“Why?” Preston asked in confusion.
Liz laughed out loud, but it was bitter. “For one, I gave Robert a good scare when I started channeling lightning. Two, you tell me Draecyn, of all people, is my father. Three, my mother is a druid priestess who is one of the most powerful people I know. Oh, I’m sure there’s more.”
Preston’s brow raised at Robert.
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she sighed. “My parents looked for me?”
Tremaine spoke up. “Your mother went out to meet another druid, but she was attacked. She never did get a good look at who.” He stopped and stared out the window. “We hunted them down, and found the slave traders. The camp had been ransacked, and in the midst of the fire was a babe charred and unrecognizable. We thought it was you.”
“They wanted me?” She whispered. “They wanted me?” A bitter laugh bubbled free.
Tremaine shoved the coffee table out of the way and knelt at her feet. He took her face in his hands and whispered. “They did, doll. Oh, they did want you. We spent so long looking for you and it was a bad winter, so when we found the body of the child, we were sure it was yours. I am so sorry. We didn’t know.”
Her heart was breaking. All this time she thought she was thrown away, that her parents hadn’t loved her, or even wanted her. Now she knew that wasn’t the case and it hurt because she could have looked, she could have tried but it was a little late.
She tore her eyes from Tremaine and looked at Preston who looked slightly uncomfortable. “How did you find out? Does he know? Why did he never say anything if he did?”
Preston held her gaze. “Just so you’re aware, I’m not supposed to know this. I was snooping in Draecyn’s files. He suspected a few times but had given up hope. He didn’t know until your finals when you harnessed the storm and used it in your attack against Maynard. They had to stop you because Maynard didn’t have the power to stop you from killing him straight off.”
“Shit, I always thought I was a freak of nature,” she let out a short laugh. “I suppose I am. I’m not supposed to exist.”
“He did a ton of research after that, tracked down everything he could about the few of you out there. Apparently it’s rare, but there are others.”
“Why didn’t he come for me?” She whispered. “Why didn’t he ever say anything?”
“He thought you were happy with Robert’s family after being with them for seven years. I read an entry in a journal. He watched you, and you were always smiling when you were with Robert, and Robert was always with you. Plus, you made it no secret you hated your parents for letting you go. He probably felt guilty.”
“For what?” she whispered.
“For not finding you. For letting you have such a terrible life all that time. There were records he dug up about Sinclair McCallister, and the fact that he held you captive.”
Her heart damn near stopped as she stared at him. She had never told Robert, and she knew Tremaine wouldn’t have. Did Preston know her secret? Would he ruin everything for her?
Oh wait, she had already planned to tell Robert. She needed to breathe, breathe deep and relax, but she couldn’t.
Tremaine looked awfully pale too.
“What is it?” Preston asked with new worry as he stood and came closer.
Liz scrambled back away from them all. “Shit, I uh. Shit.”
Robert moved closer and she shook her head, drawing her legs up to her chest to hug them tight. “Don’t, please,” she whispered.
“Whatever it is, it’s okay,” Robert promised.
“It’s not. I killed him.” She swallowed hard and stared at Robert. “He…” the words died on her tongue and she closed her eyes. “He raped me, and I killed him. It was the first time my magic surged, and I killed him. If Tremaine hadn’t pulled his burning body off me, I would have suffocated.”
The tears came then, and she couldn’t even begin to stop them as she collapsed in on herself, hiding her face behind her hands.
She felt arms around her and she was lifted, pulled into someone’s lap. Robert’s lap. She felt Tremaine’s arms around her too. And then someone took her hands and she peeked through her hair to find Preston peering back at her.
“God, Liz, no one blames you.” Preston whispered.
She wasn’t sure Robert wouldn’t, but he was holding her. Liz sat there, frozen as she felt all the love and support around her, and she was still terrified.
Robert whispered against her ear. “I never knew, but I always suspected, love. Your nightmares, you always talk in your sleep. I remember the things you used to scream. I wanted to ask, but I figured you would tell me if you ever could.”
“You don’t hate me?” she choked out.
“For killing that filthy excuse for an uncle? The man was pure evil. I don’t miss him at all. And you? I could never hate you, Liz, especially when you did it in self-defense.”
“I told you, doll. Robert would never judge you,” Tremaine kissed her cheek and tipped her face his way. “I told you that you could trust him with anything.”
“You did,” she whispered.
Preston squeezed her hands. “I didn’t know Sinclair, but if what I’ve heard about him is even a quarter true, I have no doubt he deserved much worse than being barbequed by you.”
“Thanks, I think.” She managed a weak smile, and said, “Let me up. I need a drink now.”
Everyone let her go. Preston stood and took a step back but smiled. “I could get you a drink. Hell, I think I need one too.”
Her brow arched, but she grabbed her shot and downed it before swiping his shot glass and moving to the counter on shaky legs.
She may actually know her parents. Her mind was blown. Parents, who looked for her and after figuring out she was alive, they stopped. They let her be.
“I don’t believe Amalie knew,” Preston told her.
