“Come on.” I pried Emma’s fingers from crimped steel. “We still have four hours left on the clock.”
Harper’s eyes glinted. I realized I’d just given him what he wanted without meaning to.
“What are you up to?” I had a feeling that sparkle in his eyes meant trouble for Emma.
The lopsided grin I loved so well lifted his lips. “I can’t hold down solid food. I had hoped to persuade Emma to bring me some tomato basil soup after work. It’s still her specialty, isn’t it?” His gaze slid back to Emma. “After all the years spent perfecting a food for her picky little sister to eat, it should be.”
Emma ducked into the hall. “It is. Wait here and I’ll pour you a to-go portion.”
He frowned apologetically. “My body is still on Askaran time. I don’t think I can manage yet, but if you wait four hours then your timing would be perfect.” His teeth flashed in a quick smile. “Of course, that’s only if you don’t mind. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”
Emma’s face pinked. Her lavender scrollwork glowed against the blush building in her cheeks. She cleared her throat and kept her gaze pointedly away from the male in front of her. “Fine. I’ll bring you soup after closing.”
“Thank you.”
I would have called him on his antics, but Clayton’s warm hand caressed my side and Harper’s machinations ceased to matter. “When can I see you again?”
“Didn’t you hear?” I smiled. “I get off work in four hours.” I let my voice trail off. “If you’re interested.”
“I am most definitely interested.” His smile was wicked. “Figment and I have plans tonight. If you aren’t busy, maybe you would like to join us?”
I rose up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips, sealing our deal. “It’s a date.”
Emma’s iron grip closed over my upper arm. “Back to work, remember?”
I almost growled, or maybe Clayton had. Either way, a soft hum of disappointment moved through my lips.
“See you in four.” He moved into place to support Harper for the walk back to the inn. Mason followed them down the alley, around the corner and out of sight.
I followed Emma into the hall. When the door closed behind us, I dug in my heels. She would either stop walking or have to drag me.
She jerked my arm. “Come on, I need to get back to my kitchen.”
“No,” I said, standing my ground. “You need to tell me what happened out there.” A shudder moved through my arm where she held it.
“He’s alive.” Emma glanced at me and light caught the shine of tears held in her eyes. “You saw him. He’s really here.”
“Yes I did, and he is.” I covered her hand with mine and found it cold. “You didn’t imagine it. He’s really come home.”
She nodded once before her back hit the oak paneling. Fabric rasped as she slid to the floor. Her head braced on her arms, her arms across her kneecaps. Her shoulders shook so hard she appeared to rock in place.
I sank to my knees beside her. “Are you all right?” I heard her lungs fill with air and force out a hushed sob. I touched her shoulder. “Emma?”
When I pried her face from her arms, blood smeared her bottom lip where she’d bitten it trying to hold back her cries. I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a towel, pausing long enough to dampen it.
Falling into a crouch at her side, I wiped her eyes and mouth. How many nights had she done this? Hurt this way and never said a word?
“You should have told me.” I sat beside her, brushing her hair from her face.
Emma snorted. “Why? You thought you were in love with Harper. I couldn’t tell you I loved him too. You would have hated me for it.”
I sank to the floor beside her until our hips met. Then I reached over and broke the tense line of her body by pulling her head down to rest on my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around her. “You’re right,” I agreed with reluctance. “I was too wrapped up in my own pain to notice you were hurting.” I kissed the top of her head. “You’ve always been so strong.”
Her breath warmed my neck. “Maddie, I don’t want to be strong anymore. I’m so tired.”
I hugged her even closer. “You don’t have to be. I’m fine, thanks to you. It’s time for you to focus on what you want.” I paused. “What will make you happy?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“What about Harper?” She shivered at the mention of his name. I had to ask, “What did he say to you out there?”
Her fingers linked and tightened until her knuckles shone white. “He said he’d waited long enough.” She swallowed. “He means to claim me.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
Her head shook. “I thought he was dead. I dated men and…” her voice quieted, “…I did things.” Warm moisture saturated my shirt and the skin beneath her cheek. “Things he’ll hate me for.”
I grabbed her chin between my fingers, forcing her to look up at me. “You can’t believe that.”
“I shouldn’t have given up so easily. I should have been more like you. If I’d just held on longer—”
“Stop it.” I grabbed her shoulders and shook. “If you’d been like me, neither of us would have survived. You’re the one who ran the diner, paid our bills and kept a roof over our heads. You saved us every bit as much as Harper did. He’ll know that. He won’t hold your time apart against you.”
She continued to stare at the floor.
“If you want, I can take the soup to Harper when I meet up with Clayton.” I smiled while she couldn’t see it. “Dana’s there. I’m sure she won’t mind helping out an old acquaintance.”
Emma’s head snapped up. Her tattoos glowed violet against her red face. “You’re not funny.” Her lips tipped up at the corner.
I gave her a shove. “Come on. You don’t have to decide anything today.” I stood and reached down to help her up. “He’s safe. That’s what matters. The rest will fall into place.”
She shoved me back. “You’re right.” She wiped her face with her palms and willed her glamour into place. “It’s not like he can make me do something I don’t want to, right?”
