At my furrowed brow, she held up a hand. “Not finished.”
I clamped my lips shut.
“At first, he was all,‘Whoa, look at my badass girl. She’s the best!’And then you did your whole thing against the tree. Super hot, by the way, and the flowers in that spot grow all four seasons, no matter the weather. Well done, Evie.”
Crimson heat touched my cheeks.
“Even after the tree, he was cool Caelan, but I saw his face that night.” Moira leaned forward, a serious expression on her face. “I saw the way he looked when you came out of the tree and burned that fucker to the ground. There was a moment when your back was turned, and you raised your hands and destroyed the thing that had tried to destroy you, and Caelan’s expression was terrified. He knew right then that you were the more powerful one, even if he tried to hide it and work through it. Even after knowing you, knowing you would be loyal to him and his people forever, he couldn’t deal with it. And that was when he started making you feel like shit about things. Tiny things, a word here and there, an odd look.” Moira gave a sharp shake of her head. “And I knew I was hearing the death knell.”
Tears swam in my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak and found I couldn’t form any words.
Moira’s smile was sad. “I’m glad you found your way out. I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad Rowan was there to help you pick up the pieces. You don’t have to do anything with him that you don’t want to do. But don’t wait forever. That man is a good one, a really good one, and he would walk away from everything if you demanded it from him. But if you don’t want this, if you don’t want him, you need to call it soon.”
“I think we’re fae mates,” I blurted, the words escaping before I could hold them back.
Moira’s hands shook. She set her tea mug down. “Holy shit,” she breathed. “Are you sure? How do you know?”
“I—I’m not sure. And I don’t know. I’ve been feeling thisthingwhen he’s around. This feral tug toward him, and it’s different from that thing in my chest.”
“It doesn’t feel evil or dark?” Moira’s eyes narrowed. “No other sense of magic around it?”
“I’ve already checked. Multiple times.” And I had. “The magic is coming from inside me. And it wants Rowan. Bad.”
Moira pressed her lips together. “My gods, Evie. You’re horny for Rowan, aren’t you?”
“Stoooopppp,” I begged.
“Likehorny, horny. You want to throw that man down and violate him, don’t you?”
“Please shut up.”
Moira snickered. “Alright. Let’s talk this out. Two, let’s call them species, are tugging you toward each other. Don’t you think that’s the biggest sign the universe is ever going to send you?”
“It’s more complicated than that.” I closed my eyes.
“Oh,” Moira breathed. “You feel you’re being unfaithful to Caelan.”
A silence fell between us. “That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard,” Moira said after a moment. “That fucker had his head and other things buried the gods know where in Rachel.”
I winced.
“No. You need to hear this. It’s been months, Evie. Caelan treated you like shit, was unfaithful, and then mocked you over it.” She plowed through my attempts to interrupt her. “And before you say, ‘Moira, Lugh tricked him. He wasn’t in his right mind,’ we all know he was in his right mind enough to say all the horrible shit he did afterward, right? And we all know Lugh’s type of magic could never force someone to do those same things if they were truly in love with their partners. Caelan had one foot out the door already when Lugh fucked with his head. He mighthave stayed. In fact, I think he would have because he wanted to be king, but eventually, he would have torn everything you built down and crushed your heart in the process. Rowan is the one who took you from that place and helped you rebuild your life. If you want to go take that delicious hunk of man meat to pound town, you go home right now, flip your hair, and I guarantee that man will go feral.”
“Moira,” I breathed.
She snorted. “I’ve been saving that all up for months.”
“Obviously. So…you weren’t a big fan of Caelan then.”
Moira rolled her eyes. “I liked him just fine for a Lord. Hell, I like him better than Soren. But I sensed the moment things changed. Now I think he’s a coward and a petty little man for not using his words to end the thing between you before he destroyed anything good you two had.”
I had a lot to think about. Moira had always been a blunt kind of friend, but she rarely spoke to me like this. Not with this heat. “You’re a good friend,” I said softly. “But I’m not going to pound town with Rowan. I’m not ready. If we go that far, the mating bond will probably finalize. I want to be sure. Things are moving too fast.”
“Ah,” Moira said. “Okay. That makes sense. This time, there are consequences to pound town. Can you do butt stuff?”
A laugh cracked out of me. “Ass.”
She grinned and nudged my thigh with her toes. “Just keep it as an option. You’d be surprised at all the undiscovered nerve endings.”