Tremaine snorted. “They parted ways shortly after they thought they had found you. I doubt Draecyn told her because she never would have let you stay with the mages. She blamed the Council for your abduction.”
“Yeah, well, I think she was right,” Preston muttered. He let out a long sigh. “Jarvis’ father was in on the plot. There was some failed plot to remove Draecyn from his position.”
“Yeah, I remember that mess. It backfired though. Maynard was demoted, though that didn’t last long.”
Preston looked to Liz. “There was a copy of a spell, a ritual I guess. They needed a hybrid to restore the dark mage’s own magic and continue to draw more power from other mages.”
“So he could be a mage, and dark mage at the same time?” Tremaine asked. “What gave him that idea?”
Preston shrugged his shoulder. “Something about how harnessing both types of magic could bridge the gap between his lost magic and what he fed off of.”
Robert nodded slowly. “Which explains why James would be so interested. He’d studied what was left of Sinclair’s things.”
“When I went to Jarvis’ place, I found lists of mages involved in the very shit we try to stop.” Preston scrubbed a hand over his face. “Robert, it’s a mess. Jarvis is scheduled to rise above Draecyn. Magister Draecyn is one of the few I didn’t find shit on.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Liz muttered before taking her own shot.
Preston spun around to look at her. “Hey, I’m not one of them.”
“I know. I shouldn’t have hidden from you either. I guess I was afraid of Robert finding me, which was sort of stupid.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, if you had let me near you,” he griped playfully, “I would have likely dragged you back to Robert, kicking and screaming just so I could stop seeing his pouty face. Robert was a wreck without you.” He stepped up next to her and gave her a one armed hug. “It’s good to see you. I’m only sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
“Hey, not your fault that you brought me the truth. Thank you. I’m not sure what to
do with it, but I do appreciate it.”
He nudged her shoulder. “Yeah, well, there’s more. James is a full on dark mage now. He’s draining people. I’ve never seen anything as disturbing as the way he leaves his victims.”
“What do you mean?” Robert asked.
A grimace twisted Preston’s features. “Angela and Randal were sent to your estate. They never reported back, so Draecyn sent me. I found what was left of them. Randal was dust. Angela was shriveled up like a dried apple. She crumbed to dust when I touched her. It wasn’t pretty.”
“He was a dark mage before now. When he attacked me, he told me he wanted my power. It’s part of why I went after him.”
“He was always such a cruel bastard, I’m sure you had plenty of reason,” Preston reassured her.
Robert came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and set his chin on her shoulder. “He won’t survive this time. I won’t let him touch you.”
Liz nodded, but she had to end it. She needed to be sure this time. She looked at Preston. “How long before he gets here?”
“Probably tomorrow. I tracked them for a bit, but I think it’s safe to say that they took a car to draw less attention to themselves. Plus, there’s a paper trail. The fools are using Randal’s cards as they travel. Jarvis is with him.”
“At least we’ll finally have a reason to take Jarvis in,” Robert said.
“Honestly?” Preston’s brow arched. “At this point, with the state of the Council, I vote on killing him. I have a feeling he’ll give us plenty of reason before this is all said and done.”
Robert nodded. “Can you keep an eye on that trail?”
“Sure. For now though, I think I’ll head into town and stay at a hotel.”
“You’re welcome to stay here,” Liz said. “There’s room.”
He raised a brow. “You’re not going to keep me up all night with things I really don’t need to hear, are you?”
“Since when are you such a prude?” she scoffed.
He sighed. “I’m not. I’m just single and not looking to change that right now. So I don’t want to be tempted to find someone to waste a night with.” He sighed and closed his eyes.
Liz frowned. “For the record, I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Jamie.”
“Jamie knew you were alive? I know she didn’t know you from before, but I asked who ran the shop, and she only said Tremaine.” He half laughed. “Everyone in town knew, didn’t they?”
“Well, yeah. Everyone knew I didn’t want the Council to know. That’s all.”
“The Council, including Draecyn, believe you to be dead.” He took a deep breath. “We may want to call the Magister.”
She froze, standing there as she stared into his pale blue eyes. “I don’t even know what to say about that. I mean, he knew, and he never once said a word to me.”
“You were already nineteen, and Robert made you happy. I don’t believe he wanted to ruin that.” Preston shrugged. “When I think back, he always favored you. Your death hit him harder than it should have. I think he really did care, but thought you had what was best. And maybe he was afraid you would hate him when you finally learned.”
“Maybe,” she whispered. Forcing a smile, she added, “Look, stay the night, unless you really don’t want to. Tremaine can show you the basement. It’s not dark and dank. He made it a home. I promise we won’t keep you up.” She hugged Preston and he squeezed her back. “I really am sorry I hid all those years.”
“You did what you felt was right,” Preston murmured. “I get that. Just don’t do it again.” He leaned back and winked. “You have a good night.”
* * * *
They all watched as Liz headed up the stairs.
Tremaine smiled weakly. “I’ll take you down. I’m sure you’ll like it, and I will be staying upstairs.”
Preston nodded. “Sounds good. I’m beat.”
“Sounds like you did a lot of running around and fact checking.”
