Caelan and Ethan came around the corner.
Nadia shifted in a flash of light and launched herself up from the grass, throwing off my magic. Shit. I forgot she could fly.
She came right at me, bright yellow beak open with a honking cry.
And, goddammit, Moira was right, retractable blades on her wings.
She got me right in the shoulder, a deep slice rendering my right arm useless. Roots shot from the earth, but Nadia was an agile flyer. She rolled and dodged every attempt at spearing her ass, lunging toward me every time she saw an opening.
Moira couldn’t help much, not with the roots and wing blades. But Ethan and Caelan had shifted into their wolf forms and circled me from behind.
I stiffened, uncomfortable with having Ethan at my back. Caelan would protect me from any opportunistic strikes on the other Lord’s behalf, but I wouldn’t relax until Ethan was off my land.
A screeching cry sent a thrill of victory through me. One of my roots punched right through her wing. Nadia’s flight dipped, but she still kept coming.
She was keeping her strikes to my arms and sides, staying away from my face, or anything that might cause my death. Nadia didn’t want me to die. She wanted me to suffer.
But she was one swan up against two Lords, a vampire, and a Floromancer, and the fight didn’t last long. I didn’t even have to shift.
Ethan leapt into the air, snatching Nadia by the neck. One shake, two shakes, and the third, the sound of a loud harsh crack, and the swan shifter went limp in Ethan’s mouth as he landed on the ground in a crouch, his eyes glowing with power.
He dropped her body onto the ground and rose. I kept my eyes carefully above waist level and nodded to the Lord.
“Thank you for your timely intervention.”
Ethan inclined his head. “Why was she so interested in you?”
Moira was right. The man had muscles for days. Damn. I would not have expected Ethan to be dead sexy underneath those tailored clothes, but he was.
“Evie?” Caelan questioned.
I blinked and dragged my mind out of the gutter. “Yes. Sorry. Um. She thought I had something to do with Gianna’s death.”
One of Ethan’s eyebrows rose. “And did you?”
“Wouldn’t you love it if I did? Always searching for some way to put me down, aren’t you, Ethan?”
A small smile.
“But no,” I growled. “My answer is the same as it’s always been. I had nothing to do with Gianna’s death.”
I couldn’t tell him about the real reason she was here, but Caelan would need to know. He stepped up beside me and winced as he touched my bloody collarbone. “Do you need to visit the Keep Healer?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll be fine in an hour or so.”
He took my hand and interlaced our fingers. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
Ethan watched us. “I hear there are congratulations in order, Evie.”
Caelan had already started telling people. I slapped a smile on my face. “Yes, thank you.”
“We will marry in a few weeks.”
“What?” Moira screeched, her eyes wide in her face. “You’reengaged?”
Caelan looked back and forth between us. “You went to dinner tonight to tell her, and you didn’t say a word?”
“We got busy with other…things.”
