Page 130 of Hand-Fasting and Other Hazards
But it wasn’t Lochlan.
CHAPTER 44
Nia
“GOBLINS ARE ASKING AFTER THE DUCHESS! DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?” —WOLVENLOVER111
Nia barely had time to register what was happening before a canister clattered to the floor, rolling to a stop just feet away from her. Smoke billowed out in thick waves, curling around her ankles and filling the room with a damp, earthy scent.
It smelled almost like a field in the early morning—rich and strangely familiar.
Her chest tightened, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. She staggered back, coughing as her lungs filled with cloying smoke. Her vision blurred, the edges of the room warping as her legs weakened beneath her. Her eyes felt unbearably heavy, and she blinked rapidly, trying to fight the weight dragging her down.
Moon moss.
The thought flitted through her hazy mind as the smoke coiled around her, the scent conjuring a memory: Lochlan had made this same thing and used it on the Lunaflor.
Lochlan.
Her chest ached at the thought of him, but the sound of a deep, guttural snarl snapped her focus back to the kitchen. Jade. She stood protectively between Nia and the door.
The dog lunged, tearing at a shadowed figure.
A man screamed in pain, raw and visceral.
“Don’t hurt my dog!” Nia rasped, coughing and inhaling more smoke.
My dog.
The words rang clearly in her head even through the fog. Jade was hers—her protector, her companion—and she loved her fiercely. She didn’t know who was there, or what they wanted, but she knew one thing for certain: she would not let them harm Jade.
Nia reached for her magic, her fingers curling as shadows and vines tumbled forth with sluggish, desperate movements. She could feel her power responding, but it was slow and uncertain, and wielding it felt like wading through water.
The haze in her mind made everything harder—her focus was fractured, her control slipping. Vines lashed out, cracking chairs and sending splinters flying. Through the chaos, Jade scurried back and pressed herself against Nia’s side. The dog’s low growls rumbled against her as Jade crouched, ready to spring again.
Nia’s breath caught as she saw them—three sets of feet stepping into view through the smoke, just inches from where she lay on the floor.
Her throat burned, her voice barely a croak as she forced the words out. “Get out of my home!”
My home.
The thought was clear and tangible, even as her body felt less and less so. This was her home. No matter how she’d gotten here, or what had happened between her and Lochlan, this place was hers. This house was home.
He was home.
And she wanted to keep both so badly it hurt.
A voice broke through the haze, wavering with nerves. “Is this… magic?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go down like this,” said another, higher but still masculine.
Jade’s growls deepened, vibrating against Nia’s side as she curled closer.
This was the last thing Nia felt before the world tilted, the hazy light narrowing to a pinprick just before everything went black.
CHAPTER 45
Lochlan
