“No one. You, me, and Godmother. That’s it.”
I take a deep breath and brace myself. “She’s still human-passing. That gives her options. We need time to break this to her gently and give her a chance to decide for herself without any pressure from the outside. We can’t draw any extra attention to her. No one can suspect the truth until we know for sure what she wants.”
He cocks his head. “Unlikely we can avoid scrutiny. We’re together now. We kissed in front of a dozen cameras. Tomorrow, our pictures are going to be all over theDaily Hatter. Arden’s life is about to change no matter what she chooses.”
My brows squeeze together and I can’t meet his eyes as I say, “Can you stop it? What would it take to undo what we did tonight?”
The sharp rasp of his inhale fills the space between us and he braces himself on the counter. His stare turns cold as ice, but there’s something more behind the mask he’s slid into place. I see it then,fear.The dragon rises, his luck flailing as if he’s not exactly in control of it. Pure, concentrated power blows back my hair and all the cabinet doors fall off their hinges at once, rattling as they slam into the floor.
What had he said to me before?You’d never abandon your daughter. But what he meant when it came to us is I’d never abandon someone I loved. He showed me his vulnerable underbelly and I just slid a dagger into it.
I leap off my stool and round the counter, reaching for him. The tornado of energy in the room is a force to reckon with. It beats against me like a storm, deafening in its intensity. I try my best to push through it, to get to him. “No, Seven, I didn’t mean that! I’m here. I’m here! I’m not going anywhere.”
The dragon settles, slithering around me and I rush into him, taking his face in my hands. His gaze softens as he looks at me. “What happened tonight with you, I meant it. I’m yours, okay?”
He releases a shaky breath. “You forgive me?”
I hesitate, searching my heart. This is one thing I won’t bluff about. Am I angry? Yes. At him, at me, and at Godmother. Shocked? Undeniably. But sad or disappointed?No.Icheck my emotions again, just to be sure. “Yes,” I say. “I forgive you, Seven.”
He releases a sigh of relief.
“And there’s something else.” I meet his eyes and touch my forehead to his, tears coming again. “I’m glad it was you. I’m glad you were my first, and I can’t think of a better father for Arden.”
“Oh Sophia...” He kisses me desperately. I give him what he needs but then put space between us. “Seven... about what I said before... We need to talk about this.”
He pulls me harder against him. “It can wait.”
“It can’t. I need you to cover up what happened tonight.”
He stares down at me, jaw clenching.
“I’m just asking for time before we go public,” I say quickly, swallowing the lump in my throat. “To see if this is right for Arden, without… complications. If there’s a way she can still have the life she wants, I want to give that to her. If we tell no one and get her into college in the US, she can live a normal human life.”
Seven tips his head back and stares at the ceiling. “Until people notice she’s not aging.”
“We can worry about that fifty years from now.” I place my hands flat on his chest. “You don’t know what it’s like being a pixie here. We are second-class citizens, only eligible to work certain jobs, always struggling to make ends meet, used for our bodies because we’ve got nothing else to sell.”
A growl of frustration rips from his throat. “It won’t be like that for her or for you. I’ll make sure of it.”
I shake my head. “You only say that because you’ve always had privilege. Everyone knows she’s mine, Seven, and the things people say and think about pixies will be hurled at her from day one. Her fellow pixies will distrust her because of her leprechaun blood, and your fellow leprechauns will keep her at arm’s length because of her pixie blood. It will be a lonely, bitter life.”
“You don’t know that.”
Everything becomes as clear as day in my mind. “If you act right now, you can use your luck to make sure those pictures of us don’t turn out. You can have Evangeline spin this as a PR stunt for the casino. If you stay away from me, people will buy it. And most importantly, Arden will have the time and space she needs to decide. You can teach her about what she is in secret, without interference, without risking her options.”
“I just got you back.” His voice cracks. “I’m so tired of secrets.”
I feel a hot, wet tear roll down my cheek. “I know. I am too. But she leaves for school in the fall. Things will be different then. You know I’m right. The publicity we’ll draw as a couple if those pictures are published will put too much scrutiny on her.”
“So then we manage that, together.”
“Seven, you deceived me—”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t mean to. I remember how you tried to do the right thing that night. I know how Godmother works, and I can only imagine how she tricked you into that situation.”
His gaze shifts away from mine but he doesn’t say anything.
