His presence put us in a bad position. Barrett had never purposely wandered off or snooped, but we always kept a close eye on him. Garrett and Simone were never too far away when I was wandering the grounds, and Declan and Hope were making their rounds as well. Barrett wouldn’t get far if his purposes were nefarious.
A wise man had once told me, “Trust, then verify.” Barrett was still in the verification stages.
“Of course,” Barrett said with a chuckle. “Mating as a Chimera is supposed to be an intense experience as well. I can’t imagine any shifter has it easy during those first few days.”
Rowan’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he came up beside me. “We were pretty busy for a while.”
I choked on a laugh. “Rowan!”
His words broke the subtle tension. Barrett sat down on an old tree stump. “Please. I didn’t mean to interrupt the middle of a session. We can continue on once you and your father finish.”
Dad inclined his head. “There’s not much happening right now other than Evie’s tingles.”
“Is this bully Evie day?” I grumbled.
“When Evie finally gets this part down, worlds will rejoice.” My father took a few steps back. “Now. Try again.”
We wereat it for hours before Dad finally gave up. He said his goodbyes and left me with another lecture.
The moment he disappeared, Barrett rose. “Dusk comes soon, but we have some time. You up for another practice round?”
I nodded, though exhaustion was set in every line of my body. “Go through the warmups first?”
He shook his head. “Not this time. You should be plenty warmed up after your time with Cernunnos. Let’s get right into it.”
Everything seemed normal with Barrett. He wasn’t acting weird or searching for something he thought we might have. His attention stayed on me. His touches were polite but guiding, and he made no cryptic comments about anything.
I was beginning to feel bad about mistrusting him. Just as I turned to ask him something, magic rocked the Keep.
Powerful magic.
Chimeramagic.
Simone and Garrett hurried out of the forest cover and skidded to a stop on either side of me. They’d long ago noted Barrett’s presence and said nothing that might reveal our secret.
Barrett stumbled, his eyes sharpening. “What was that?”
The problem with thinking fast is I was bad at it sometimes. “Mom is still on Keep grounds. Maybe she blew up something in her lab.”
Barrett gave me an odd look. “No,” he said slowly. “That magic is familiar.”
A thin stream of crimson magic shot through the air, highlighting the sky with the color of blood. Barrett sucked in a shocked breath.
“Is there another Chimera on the grounds?” He started to take off, but Garrett grabbed him by the arm
“Apologies, Barrett. This is Keep only business. I’m afraid I’ll have to escort you off the grounds.”
Declan and Hope walked up just as Garrett was leading Barrett away, but the Chimera dug his heels in.
“Evie! What was that?” His eyes narrowed. “What are you hiding?”
I smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Barrett. He’s right. This is Keep business.”
His face drained of color. “After everything I’ve done for you, you’d keep a secret like this from me? Where is the other Chimera? Who is it? Did you find the swans?”
I still wasn’t sure if he was playing me or not. Finn had been an amazing actor until he wasn’t. Chimeras were born and lived in secret. All of us had the capacity for great deception when it came to hiding our identities.
Rowan gently squeezed my arm. “My mate has spoken, Barrett. Once we have everything under control, we can resume training.”
