by Nicole Hall
He pulled back to take a ragged breath, but Zee didn’t release her grip. Her eyes had closed at some point, and he desperately wanted to see his need reflected in the green depths. As if answering his plea, she opened eyes full of desire and smiled.
“You’re welcome,” she said huskily.
Ryan chuckled. “Jake’s probably watching us from his front hallway like a pervert, and no matter how much I’d rather continue right now, I hate giving him a show.”
Zee took a deep breath and backed away, letting her hands fall to her sides as she nodded absently. “We should get inside. There’s a lot to discuss.”
Ryan nodded, but he wasn’t going to leave it there. He skimmed a hand down her arm and lifted her fingers to his lips. “We’re going to finish this later.” He brushed the words across her knuckles, then laced their fingers together to pull her up to the porch. She raised a brow but didn’t pull away. He’d gotten a taste of her, and he wanted—no, needed—more.
Jake didn’t show any interest in their joined hands when he opened the door, but Sera gave him an arched look from over Jake’s shoulder. Ryan couldn’t tell if it was approval or censure, but he didn’t give a shit anyway. Sera didn’t get a say in what happened between him and Zee.
Nobody mentioned that fact to Zee though. After the usual greeting crap, she squeezed his hand and pulled away to go with Sera into the kitchen. Ryan hoped Sera didn’t mention the database. He didn’t want to explain that particular decision to Zee.
Jake didn’t immediately follow. He stood blocking the hallway with his arms crossed.
Ryan wasn’t sure he had the patience for Jake at the moment. “What?”
“You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“No. Definitely not, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
Jake blew out a breath. “Seriously, you need to be careful with her.”
Ryan brushed past him into the living room. They were speaking quietly, but Zee had ears like a fox. “I know. It’s dangerous for me to piss off a Fae even if she’s without her magic right now.”
“It’s not about you, dumbass. It’s about her. She’s lost everything important to her, stranded here in a strange world, and you’re messing around with her feelings.”
Ryan flopped down onto the couch. “I’m not messing around. What’s between us is exactly that, between us.”
Jake frowned from the doorway. “It’s not going to stay between you two for long if you’re making out on the street. This is Mulligan, Texas, population: something thousand and everybody already knows your business.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “I knew you were watching. You need better hobbies.”
Zee appeared in the doorway, and Ryan wanted to say screw dinner and drag her home with him. “Sera says dinner is ready.” She announced, leaving before either man could move. They both stared after her.
Jake spoke first. “Good luck, man. She’s worth at least two of you.”
Ryan stayed frozen on the couch a minute longer. He could hear silverware clinking and low voices from the other room, but he needed to get a grip on the mess in his head first. Jake was right. He’d been so concerned about the effect magic was having on his life that he’d glossed over how tumultuous this must be for Zee. There wasn’t a good excuse for his oversight besides willful ignorance. The bargain they’d made tied them together, and if he tried, he could feel her emotions with very little effort. Even if he didn’t try, sometimes it came through loud and clear. All he had to do was pay attention.
This emotional connection wasn’t just a simple attraction, this was something...more. Magic? He turned the idea over in his mind, but no matter how he twisted it, she wasn’t Maddie. In fairness, Maddie wasn’t Maddie, but Zee wasn’t going to turn around one day and use her power against him. She’d used magic on him before, but only to protect her people and never in a way that would hurt him. The belief that came with that knowledge surprised him. He hadn’t realized he’d started making excuses for magic use.
Zee laughed at something in the other room, low and sexy, and need shot through him all over again. He wanted his hands on her, his lips on her, his—well, the more time they spent together, the harder it was becoming to remember why it was a bad idea.
ZEE
Zee didn’t know what Ryan was doing by himself in the other room, but he was missing out on an excellent meal. Jake had made a giant lasagna for dinner, and by the time Ryan sat down, half of it was gone. He didn’t seem to mind, but he didn’t meet her eyes as he served himself.
“Thanks for making dinner, man.”
“You’re welcome, but you should know we had an ulterior motive for asking you guys over. Zee specifically.”
She forced her eyes away from watching Ryan eat. She kept reliving the kiss outside and his promise that they weren’t finished. A low hum of excitement at her center had been slowly building since that moment. As a result, she was having trouble concentrating. What’s wrong with me? Pay attention!
Zee shook her head and faced Jake. “What did you need from me?”
He glanced toward Sera, and she was the one who spoke. “Information, as usual. We’d been trying some things in the trods before you arrived, but Jake didn’t want to take any chances after…” She trailed off, and Jake set down his silverware to take over.
“How dangerous is the Wood right now?”
Ah, I know the answer to this one. Finally. “Very. I’d advise you not to go into the forest at all until balance has been returned.” Ryan snorted, but his mouth was full so he couldn’t elaborate. “We need to tell you about what happened when we got here.”
It took fifteen minutes of constant interruptions for Zee to get through the story. She left out the part where her heart stopped when Ryan disappeared, and the part where she tried again and again to call her magic to help him. Ryan contributed what he’d experienced when he was inside the shadows, then went in for a second piece of lasagna.
