Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
“Yeah.”
“I thought he might have been out of town and wanted more protection for you,” he mused. “He hasn’t been seen since you left.”
Her heart stabbed at that news. “Do you always watch his place?”
“Better to know your enemy. He does the same.”
Their eternal war and the ridiculous place she fit into it.
“So, the fight was because of us?” he wagered.
“When he read me at Amberdash’s party.”
“And what did he see?”
“Enough.” She hugged her arms around her stomach. “He saw enough.”
He was silent a few moments as they crossed 8th Avenue. “You’re going to need to be more specific.”
She hated the words that came out of her mouth. That she was forced to recite them a second time. “There’s something between us.”
“Mmm,” he said, a flickering of amusement at the corner of his lips. “I see.”
“What?”
“I’m here to listen and to provide sustenance,” Lorcan said. “I’m not sure you want opinions.”
They were silent the rest of the walk. It was bracing, and her head was still fuzzy as they stepped into the Flatiron district. Then she stilled as she stared up at the Flatiron building.
“Lorcan,” she warned. “This is where you live.”
“Yeah,” he said as if it were obvious.
“I thought we were getting pancakes and coffee?”
“Technically, we are.”
She stopped abruptly. “Lorcan…”
“I’m going to take care of you. I also happen to make the best pancakes in the city.”
“I don’t know,” she told him, staring uneasily up at the landmark.
“I’ll text the group, all right?” Lorcan said, shooting off another text. She could see a wall of text messages since they’d left Five Points. “They know you’re here. They know you’re safe. And I…know your boundaries.”
“You’ve been fine with walking past them before.”
“I won’t tonight,” he said like a promise as he held his hand out to her.
They went together past the attendant and up the elevator to the floor where the post-schism Druid headquarters was located.
A Druid barely managed to smother his surprise seeing them exit the elevator together.
“Sir,” he said.
Lorcan nodded at him and then directed her down to the end of the hallway. Right before they reached it, another door burst open. Maureen appeared in black sweats, her hair up in a severe bun. “Sir, you’re back. I have intel on the Druid compound which is currently undefended by the…”
Maureen’s voice trailed off. Her dark-brown eyes landed on Kierse, and she couldn’t quite suppress the shock.
Kierse glanced to Lorcan. “The Druid compound is undefended?”
Lorcan shrugged. “We both just saw Niamh at the club.”
“What exactly are you doing?”
Maureen soured. “Surveilling.”
Lorcan laughed, easy, uncomplicated. “It’s what we do.”
Kierse wasn’t sure she believed him, but Maureen already looked like she had said too much. It wasn’t the night for that, anyway. Niamh being away for one night wouldn’t change the Druid civil war.
Maureen glanced between them. “Where’s the third wheel, huh?”
Kierse winced, and Lorcan sighed. “Just us tonight, Maureen.”
“Uh huh.” Maureen made a point to look behind them as if she expected to see Graves like the night that she’d dropped them off at the brownstone.
“Was there anything required of me that couldn’t wait until the morning?” he asked.
Maureen glanced between them with her eyebrows nearly on the ceiling. “She’s staying the night? Should I put the Druids on alert for an altercation with the warlock?”
“No,” Lorcan said. He still had that easy smile on his lips, but his eyes had hardened, the Oak King who belonged on a throne in his voice. “Everything will be fine.”
“You have been saying that a lot, sir,” Maureen said with a pointed look. “But if Graves shows up…”
Lorcan held his hand up. “Enough, Maureen.”
She nodded her head, taking a step back at his raised voice. “Excellent, sir, well, we can talk about this at a later time. Good to see you again, Kierse.” Then she disappeared back into her room.
Lorcan blew out a breath. “Sorry. She still hasn’t quite forgiven me for giving him a drive home after that night.”
“She didn’t seem much like she had forgiven me, either.”
“Well, mostly she can’t understand how you would choose him over me,” he said as he put a key into the door and turned the handle. Lorcan pushed the door open. “After you.”
Kierse stepped into Lorcan’s apartment, the scent of his magic washing over her as she passed through the warding. She shouldn’t have been surprised by the cozy aesthetic. She’d spent a knocked-out night in his place in Brooklyn, which was all exposed brick walls and long white curtains and a mattress as light as a feather. The space was much the same. A large, fluffy couch covered in luxe pillows, plush carpeting, and dramatic curtains with the windows open wide to the view of the city beyond.
“Nice place.”
“I’m still getting used to it,” he said, throwing the keys in a carved wooden dish by the front door and rolling up his sleeves as he entered the kitchen.