Page 8 of Rogue Familiar

Selly hesitated, feeling the reluctance to spill tea that she should not, information Jadren trusted her to keep to herself. Of course, that was the same Jadren who’d walked out on her and ditched her with all the cruelty he could muster. This was how it felt to have divided loyalties. Well, if she was going to make her own choices, that was something for her to navigate. She would keep the one secret he’d beseeched her not to tell: that his ability to magically self-heal made him practically, if not in fact, immortal. The others had guessed some of it, but Selly had promised never to tell and she wouldn’t.

This information, however, could affect the precarious position of House Phel. “Igino met with Jadren at House Sammael, when Jadren rescued me. They talked for some time before I was… er, ‘summoned’ to meet with them.”

Nic wrinkled her nose in sympathy, so Selly knew her euphemism hadn’t been lost on the other woman. “When Igino sent us in the elemental carriage to House El-Adrel, there was an Elal sentry spirit there to spy on us.”

Sitting up alertly, Nic’s eyes widened. “Can you describe it?”

“Not really,” Selly admitted. “I didn’t know it was there at first—Jadren pointed it out to me—but the more I tried to pay attention to it, the more I could kind of… see.”

“You’ll get better with training and practice.”

“That’s what Jadren said.”

“Well, he’s not always an asshole who’s wrong about everything.”

Nic said the words with such earnest sincerity that it took Selly a moment to realize her sister-in-law was joking—and to bite back her instant, vigorous defense of her absent wizard. Nic nodded knowingly, sympathy in her eyes and smile. “Yeah, you’ve got it bad.”

“Whatever ‘it’ is.”

“Exactly. Gabriel is the one who needs to define things, to have the rules and boundaries clearly outlined.” Nic shrugged, tipping her head to the side. “Not me so much. Maybe not you.”

“Gabriel has always been that way,” Selly said, thinking of her older brother when she was young and he wasn’t yet a wizard. “He had his whole life planned out.”

“Until I twisted it sideways.” Nic spoke with dry humor, but Selly caught a glimpse of wistful regret in Nic’s gaze, a hint of worry.

Impulsively, she reached for Nic’s hand, squeezing it. “You’re the best thing to happen to Gabriel,” she said in all honesty and willing Nic to believe. “He needs to be twisted up a bit.”

Nic’s smile widened in gratitude. “And you—do you intend to twist up Jadren?”

“Absolutely. He’s not getting away with thinking he’s sacrificing himself to protect me.”

“There’s something I know that you don’t,” Nic said slowly, then hesitated, chewing her lip. “It’s not mine to tell and I don’t know if I should tell you or not.”

What would be the adult response to that? “Would it help me to know?”

“Maybe.” Nic sounded unconvinced. “I think you deserve to know, either way.” She nodded to herself. “Jadren told Gabriel he’s in love with you.”

Relief and delight washed through Selly like a spring rain thawing an ice storm. “He did?” The grin widening her face felt like it might crack her cheeks.

Nic groaned, pressing her hands to her face. “Don’t be so happy. This is one reason I didn’t tell you.”

“All right. Why’s that?”

“Because he used it as an argument for why he should leave. Because he doesn’t want to love you, because he regards it as a vulnerability. He told Gabriel, ‘true love makes fools of us all in the end.’”

Oh. “I see.”

“Do you?” Nic searched her face. “I think in some ways this will make things even harder for you. If he didn’t realize his feelings and all you had to do was be your charming self and convince him, that would be one thing. But he’s taking drastic steps to separate himself from you and, if nothing else, Jadren has a strong will.”

That he did. Nic had no idea. Selly had to suppress an irreverent laugh, as Nic wouldn’t understand her sudden spurt of dark humor. Jadren had the strongest will of anyone she’d ever met, but they were alike under the skin. She wouldn’t give up, especially now. Jadren needed her as much as she needed him.

“Will you help me convince Gabriel to let me go after Jadren?”

“Do you need his permission?” Nic asked with a raised brow.

This was a test. No, she didn’t need her brother’s permission to do anything. But he was also the lord of her house. “I’d like to have his blessing and support.”

Nic smiled. “There you go. You need something else, especially if you’re to convince Jadren he needs you as much as he wants you and is afraid to have you.”

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