“It took a lot of power to sneak through Draecyn’s defenses. I do think it would be good to involve him. I believe we can trust him.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Robert said.
“We’ll talk with her.” Tremaine glanced up the stairs. “I can’t imagine what she must be feeling right now.” He started toward the basement.
Once they were downstairs, Preston turned to Tremaine. “So, I have to ask.” Preston hesitated a moment. “The three of you? Did this all happen last night?”
“Yeah. Look, I don’t have answers. I never expected to wind up here, but I wouldn’t trade it.” Tremaine scrubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath.
“And Robert? Do you feel for Robert too?”
“Yes. I always have. Just not like this.” Tremaine opened the door to his old room. It was clean, he didn’t like clutter or mess, so there was nothing to pick up. “Robert’s been one of my closest friends since even before his father passed away. There was always a deeper connection, but I never considered this. They were always Robert and Liz until she left. Even after that I knew she needed him, I never thought she needed me the same way.”
“Yeah, but you’re the only one she trusted all this time. She’s not going to let you go.” Preston smiled sadly. “Trust it, that’s all you can do. And if we figure out how to fix Emily, don’t let her fuck things up for all of you.”
“Trust me. I won’t. That spoiled brat won’t stand between us and Liz. I won’t allow it. Neither will Robert, for that matter.”
“We’ll stop James. We’ll figure something out.”
“I fucking hope so. I just wonder what happens when Robert has to go back to the Council. I know he’s known about Liz, but he led everyone to believe she was truly dead. He wanted to protect her from being forced to go back to them.”
“Hey, I remember what they labeled her as. I remember how they thought she was a threat and told us to watch over her, keep her from fucking up. I think they assumed Robert and her were like family, until it was too late to change the assignments.”
Tremaine nodded. “That’s why she fought her attraction to him for so long. Why it took Robert forever to convince her that he loved her.”
“Well, she seems to believe it now. Good luck though, she’s not going to make it easy on either of you.”
“Oh, I never wanted easy.” Tremaine grinned before letting himself out of the room. He wanted exactly what he had, and he would do anything to keep it.
Chapter 26
Just a normal day, Liz kept telling herself. Except it was Monday morning and half the town had filtered through her shop, A Good Book, and all to check on her and the rumors about her two men. And of course, there were questions if there was a third since a few people saw Preston pulling into her driveway.
Clint had bounced up to the counter with a wicked smirk. “Please do tell me why Preston stayed the night last night.”
She groaned. “You are such a twit. He was tired, and since Tremaine is staying with me, he slept in Trem’s old room.”
“Oh, well that’s not nearly as much fun,” Clint grumbled, his smile falling.
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have you know, two men are plenty, and that’s all I’ll say.”
His nostrils flared and she had a feeling that he could smell her desire. Well damn, but the two of them knew how to turn her into a quivering heap of satisfied woman. Thinking about them had a way of getting her all hot and bothered.
“Good for you.” He smirked as his eyes drifted to the hallway.
She turned to see them both. Tremaine was rugged as always. And Robert was dressed and styled as usual. Yeah, they had a way of making her weak in the knees, especially standing there, so different from each other, but watching her with the same deep love in their gaze.
“Catch you all later,” Clint said before walking away, and through the door.
“What’s the smile for?” Tremaine purred as he came closer, and then dipped his head for a little taste.
; Robert wasn’t far behind him, stealing her mouth for a deeper kiss. He took a step back with a satisfied smile. “I could get used to this shop. Spending my day with my two favorite people.”
“Ditto, but what about the Council? You’ll have to go back eventually, won’t you?” she asked quietly.
“Maybe not. I’ve lost my faith in it. I don’t see it changing as long as Jarvis holds his position, and the corruption twists up through the ranks.”
She nodded.
Preston came through the door. “Robert, Trem, Liz. I just got news of an attack in Montana. I still think we should call Draecyn.”
Liz closed her eyes and leaned against the desk. “Yeah, okay. I mean, if you think James is working with Jarvis, which I don’t doubt, then you’re right.”
“You going to be okay now? With what you know?” Preston gave Liz a soft smile.
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’d rather we deal with James and Jarvis now. I can worry about Draecyn being my father later.”
Preston sighed. “Robert, as much as I hate this, want to take me to him?”
“Sure,” Robert said and walked around the counter. “Seems fitting that we bring him in on this case. I’ll need to warn him about Liz being alive, though.”
“Please, don’t tell him we know he’s my father. Let him decide what move to make,” Liz said. If he didn’t want to tell her she was his, then she’d pretend like she wasn’t. Two could play at that game.
“Love, he should know that you know,” Robert said softly.
“Yeah, well he had years to admit he knew. He didn’t. So it doesn’t really matter. I have the family I want.” She looked at Robert, and then Tremaine. In reality, she included Christian, and Old Lady Murdock, who was a strange old lady, but really, the closest thing to a mother Liz ever had.
Robert closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “And if he thought it’s better not saying because he thinks you don’t know?”
“Go, and don’t bring it up, please. It doesn’t matter. I’m old enough not to need a daddy just because I’m supposed to have one.”
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