Page 17 of Wind and Water
Wren stands in the doorway staring at me. She holds up a finger and retreats. A few moments later, she returns with the book we bought. Silently, she closes the door and crosses to the couch. “Why are you awake?”
“My mind is busy.”
She tucks her wild hair behind her ear, but it immediately falls forward again, hiding her eyes. “I’ve been reading this book. Do you think the old gods are really behind the Watcher’s Gate?” She flips to a page and studies the text.
Whenever she’s near, my heart speeds up, and I want to protect her. As a soldier, I know that bad things happen. Still, the idea of losing her or Birdie has a knot growing tighter in my gut. “I don’t know. That’s what the tales say. As you told me earlier from the book, the people of Ireland believed that when the Tuatha Dé Danann became the hills of the land. We believe the old gods retreated behind the gate. No one travels to the northern island. The northern sea is treacherous. Who knows if the stories are true?”
“They had many sacred items like Dagda’s harp. That could be what we have to retrieve.”
I can’t say that I love being sent on missions by the gods. Even in the stories of old, they manipulated elves to do this or that without explanation. I don’t like it. “How will a harp help? I’d prefer the spear or sword.”
Putting the book on the table, she looks at me. “You’re upset?”
“I’m worried. My world is dangerous.” I fail to adjust my tone, and it comes out biting.
She moves a cushion closer. “This world is dangerous. You almost were killed by a car yesterday. Momma nearly gotstomped by a horse last week in the park. I almost drowned in the lake when I was ten.”
Taking her hands in mine, I look into the watery blue of her eyes in the moonlight coming through the window. “I don’t want you or your mother to be harmed. I couldn’t bear it.”
“You came here to take me to Domhan, Liam. What’s changed?” She cocks her head. Her hair falls to one side, exposing the length of her neck and making me long to kiss that tender flesh.
Leaning forward, I press a soft kiss just below her ear. “I care now. It would be better if you remained part of an order to be carried out, but we have gone beyond that.”
A soft sigh escapes her parted lips. “Have we?”
I draw back and watch until she opens her eyes, and her gaze meets mine. “If you refused me now, I would walk away. I’d tell the oracle they must find another way.”
“Then you will return to your world and leave me here. We would never see each other again. I will never know if you lived or died in your war. The witch queen might make her way here and continue her reign of terror on this world. How can I want that?” She is all that is good and fine in any species.
“I don’t deserve you caring about my safety. I’m a soldier. I have to go home and do what I can to protect my people. It’s too much to ask me to put you in danger, Wren.”
“I don’t see many other choices, but I like that you care.” She kisses me softly then sucks my bottom lip between hers.
Pleasure shoots through me like a wildfire. I pull her into my lap. “Are you certain this is what you wish to do?”
She wiggles her bottom maddeningly. “Are we talking about you and me or going to Domhan?”
Taking hold of her hips, I keep her still. I whisper against the shell of her ear. “You know, not that long ago, you kicked me in the very spot that you’re now teasing.”
“I remember. I didn’t know you then. All I knew was that a strange man with pointed ears was trying to drag me through a swirling hole in the dentist’s office. That seems worthy of a swift kick to the nuts.” She runs her fingers over my bespelled ears.
When I shake off the glamor, my ears show their true form.
Rather than blanch, she caresses the tip and down again. “You’re easy on the eyes no matter the shape of your ears.”
It’s taken time to get used to the constant stream of euphemisms. “I’m glad you think so.” Taking her hand, I kiss her knuckles, then make sure I have her attention. “Be sure you know what you’re getting into by jumping through a portal with me, Wren.”
She sighs, and her shoulders slump. “I don’treallyknow. How can I know? I’ve never been in a war. I’ve never been the chosen one for anything. I could die. You could die. Momma could die. I get it.” She dashes away a sudden tear and draws a sharp breath. “But if I don’t go with you, your world and everyone you love will surely die, and one day, I’ll have to fight the witch queen in this world.”
Everything she says is true; I still want to protect her from the very thing I was sent here to do. “Venora might take a lifetime to reach this world.”
“Then my children or grandchildren, if I’m lucky enough to have a family, will have to fight the battle I was too frightened to take on.” She shakes her head. “No. I can’t be the person who pushes off the inevitable for others to deal with. I will go with you, and my mother is not going to let me go without her. There is no changing Birdie Martin’s mind once she’s made it up.”
I run my hand up her soft thigh and slip my fingers under the bottom of her little shorts. “I want to keep you safe. I should be stronger than this.”
Covering my hand with hers, she pushes me until my fingers graze her wet folds. “I’m in no danger from you.”
Breaking the contact, I get a groan of discontent from Wren. I laugh and adjust our positions, so we’re both lying on the couch. “Your mother is only behind that door. Are you not concerned she’ll storm out here?”
