Brian said, "White?" incredulously, and Declan spread his hands.
"I've talents I didn't even know about! I'd say I'll show you sometime but I honestly don't know if I can do it again. My peacock was showing off."
Seamus gave Tara an unexpectedly blinding grin, said, "I wonder why," to Declan, then caught Brian's hand and walked off with him, leaving Tara to raise her eyebrows at Declan.
"What? They're mates." He paused. "I mean, they're together, not just friends."
Tara cast a startled look after the other shifters, then laughed as she looked back at Declan. "No, that's not what I was raising my eyebrows about. Why'd he say 'I wonder why?' like that?"
"Aaaah, because…" Declan groaned. "It's hard to explain?"
"It can't possibly be harder to explain than how you turned into a fifteen foot tall bird. I mean, you said bird shifters got bigger and other shifters couldn't but holy moly, Declan. Explain! While we walk," Tara added with a smile. "Because we've gotten rid of the problem designer and I want to see the rest of the castle grounds while I'mnotchasing a flock of peacocks around, and then we need to get out of here before that groundskeeper starts to wonder if I've left a peacock in my car." She slipped her hand into Declan's and felt a warm rush of happiness rise through her as he lifted it to kiss her knuckles before they fell into step together.
"I've no idea why we birds can take it to an extreme, honestly. We're kind of nightmare monsters, I think."
"You're dinosaurs," Tara said firmly, remembering how that had been her absolute first thought. "Honestly, you should have seen yourself. You weren't exactly a T-Rex, but you were really super dinosaur-like. Even your scream sounded more like a roar, from a throat that big."
Declan's eyes widened before he blinked down at her a few times. "I wonder if that's it? Is it the magic reaching back to when we were big? Although not all dinosaurs were big," he said almost mournfully.
"Well, whether your direct dinosaur ancestors were or not, you certainly are. And you've never turned white before?"
"That was all the bird." Declan's eyes widened again. "I'd no idea it could do that. I sort of feel like I sprained something. And it'sexhausted."
"Well, please tell it that it was very impressive and extremely effective and that hopefully it never has to do anything like that again."
"I will when it wakes up," Declan promised.
"And the rest of it? What else is hard to explain?"
"Ah." Declan drew to a stop underneath a tree that was just beginning to bloom with soft pink blossoms. "You know how I just said Bri and Seamus were mates?" At Tara's nod, he went on. "It's a little old-fashioned, or maybe just a little not-human, but it's what shifters call the people we're meant to be with. They're our mates, and fate brings us together with them."
"Oh, that sounds nice," Tara said wistfully. "Sort of love at first sight-y? That's—no, never mind." She could feel heat building in her cheeks, and wasn't surprised when Declan made an encouraging, inquisitive noise. "I don't want to sound like I'm throwing myself at you out of desperation or anything, but I have to admit that's kind of how I felt when we met. I know we've only known each other two days, but I'm afraid I just sort of…fell. Don't worry," she added hastily. "I'll be gone in a couple of weeks and I'm sure I'll, you know, move on with my life and have fond memories of the gorgeous Irish man who got away."
"What if he didn't get away?" Declan's smile was very soft and inviting. Hope greater than anything Tara even knew she could feel sprang up inside her, taking her breath away as hisgreen eyes searched hers, offering promises she was afraid to even imagine. "It's how I felt, too, Tara. When we met, I knew. All I want to do is convince you to stay with me in Ireland forever, not chase evil designers around. I have my peacock's instinct for this on my side, so Iknow. Iknowwe're meant to be together. If you want to take some time to think about it?—"
Tara stood on her toes, threw her arms around Declan's neck, and kissed him passionately. "I don't need any more time at all," she finally promised against his mouth. "If this is fate, then sign me up. I want it all, Declan. I want a magical forever, starting right now."
"Right now? Here? In the Blarney Castle grounds?" Declan looked up, smiling, and called, "Hello? Have we a priest nearby? Will someone come here and marry me to this woman right now?" When no one answered, he grinned down at her. "I can promise you forever, starting right now, but we might have to wait a day or two for the paperwork. Can you live with that?"
"Of course. I mean, you also promised to show me all the best bits of Ireland that I can fit in in two weeks."
Declan's voice dropped into a much deeper octave. "If I'm to show you the verybestbits of Ireland that you can fit in, we'd best go back home sooner rather than later."
"That," Tara purred happily, "sounds like anexcellentplace to start."
Chapter 14
An hour later, standing in Declan's apartment, Tara said, "I meant it when I said this sounded like an excellent place to start, but I had no idea you lived in the lap of luxury. This is an excellent place to start in a whole different way than what I meant! Look at that view!"
Declan chuckled, sounding almost embarrassed. "It's a new build and I was lucky enough to get in on it early." He was in the kitchen, but the space was open-plan, the kitchen flowing to a dining area that led on to the living room where Tara stood at one of the huge windows, delighted with how the city spread out to one side and the docks, with a park, stretched the other way. There were three bedrooms down a hall, although Tara hadn't gone to check them out. The entire place was bright and beautiful, with clean modern lines that were kept from being too boring by the art on the walls, which ranged from abstract paintings and photos of local sites to a ridiculously huge print of familiar pop art that almost covered the living room's entire back wall.
"You were lucky enough to get in on the penthouse apartment early," Tara said dryly. "I'm going to stop feelingbadly about letting you pay for my park entrance fees and dinners. But your studio isn't here?" She turned toward him, pausing to study the enormous print on the back wall. "I love that piece of art. Iconic. No idea who the artist is, but you see that image all over the place. Advertisements and graffiti and everywhere. Album covers. I didn't know you could get prints that big, though."
"The studio is…" Declan waved a hand toward the city-side end of the apartment. "A fifteen minute walk that way. The National Sculpture Factory rents spaces to artists. And you can't." He came out of the kitchen with a couple of sandwiches that looked like they'd been made by a gourmet shop: thick brown bread, layers of lunch meat, rich red tomatoes and piles of lettuce.
Tara's stomach rumbled. "Can't what? I didn't know I was hungry until I saw that." She joined him at the table as he ate most of one half of a sandwich in a single bite.
"I'mstarving," he said apologetically when it was safe to do so. "That shift to white really took it out of me. You can't get prints that big. Or, well, that one, I suppose you probably can. It's pretty well-known."
