Page 53 of Beer & Broomsticks

She felt a desperate need to tell him he was wanted, and yet, she wasn’t quite ready to confess or commit. When the time was right, she would know.

“Now.” Anu’s sharp clap caused Bridget and Ruairí to flinch. “It’s time to secure Ronan’s commitment. What will it be, Beloved?”

Sabrina and Aeden entered the room as Ronan paused in his answer. The Aether’s daughter gave him a confident nod, and he shook his head in resignation. “Aye. I’ll be their Guardian.”

“Excellent. This next part might sting a little.”

“Sting?” His expression was wary. “Sting in what way?”

Alastair snorted. “That’s goddess speak for it’s going to burn like the very devil. It will feel as if they’re searing your cells, similar to a steak on a grill.”

“Fuckin’ grand.”

CHAPTER22

The restoration of magic was just as Alastair Thorne said. The heat building inside Ronan’s cells felt as if a nuclear reactor explosion was eminent and he was the Chernobyl plant. There was no twisting away or escaping from the pain. For a brief second, he thought perhaps he was held in a dreamlike state under his father’s watchful eye while Loman devised torturous ways to make him suffer. The only consolation was his father had never had the ability to alter minds or reality as Ronan once had.

His scream rang out from where he lay on the stone altar, echoing off the cavernous space surrounding him. A small hand found his, and he felt an instantaneous relief. Shifting his head sideways, he met the worried gaze of Sabrina Dethridge, who had tearfully insisted she be present. No amount of protesting by either her father or the Goddess had made a difference. She was one determined little girl and refused to be dissuaded.

“It’s okay, wee wicked beastie. I’m all right,” he lied hoarsely. In reality, he felt like he was dying again. As if Moira’s black-magic poison was coursing through his veins and eating him from the inside out. He thought about inspecting his chest for the black vine-like marks that had spread across his skin prior to the Aether removing the poison, but he was afraid they might truly be there. And then what was he to do? Live without his magic for the remainder of his days?

“It will be over soon, Mr. Ronan.” The earnestness in her face stabbed him right in the heart. No child should possess the knowledge this one did. As a future Oracle, she could see alternate realities and endless possibilities. How she kept from losing her mind was beyond his capability to understand.

“You should go home now, love. I’m grand.”

She shook her head. “Papa always tells me not to tell tall tales. You shouldn’t either.”

His laugh quickly morphed into a scream as another wave of fire washed through his bloodstream. Once again, a pulse of magic from Sabrina took away the worst of it.

“You’ll drain yourself if you keep this up,” he warned on a pant, fighting the desire to vomit.

“Nah. Mack says I’m the Baby Aether, and that makes me better than Supergirl,” she said with a cheeky grin.

He didn’t know who Mack was, but he assumed the person held a special place in Sabrina’s heart based on the adoration in her young voice.

She became serious in an instant. “Thank you, Mr. Ronan. For taking Grandpa Nate’s place and staying to protect me.”

“You have your da for that, don’t ya? I’m just the backup—or I will be if I live through this.” He gave her the best smile he could muster, which probably looked as sickly as he felt.

“You and Dovie.”

Dubheasa.

He hadn’t thought about her since he left New York. Didn’t deserve to. He’d blatantly lied to her to steal the information he needed to locate his father through his banking accounts. Then he’d disappeared without a by-your-leave and probably left her in a heap of trouble from the financial mess he created. It couldn’t be helped. If he couldn’t attack Loman magically, he intended to make his life a misery by cutting off his funds.

What Sabrina said finally registered on his knackered brain, and he almost shot off the altar. “Dovie? Dubheasa O’Malley? What did you see for us, then?”

After casting a cautious glance over her shoulder to see where the others were, Sabrina leaned in to whisper, “She will be the other Guardian.”

Ronan shuddered and grew chilled. He didn’t want to see Dubheasa in battle should it come to that. But he also couldn’t dismiss the implication that she’d be his mate. She’d been the first woman he’d felt a connection to since Rebecca. The only one who had made him forget he was a despicable person who had hurt people in the past and likely would in the future.

Another influx of magic burned him, erasing any thoughts of her from his mind. He concentrated on not wetting himself in front of a child. And as his body began to cool, he braced for another surge. It never came.

“You’re done, Mr. Ronan.” Sabrina sweet little voice trembled in her excitement. “You’re my Guardian!”

“AGuardian, Beastie. Notyoursspecifically,” Damian said with an indulgent chuckle.

“But strong enough to beat that right bastard Loman!”

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