An enigmatic smile but no answer.
“What did you do?”
“I’ve done nothing that didn’t need to be done. But my actions have not caused anything to happen, only begun the process.”
“Does this involve Evie?” The poor girl needed a break. She finally had one after her near death by tree experience and she and Caelan had finally achieved some sort of balance together. Long overdue balance.
“Everything I do involves Evie.”
“Can’t you leave her alone? Let her go back to a life of relative peace?”
Cernunnos’s lips thinned. “She is the heir to my kingdom, Nature Lord. The second she discovered who I was to her, Evie’s life as she knew it was over. I’ve given her time and freedom, but it is time she steps up and accepts her destiny.”
“Evie doesn’t want this.”
“No one worthy of a crown wants to wear one. But I am not here to discuss Evie’s peace of mind. I am here to discuss you and Evie.”
I went very still. “Whatever scheme you’re cooking up, I want nothing to do with it.”
“You don’t need to do a thing.”
“That’s even worse. Leave me out of whatever this is.”
Cernunnos smiled and hopped off the table. “You and my daughter have a genuine friendship, yes?”
I sighed. “You already know the answer.”
“You would do anything for her, yes?”
“Spill it,” I growled, power rising in my veins.
But Cernunnos surprised me. “She will need a friend soon. One who will not use her or take advantage of her position. She is more than she seems, Rowan. More than the Fae Queen. More than this world is ready for.”
I’d always known Evie was keeping big secrets from the world at large, and her power was off just enough to make me wonder if she was more than a Floromancer and more than a demi-fae. Even with the revelation of who her father was, Ialways wondered if there was something strange swimming in her blood.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“She trusts you.”
I snorted. “Not enough if she’s keeping a secret that big from me.”
Cernunnos smirked. “You are not her lover, and you are still a Lord. One day she will trust you enough, but until then all I ask is you pick up the pieces when they shatter. And they will.”
“You’re asking me to step into a position of…” My voice trailed off. Of what? A lover? A mate? “We are friends. That is all.”
Despite the insistent voice in my head that screamed at me we were more than that, more than simply friends, more than people who asked the other how their day went and occasionally showed up with takeout, I wouldn’t push that boundary. Not while she was involved with Caelan. My friend. And a powerful Lord I did not want to alienate.
“She has friends, Lord. But she does not have friends with the power to protect her from what’s coming.”
“I’ll do as you ask,” I said against my better judgment. “If she comes to me, I will protect her. But not for you. I’ll do it for Evie. If she’s the one to ask.”
Cernunnos held his hands out at his sides, palms up, and smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Good luck, Lord Rowan. You will need it.”
The Fae King disappeared in a splash of magic, leaving me alone in the greenhouse contemplating his words and the potential fallout coming Evie’s way.
What could possibly be so bad that she would have to ask for the protection of another Lord?
And why was anticipation unfurling in my stomach?
