Jack. “You?Youhaven’t eaten since yesterday morning?”
His smile faded. “It’s a long story, and one I’ll tell you all about later. But yes, we could really use some food. Any chance you can get out of here for lunch?”
