I thought of Ari, the fae weapons maker. She seemed different, but I still didn’t know her all that well. “Cliona and Cernunnos protected you.”
Evie nodded. “They did and look where I am now.”
We both laughed. Evie was the current fae queen and not all that happy about it. Things had settled down, but she had to travel back and forth from our land to theirs pretty often.
“There’s something about me he’s curious about. And he wants me to taste Ethan so he can figure out what he is too.”
Evie shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him.” She sipped her drink. “Kind of a shame, really. Dad has wonderful qualities, but they aren’t innate. Each is driven by a goal.”
She pointed at me. “Take you, for example. You stayed with me when you could have gone and done wonderful things for yourself. You could have started your tea shop years earlier, figured out your food thing, and probably been a billionaire model or something. But you didn’t. You stayed close and risked your life a number of times for me.”
“Because I love you.”
Evie snapped her fingers. “Exactly. You sacrificed for me when there was nothing in it for you. Dad has an infinite amount of power, and he could do so much good in the world, but he has two speeds. He’s either out, or he’s meddling.”
As much as that hurt, she wasn’t wrong. “Why is he so curious about Ethan?”
“He’s curious about all the Lords. Rowan wouldn’t play his game, and I doubt your Lord will either.”
“He’s not my Lord,” I grumbled.
Evie scoffed. “Ethan obviously has some things to work out, but that man has eyes only for you. Don’t fool yourself about him. Whatever he’s going through has nothing to do with you. He has to work out his own shit.” She reached over and clinked our glasses together. “And you are doing a phenomenal job with your boundaries.”
Evie paused. “I saw him follow you into the woods, and all I could do was pray you wouldn’t get pounded against a tree as I did.”
I burst out laughing. Evie grinned. Her finally embracing her full Chimera and going on a bloody spree, only to end it by having outdoor sex with Caelan, would go down in legend. We still teased her about it sometimes. But only when Rowan wasn’t around.
“It’s a good memory,” she said when she finally stopped laughing. “But if I could have seen just a little further into the future, I might not have made the same decision.”
“That’s part of the fun of life, isn’t it?”
Evie snorted. “Yes, well, let’s send thanks to the gods I didn’t get knocked up.”
I studied her over the rim of my glass. “And how are things now? You change your mind about babies?”
A pink blush colored her cheeks. “We’re taking it one day at a time. Fae fertility is notoriously slow, but there’s never been a match like ours. Neither of us is opposed to a little one running around, especially now that we have all the other kids causing chaos wherever they go.”
My heart warmed. “I’m glad. You’ll make incredible parents.”
Evie uncurled herself from the couch. “And you’ll be the kind of aunt every kid dreams of.” She bent over and dropped a kiss atop my head. “I gotta get back. Don’t let Dad bully you, okay?”
She was at the door when I spoke again. “If Ethan shared his blood with me, would your father know?”
Evie’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. He has a sensitive nose, but not like a shifter. I’ll ask Rowan if he can tell when you’ve drunk from Cernunnos. If he can, then I’d venture yes.”
Rowan was half fae, something only a select few knew. “Can you ask Declan, too?”
Evie’s face brightened. “Great idea! If Declan can’t and Rowan can, maybe my guy is sensing a magic fluctuation. But if they both can, maybe they’re just using their shifter noses.” She scratched her chin. “I’m going to ask Hope, too. Just to be sure.”
“Thanks, Evie.”
My friend blew me a kiss. “I’ll text you.”
She shut the door behind her, leaving silence in her wake.
Seems I had a lot to think about these days.
Chapter