I coughed into my hand. If Harper had set out to claim her, I doubted anything would stop him. The male was nothing if not determined. “Right.”
Chapter Fourteen
Emma refused to take the stairs, so I left her standing in the damp grass with her feet shoulder’s width apart. Her hands clasped over Tupperware marked with her name in bold letters as if daring Harper not to return it. Her lips were set in a stubborn line, her gaze sharpened to a glare directed at a second-story window. I didn’t know if she wanted to get in some practice or if she’d actually seen someone up there.
The hardwood panel thumped beneath my knuckles. Seconds later, Dana opened the door. Her gaze slid over me to Emma.
“Harper mentioned you were coming. Is that his soup? He asked if you could bring it up to his room when you arrived.” Dana pushed the door open while continuing to pretend I didn’t exist, which suited me just fine. Her panties were in a perpetual state of twist and I wasn’t about to offer any assistance.
Emma fingered the container with a frown, sealing and unsealing the lid until she caught herself and forced the top back into place. “Does he think I’m going to spoonfeed him too?” She took grudging steps forward and indicated I should enter before she followed me into the lobby.
Dana shut the door with a soft click. “Madelyn, I’m sorry, but whatever you came for will have to wait. Emma will be upstairs with Harper and I’m right in the middle of something.”
“I’m sorry too, but Clayton asked me to meet him here.”
She paused. Fresh from work, I smelled of French fries and wore red soup stains on my T-shirt and jeans. She smelled of something flowery and wore black slacks with a trim blue top that accentuated a figure you’d never guess had produced three little boys all at once.
“All right.” She stepped aside. “You can wait fo
r him here in the lobby if you’d like.”
The trio of boys in question tore through the room almost on cue. Parker’s cast kicked over a box filled with packing peanuts and newspaper. They all skidded to a stop and looked up sheepishly. “Sorry, Mom,” they said as each boy scooped Styrofoam bits to his chest.
Then they saw Emma. “What are you doing here?” Ben eagerly tugged at her rolled-up sleeve.
“I came to drop off some soup for Harper. What are you guys up to?”
“Mason’s taking us to a ballgame.” His voice rose with excitement. “All the males are playing out in the field behind our school. Only he can’t because he promised to take us. He said if we behaved he’d even buy us nachos.”
Dana shook her head in a resigned kind of way. “Boys will be boys,” she said under her breath.
“That’s great, guys.” Emma looked past them to the narrow staircase leading to the second-floor bedrooms. She jerked her attention back to the children. “Remember your manners and be nice to Mr. Mason.”
“We will.”
Each boy took a turn embracing Emma. Then they each stood their ground for the barest fraction of a minute it took their mother to buss their cheeks. I rated a trio of careless waves thrown over their retreating shoulders.
While Dana ushered the boys outside to their chaperone, and Emma picked at her Tupperware lid, the wrongness of the room caught my attention. Boxes were stacked everywhere. Blank spaces on the walls called my attention to where portraits had once hung. Family portraits as I recalled.
Curtains were pulled down or aside, opening the room to the outside. She could be planning to remodel. I peered into the nearest box, then straightened, catching myself and moving away from temptation. “What’s with the boxes?”
Dana went to the nearest box. She began wrapping ceramic figurines in newspaper and sorting them. “The boys and I are leaving town.”
I stopped in my tracks and spun to face her, trying to keep my jaw off the floor. “Where will you go? Why will you go?”
“The news of your sister’s attempted rise to power means more rescues can be made undetected.” She shrugged. “This town is getting crowded. I don’t think when Marcus started the colony he ever imagined his sons would be so successful in filling it.” She smoothed a hand across the check-in desk counter. “I’ve registered hundreds of Evanti and their wives, but now it’s time to move on. Start a new colony, a new life for me and the boys.”
“Is it safe?” On second thought, the question was a dumb one. Clayton would never allow anyone to be harmed on his watch.
She folded a blanket and settled it inside an opened box. “Clayton would never send anyone out alone without protection. He assigned Dillon and a few other males to go ahead and secure the property and supplies we’ll need to begin. We should be gone within the week, taking three of the larger families and a half dozen of the unmated males.”
Emma didn’t seem surprised. I’d been the only one left out of the loop. For once, it bothered me. I’d been awakened. I wanted a stake in the lives of those around me as well as my own. Resolve coursed through me. No more standing on the fringe. Starting with Dana could only make interaction with everyone else that much easier.
“Is this because of me and Clayton?”
She crinkled a ball of paper. “Yes and no.” Rounding the desk, she dropped onto the floral-print sofa and patted the plump cushion beside her. “I haven’t been very kind to you. Not really.”
I took the seat she offered and, reaching down deep, I tried. Forgetting our last encounter would be impossible. The words she’d spoken in anger and the almost tangible need I’d had to break her as I’d once been broken were open sores left to fester between us. I pushed that aside for later contemplation and drew on the core of common decency Emma had instilled in me.
“I haven’t exactly been charitable to you, either.”
The earth didn’t stop spinning. The sky didn’t fall. I perked up. This coexisting thing might be doable.
“Can I ask you something?” Dana’s blue eyes met mine.
