She shook her head. “No. I want to sleep with him. That’s all.”
My best friend in the entire world was lying to herself. Super hard. The same way I had for so, so long. I yanked her down again and curled my arm around her waist.
“You’re getting my new scarf dirty.”
“Rowan has a great dry cleaner. She’ll make it look brand new. Now shut up and let me hug you.”
Moira sighed. “You’re naked. This is weird.”
“This is the way the gods brought us into the world, Moira. Don’t be such a prude.”
She patted my bare thigh. “I love you, you fucking weirdo.”
“Love you too, you delusional vampiric swan.”
Moira’s bark of laughter made me grin.
I sobered, worry for her simmering inside my gut. “If all you want is sex, you can get that from anyone. You’re smart and gorgeous and sometimes even more unhinged than I am. If you want to pursue him, you should. But I don’t think Ethan is the kind to go for short-term dalliances. I don’t know his situation, but I’ve never seen him with anyone. Thorvin might be the most secluded Lord, but Ethan is the most private. You’re in for a challenge. Soren is a good candidate for a one-time thing. Or four or five times. Whatever. I expect Ethan might not be that kind of man.”
Moira lay still underneath me. “Evie?”
“Hmm?”
She let out a soft breath. “I want you to stay out of this one, okay?”
Hurt speared my heart. Tears pricked the back of my eyes. I opened my mouth to say something I knew I might regret, but closed it a moment later. Then I did the thing I might not have done a few months ago.
I took a deep breath and said, “Alright. I’m here if you ever need to talk.”
The drop in her shoulders told me how relieved she was. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Of course,” I said back, my throat thick with unshed tears.
Things were changing. Such was life, but I didn’t have to like it.
A shrill, panicked scream of horror shattered the quiet.
“Thorvin’s awake,” I growled, sensing the rumble of earth below us. “He’ll be up in a minute.”
Moira rolled away and rose. “You should get dressed.”
“I dunno,” I mused. “Getting your ass kicked by a naked woman is a little more embarrassing than if she were clothed, isn’t it?”
She shook her head. “Yes, but I’m sure Rowan doesn’t want all the Lords seeing his mate in all her glory.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, rolling to my feet to grab my pants. My well of magic was slowly refilling, but I needed at least a day’s worth of sleep before I recovered all the way.
Thorvin was still rising through the ground a few minutes after I got dressed.
“Danu must have dragged him down pretty far if he still hasn’t surfaced,” Moira mused.
“Be prepared,” I warned her. “Danu is not known as one of the kinder goddesses.”
Moira glanced at me. “She’s literally Mother Earth, isn’t she?”
“No idea. I assumed so until I met her. She’s…a lot.”
Moira laughed. “As long as he comes up alive, we’re in the clear.”