Jake brought two glasses of water to the table and handed one to Sera. “So you’re saying the Wood is activating some kind of elemental magic in order to eat people?”
Zee pushed her empty plate away. “What? No…” She shook her head. “Okay, sort of. The shadows were definitely magical, but I’m not sure of the purpose. If one of the children had run into the trees, it might have simply been a forest. But Ryan ran in instead. His magic may have triggered the shadows to activate their own magic.”
Sera paled. “Do you think this is my fault? Why didn’t it do anything to us before now?”
“It did. It trapped me in a trod and led you in circles.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t try to keep us, and it sounds like Ryan wasn’t in a trod.”
Zee shook her head again and sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I need to do more research. Everything I’m telling you now is speculation at best. I don’t know if the Wood is dangerous to humans right now, but I wouldn’t risk it.” She paused and rubbed her temples. “The trouble started gradually, but the reactions seem to be getting more insidious.” Zee sat back and stared out the window, though she couldn’t see anything past their reflections in the dark glass. “It’s strange. The power in the Wood is supposed to be neutral. That was why my people had to give up something to access it. I wonder if something else is influencing it.”
Jake and Sera shared another look, and Zee started to suspect they knew something relevant that they weren’t sharing. Sera still appeared queasy, but Jake rubbed her back and nodded.
She leaned forward and clasped her hands together on the table. “I think I know why the Wood is leaning toward destruction. When Evie was declared dead, all her stuff passed to me, including some land north of town that used to be a ranch. It overlaps the Wood pretty heavily, and there are some overgrown places that feel…different. One of the reasons the rancher had to sell was that he couldn’t use that land. The cows wouldn’t go there.”
“Magic,” muttered Ryan.
Sera ignored him. “Anyw
ay, Evie bought it, ostensibly to protect the Wood, and these developers started pushing her to sell to them. They want to build a master-planned community there. Now they’re pushing me to sell. It wasn’t a big deal until a little over a week ago when I found out that Will is working with the developers as a consultant.” She spit out the last word.
Zee had never met Will, but she sensed the turmoil from Sera. There was fear mixed in with disgust and pity. The jumble of emotions wasn’t worth unraveling, easier to simply assume she shouldn’t trust the man. In addition, the three humans around the table all looked like they wante to murder him.
“Could they be doing something illegal or something harmful to the environment that’s pissing off the trees?” asked Jake.
Ryan pushed his chair back with a scrape to take his plate to the sink. “She’s not the Lorax, man. How is she supposed to know what the Wood takes offense to?”
Zee didn’t understand his reference, but both questions were valid. The Fae had sworn to protect the Wood along with the barriers, and they’d failed. Spectacularly. If the humans were doing something stupid, the Wood using its power to protect itself made sense. There were too many variables to know for sure, but there was a guaranteed way to find out.
She straightened her shoulders and nodded. “I need to detain Will.”
6
ZEE
Ryan’s shocked laugh echoed in the kitchen, but Zee didn’t see what was funny. “We can’t detain people, Zee. That’s kidnapping. What’s next, torture?”
She tilted her head. Not a bad idea. “I’ll rephrase. I need to find out what he’s doing. The easiest way is to restrain him and let me look in his mind, but he may not know the details.”
Sera snorted. “There’s no way he knows the details. He’s a front man. Pretty face and words, but lazy when it comes to actual work.”
Ryan shrugged. “So, we follow him. He drives by every night around the same time. We borrow a car and see where he leads us.”
The others debated the details, but Zee sat back in amazement. She hadn’t expected such a response from them. They’d been properly warned of the danger, so there was no reason to help her fix the Wood. Despite that, they were talking about breaking human laws to gather information as if there were no question of their involvement.
“Why are you so eager to help?” Zee blurted out.
They stopped mid-sentence, and Sera answered her. “It’s my fault the barriers are gone. Plus, we’re all interconnected. The state of the woods affects our homes, and your state of magic affects us being able to help Evie. Besides all that, we’re friends too, aren't we?” Sera looked a little unsure, but continued on. “I can’t speak for the others, but why wouldn’t I help?”
Zee shook her head. “It’s not your fault. You did your best to stop Torix, without the benefit of my people, I might add. And if not for you, Evie would have remained trapped in the barriers. You saved her life, and you should be proud of that.”
Sera’s eyes teared up, and Jake grabbed her hand. “Thanks for saying that. I’ve been so guilty over what happened to you, and now this, even though I wouldn’t change anything if given the chance.”
“Evie would have done the same.”
Sera wiped her face and took a deep breath. “Speaking of Evie, is there anything we can do to reinstate her in society without your magic working?”
Zee winced. That wrinkle was her doing. “Unfortunately, no. Without magic, I can’t recall the golem or fiddle with the people in charge of paperwork. If I get it back, I can try, but the more time that passes, the stronger Evie’s death will be in their memories. Especially in this small of a community. Everyone knew Evie and everyone mourned her when she passed. Honestly, it might be too late at this point to reverse.”
Sera let out a frustrated sigh, but accepted it. Jake, on the other hand, scowled. “Why on Earth would you fake her death if you couldn’t reverse it?”
