If you want to talk to him, don’t hold back,I said through the bond, looking up at Rowan.I’ll be okay.
You’ll all hear about it regardless,he replied, finally meeting my stare.So, doesn’t matter if it’s now or later to me.
The male—Rowan’s dad—cleared his throat. “My name is Everette,” he said, eyes still trained on Rowan. “And I am your father.”
“I gathered as much,” Rowan replied flippantly. “My mother said I should give you a chance after telling me she’s dead. So, I will, for her sake. But don’t expect a relationship without work.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be proud of my mate for setting boundaries—ones I knew were painful for him to erect, especially because he’d wondered about his father for so long—or if I should be reminding him to be kind, at least.
But his father seemed to understand the coldness coming from Rowan, because he nodded once. “Your mother warned me years ago it would go like this.” He smiled slightly, though it looked painful for him. “It’s a good thing we have time.”
Rowan stiffened, bowing his head. “Yeah, we do.”
“We will be helping with the clean-up efforts and sorting prisoners,” Lazarus declared. “You should get that thing far, far away.”
“We have just the place to hide it,” I replied, thankful for his distraction. And now I was a little more grateful for the dungeon beneath our home—aka, the perfect place to hide the skull so no one would ever find it.
There are plenty of hiding places for it that you have yet to discover,Orion said, reading my thoughts clearly. Damned broken blocks.And once we have the wards from the witches, we can board it up forever.
That sounded like a splendid idea. No way for power hungry creatures to find it—or my Halloween obsessed sister.
“You know how to find me,” Everette said before turning away with the rest of Greer’s mates. There was a mystery there.
“How the fuck did you not know your dad had a brother?” Rowan hissed, turning on Adrian who stood beside him.
My charm mage just shook his head. “Heneversaid anything to me. But now it makes sense.”
“What does?” Rowan frowned as he pulled me into him.
“Sylvia’s ability to beniceto you even though you were a jackass at the academy. It’s like she sensed we were related somehow.”
That was enough to break the tension building within our group. Rowan laughed—really laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the world—and despite the limp, Adrian stepped up beside him and clapped him on the shoulder.
Limp. “Shit,” I said, grabbing Adrian’s other hand. “You were hurt?”
The smile pulling his lips faltered briefly, but his eyes softened. “It’s not so bad now,” he replied honestly based on the bond. “And anyway, the worst of it is gone because of Orion.”
“Really?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at my Fae mate, who shrugged. “Well, let me heal it.”
“No.” Adrian squeezed my hand and shook his head. “It’s not serious enough to worry about now, and your strength…”
“I’m tired, but ultimately I feel…fine.” I expected to feel the familiar thrum of magic exertion, with my magic swelling within me and demanding time with each of my mates.
But for the first timeever,it was totally settled. The same magic I desperately missed, but like it had…matured. No longer the horny beast it used to be.
“Who the hell let Cyrus out?” Elias growled, moving to stand in front of me.
“Elara likely thought he would be needed for the battle,” Maeve murmured, eerily calm. “Though he’s being followed.”
Even Thor had a reaction to seeing Cyrus, though it wasn’t one I expected. I knew my bear shifter mate would likely recognise the approaching male from the cages, but the thoughts racing through his head had nothing to do with fear.
Warden, he said, stilling behind me.Not dangerous.
Are you sure?I asked, looking back at my mate. His eyes were locked on Cyrus, who hadn’t reacted at all to seeing Thor—his eyes only on Elias.
“What do you want?” Elias asked, crossing his arms.
Cyrus stopped in front of us, uncertainty playing in his eyes. “You remember what I told you about your parents?”