“I guess.”
“Are you serious about Clayton?”
I shifted on the sofa, wanting to blame the sinking feeling in my gut on the overly plush cushions. I had no idea where this conversation was headed, but it didn’t sound good. “Yes, I am.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Then there are a few things you should know that he will be reluctant to tell you.” She ran her palms down her pants legs.
Emma voiced encouragement. “Dana, you’re doing the right thing by telling her. She needs to know it all, and you know he won’t tell her anyone else’s secrets. Not even at the cost of his reputation, or their relationship.”
Dana nodded while bracing her palms on her knees. Her spluttered admission stunned me. “My boys are of Clayton’s line.”
I couldn’t hear over the irregular thumping of my heart in my ears. I held my breath to make it slow enough that I could listen again.
Dana’s cool hand covered mine briefly. “But they aren’t his.” She waited a beat and glanced back to Emma. “Or Harper’s for that matter.”
I gulped air to feed my starving lungs. I’d known they weren’t Clayton’s, he’d told me as much and I believed him. But Harper—I hadn’t been so sure. Not about anything where he was concerned. “Can I ask who their sire is?”
I had seen her boys without glamour. They all shared a very telling birthmark I hadn’t known to look for until recently.
“Their father was Marcus Delaney.”
“Wow.” Talk about your summer/winter romances. I swallowed my surprise. “But you were married to another male.”
“I was.” Dana studied a plain white-gold band around her finger. “I’m not proud of what I did then, or how I behaved afterwards, but Marcus was a force of nature. Charismatic, handsome, kind, and he loved me.”
She twisted the ring. “When I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t know what to do. My husband was so happy. His excitement grew almost as fast as my stomach.” She wiped a stray tear. “But I loved Marcus and wanted to be with him. We wanted things settled before the boys were born, so I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. We planned to come clean that same night, after they returned from Askara. Only they never came home. My husband died in the same raid we thought had cost you Harper, and so did Marcus.”
“I didn’t know.” I thought back to Clayton’s comment about finding Harper as a child in Rihos. “The colonists knew the children weren’t your husband’s, didn’t they?”
“Their wings.” She nodded. “They are obviously Delaney’s.” Her laughter was soft, sorrowful. “I’d wed an Evanti male and was expected to again, just like you. I should have done my job by the colony, but I knew I couldn’t go through with it.”
“So you used Clayton as your cover.” I worked through that line of reasoning. “The crosshatch pattern would match. Everyone would assume you’d had the affair with him and that you were still together instead of pressuring you into a new match.”
She nodded, picking at pleats in her pantsuit. “At some point I began to believe my own propaganda, but deep down I knew he had never cared for me that way. I’m ashamed of what I put him through, but using him was easier than owning up to the lies.” She glanced up. “After a few months, when I could think beyond getting out of bed each day, I spoke with Emma. She explained about Harper and Clayton.” She offered a guilty grin. “It was easier to leave the skeletons in both of our closets. You had protection as Harper’s chosen, and I had a few more years of peace.”
“Dana, that’s enough.” We both looked up to find Clayton standing in the den. He could have been a ghost for all the noise made by his approach. A few other males flanked him. They must have overheard our conversation as well. Dana pushed from the couch with flushed cheeks and went back to packing.
Clayton continued forward until he could bend down and offer me his hand. Pulling me to my feet, he stopped just before kissing me, whic
h did not do at all. I rolled up to my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his, so warm and soft, welcoming.
Emma sighed. “I might as well get this over with.” She looked like a child who’d found fuzz on her lollipop. She headed to the staircase. The steady thud of her feet reluctantly climbed higher with every step.
“Are you ready to go?”
Night blacked out the unadorned windows. “I’m not sure how much good I’ll be to you in the dark, but I’m game for whatever you have planned.”
“Trust me.” His mouth found mine again.
It was an easy thing to do. I think some part of me always had.
He addressed the small assembly. “Dillon knows the way to the diner and the movie theatre if any of you feel up to an adventure.” A slow smile spread across his lips. “I’ll be back sometime tomorrow. Late.”
The muscles in my stomach tightened. I think I must have held my breath because the room spun a little. Whatever he saw in my face earned me another kiss and another of those slow smiles.
He led me to the Jeep and helped me inside, then drove past the lights of town until the night swallowed my vision. Without anything to do or see, I rested my head against the back of my seat and closed my eyes, finding the view much the same.
The next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake by a gentle hand on my shoulder. I grumbled, rubbing my eyes as I opened them.
“Sleeping beauty awakens,” Clayton teased. “Don’t move.”
As if I had a choice. The Jeep rocked as his door closed. A moment later he was at my side, opening my door and helping me step out. His arm hung low around my waist, burying beneath my shirt to touch skin as he led me through darkness.
After a moment, I experienced the oddest sensation. Like I’d walked into a spider web and needed to wipe my hands down my arms. The low hum of ambient energy caressed me. “What is that?”
“That is the reason I brought you here tonight.” His fingers dug into my hip. “One of the reasons.”
I shivered as we walked on and the feeling of power increased. My skin was hyperaware, tingling from the flow of magic across it.
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