Zee speared him with a quelling look. “As far as I knew, there was no need to reverse it. Evie was trapped behind the barriers. Even if she miraculously emerged, the most I could work with would be a couple of days. Over a month?” She spread her hands helplessly. “Even I have limits.”
“I’m going to throttle my sister when she gets back from Europe,” muttered Jake.
Sera put a hand on his arm. “It’s not her fault either. It’s Torix’s fault and only his.”
Jake pouted. “Can I at least blame Will a little bit?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You can blame Will too if you want, but I think he’s getting himself into plenty of trouble without throwing some of Torix’s culpability at him.”
“I’m truly sorry that I can’t help Evie.” Zee was surprised at the depth of her sorrow. Evie had been a useful ally, but Zee had tried to keep the humans at an emotional distance. When had that changed?
Sera waved a hand. “And I’m sorry that I bulldozed through your protections. There, now we’re even.”
Her flippant comment started a playful argument among the three of them about who’d done the most accidental destruction. Zee allowed a small smile. She liked Sera’s style. This whole mess started when Zee had underestimated the humans. Evie tried to help with the barriers, Sera took the responsibility upon herself of stopping Torix, Jake offered himself as a conduit, and Ryan…Zee watched him banter back and forth with his friends, but she knew he was volatile inside. He’d gone into the Wood with them in the end. He’d tried to use his magic to protect everyone, even as he hated himself for it. They’d all do the same again.
It was time to start accepting that these humans at least were more than just semi-useful people that needed to be coddled and sheltered.
Zee hated to bring up Will again with everyone smiling, but one of them needed to take charge. Sera beat her to it.
“Okay, we’re all in agreement that I’m the most destructive, but Will still gives me creeps with his stalker crap. I wish the cops would do something. It may not be illegal to drive down the street, but I feel threatened.”
Jake’s smile dropped right away. “He won’t touch you.”
Sera dropped a quick kiss on his cheek. “I know, but I have this fantasy where he tries and I kick his ass.”
“I could help with that.” All three focused on Zee. She hadn’t really meant to speak, but it was too late. “I could teach you a few moves that would help you defend yourself if you ever needed to.”
Sera considered it for all of three seconds. “Yeah. I’m in.”
Jake’s brows drew together. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
She patted his hand. “Have you seen Zee’s arm muscles? She looks like she belongs in a superhero movie. Especially with those Amazon warrior braids. This is going to be great.” She turned back to Zee. “Can you teach me to kill a man with one finger?”
Zee’s smile widened with a predatory glint, but she didn’t answer.
Ryan did. “No. Let’s keep the warrior princess fantasies to a reasonable level. Sera, even if she taught you that, you’d never use it. You’re a marshmallow on the inside.”
She scowled. “You don’t get a say. Zee gets to decide what she teaches in warrior princess class.”
“Now it’s a class?” Ryan rolled his eyes.
“You don’t think other women in town would be interested in learning how to defend themselves? Look at her, she’s a walking advertisement for badass.”
“I am looking.”
Zee’s eyes clashed with his, and Ryan’s dropped in a slow perusal that caused aftershocks all the way down her body. She tried not to respond outwardly, but inside she was a quivering mess.
“Besides, it’s a good way to integrate Zee into the community. You’re not going to be able to keep her hidden in your apartment much longer.”
The image of them tangled together in his bed appeared in her mind again, and she had to look away from Ryan. They’d never get through an entire conversation at this rate.
“It’s
fine. There’s not much difference between teaching one woman and many.”
Sera clapped her hands and stuck her tongue out at Ryan. “Warrior princess classes are a go. I’ll talk to the high school, see if we can borrow the gym one night next week. Oh, and I’ll bet Mrs. Wilson would let me put up a flyer.”
This was spiraling out of hand. Zee’d wanted to help alleviate Sera’s anxiety, not start a movement. It was probably too late to ease it back though. Jake gathered the dishes and nodded along with Sera’s planning, but Ryan was watching Zee.
From the moment he’d disappeared into the Wood, her senses had become hyper alert. She’d had to reinforce her shields to avoid his emotions washing over her constantly, but even that wasn’t working completely. He’d drawn her attention all night. She was beginning to suspect that they’d done more than make a simple bargain that first day.
Glass and metal clanked together behind her, and Sera got up to help Jake. Alone at the table, Ryan captured her hand and brought it to his lips again. Warmth rushed up her arm to her face.
“Ready to go?” He spoke the words against her fingers, and Zee nodded.
They both stood up, and Ryan released her as Jake turned. She could feel the blush creeping across her cheeks, but she couldn’t stop it.
“Thank you for dinner. It was the best lasagna I’ve ever had.”
Ryan chuckled. “It was the only lasagna she’s ever had, so don’t get all excited.” He clapped Jake on the back. “Delicious as always.”
Jake flicked water at him. “I see how it is. Eat and run.” He lowered his voice. “I’ll text you about coordinating to trail Will.”
Sera shut off the water. “I heard that. Zee, I’ll let Ryan know what time the class will be. Is two hours long enough?”