I winced. “I’m sorry. I’ll be back in a couple of days. There’s a lot we need to discuss.”
“Caelan summoned us to his Keep.”
I froze, anger boiling in my blood. “He did what?”
Ash nodded. “We’re fine, but he’s given us notice to vacate the shop premises within sixty days unless, and this is a direct quote, ‘Evie comes to her senses.’ I told them how insane that was, but Caelan doesn’t seem like he’s in a listening mood these days.”
“That sonofabitch,” I snarled. “He can’t do that! We have a lease!”
Ash looked down and grabbed something. He held up a piece of paper and waved it at the screen. “He can and he did. There’s a clause in the lease he dubbed as the Lord’s clause, which to be frank, makes him sound like a giant douchebag, but it basically says he can do what he wants whenever he wants. No one in town is safe if he decides he wants their space.”
“What a shit,” I hissed. But as I say it, a plan began unfurling in my mind. One that would make him furious, no doubt, but it would prove my point.
“I know that look,” Ash said. “Do I want to know?”
“Plausible deniability.”
“Let me guess. Evie is not going to—” he makes air quotes, “—come to her senses?”
I laughed. “Not in the way he wants me to,” I assured him. “When I get back, let’s sit down and come up with a contingency plan. There’s a lot I need to tell you.”
“Sure thing, boss. How’s everything going there?”
I filled him in on what was happening and what we were doing about it. When I finished, Ash had a deep frown on his face. “I’m going to call my uncle and see if he’s heard of anything like this. I’ll be in touch if he has. In the meantime, be careful, especially when you’re in the fae lands. You may be the queen, but not everyone is happy about it.”
“Will do. Very few things I do these days make anyone happy, so I guess I’ll have to get used to annoying people.”
We said our goodbyes, and I kicked off my shoes and curled up in the seat by the window. Rowan’s land really was spectacular, even during the winter. If I didn’t need to save magic, I’d go outside and explore more. Tomorrow might be a heavy magic day, and I’d be foolish to expend any more than I had to, so tonight I was safest going to bed early and being fresh as a daisy tomorrow.
Rowan knockedon my door at six fifteen. When I opened the door, he didn’t say a word, only shoved a steaming mug of coffee and a pastry at me.
Then he walked off like I was a rabid dog, making me laugh.
“I’ll be in the kitchen waiting for you. Take your time.”
True to his word, he sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. I had no idea they made those anymore, but he hadthe finance pages open, reading a long column of numbers that looked like nonsense to me.
I topped off my coffee and brought the pot over to do the same for him. He gave me a distracted smile and went back to his reading, so I took the time to clear my head and get a little more caffeine in my system. That’s what Mom should do. She’d be a damned trillionaire if she figured out how a paranormal could keep a caffeine buzz for longer than a few minutes.
Rowan neatly folded the paper and picked up his mug. “Need a heavier jacket?”
He eyed my bulky cashmere sweater.
“It’s warm,” I promised as I wiggled my fingers. “Plus, I’m wearing gloves.”
He snagged his jacket and a blanket off the hook. “We don’t need to travel very far today, but it’s colder outside in the mornings. Better safe than sorry.”
I followed the Lord outside. We walked in silence for a while until he stopped beside a copse of trees with a large bench in the middle.
“I take my coffee out here in the spring sometimes,” he said. “I’ll wait here while you do your thing. Then we can get breakfast in town since you’re leaving tomorrow. Sound good?”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Rowan knew I wouldn’t change my mind about returning, and this was his way of trying to deal with the decision. Caelan would never be his first choice for me.
“Of course,” I said. “I’d love to go to breakfast.”
The smile he gave me next was genuine. I wiped away a light dusting of snow and sat down, settling myself onto the ground. Rowan spread a blanket over my shoulders and took his spot on the bench. I shifted and looked over my shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I’ll have to keep a hold on the land until the threat is gone.”
“Make your mark on my territory, Evie.” He winked at me and crossed an ankle over his knee.
