“Rowan.” Her voice broke. She stepped forward, her hand outstretched, but I couldn’t bear her touch.
I turned and walked away.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Ileft not long after Rowan walked away, cloaked in grief and the remnants of magic I’d expended on his land. Dad brought Moira to my house instead of Rowan’s and said nothing, even though his eyes widened when he saw me.
Dad saw the bond as well. Moira and I sat on the couch, our feet touching as we sipped spiked hot chocolate.
“Damn,” she said a few moments after I finished telling her everything that had happened.
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh.
“Heavy stuff.”
“Simone and Garrett are extremely pissed at you, FYI.”
I groaned. “Totally forgot to tell them I was leaving.”
“You’re not used to having an entourage, but yes, you left them without a word, and now they have to take a flight home.”
I winced. “I may need to give them a bonus.”
“Or emotional hazard pay.” Moira grinned to soften her words. “You know,” she said thoughtfully, “I’m less surprised by this than I expected.”
My eyebrows rose. “Oh?”
She lifted a slender shoulder in a shrug. “You’ve always gotten along with him to the point where Caelan was extremelyjealous. You let him through your wards and into your home, and you even let him hold you. I’ve never seen you do that with anyone else before. Not once.”
“I trust him.”
“And you let him share your territory when all of the other Lords would have showered you with gifts and titles and wifed you up to gain all those lands.”
“I would have gifted it to him,” I muttered under my breath. “He asked to share instead.”
Moira snorted. “Sounds exactly like something that sweet, loving bastard would do, doesn’t it?”
Her words made me belly laugh.
“You chose him. Not Caelan. Not Ben. Rowan. You gifted him the power of two Lords and didn’t bat an eye. He allowed you to claim all of his lands even knowing how dangerous that might be to his standing. He’s been in love with you for a while.”
I jerked my attention to her. “What?”
“A blind man could see it.” She sipped her cocoa. “Probably why Caelan gets so growly when Rowan is around. There’s always been a thread of something between you. Close proximity sent that thread into hyperdrive.”
“This is bad,” I murmured.
“Is it?” Moira asked. “Or are you worried about what Caelan will think when he sees you?”
I closed my eyes, resisting the urge to scream. “I am not sure how I feel. There’s something between us, but this is all too soon. I—I’m not ready.”
She watched me over the top of her mug. “Who said you have to be?”
My brow furrowed.
“Is Rowan pushing you to accept?
