Page 9 of Hand-Fasting and Other Hazards
She forced herself to look anywhere but at him.
On the lawyer’s desk sat a plant, its leaves drooping and dull. Nia’s gaze lingered on it, sensing the faint pulse of life, clinging on but desperate for care. This was Lochlan’s magic, now hers.
He had noticed the plant, too.
Shadows curled from his hand, twining gracefully around one of the water bottles Vinny had offered them and lifting it toward the thirsty plant. As the dry soil greedily absorbed the water, Nia could feel the plant’s immediate relief, like a breath finally taken after too long without air.
“You caught on to that pretty fast,” she murmured, grudgingly impressed.
Lochlan glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. “Your shadows—they’re magnificent. They remind me of the vines I can conjure.”
His compliment sent an unexpected surge of warmth through her, but she shoved the feeling aside, focusing instead on the plant. She had the sudden urge to steal it, to bring it back to her office where she could tend to it properly. She could picture it thriving among the small collection she’d somehow accumulated over the years—plants she had, against all odds, managed to keep alive. She wasn’t sure when or why she’d started collecting them.
Now, it felt almost like some kind of twisted joke from fate.
“You’re taking this a lot better than I am,” she said.
“I’m used to being someone’s mistake.” His voice was laced with quiet anger. Nia was about to ask him what he meant when the lawyer came back, his face pale.
He sat behind the desk. “I’m sorry.”
Nia and Lochlan shared a glance.
“For?” he asked.
“I can’t grant your annulment.”
A faint ringing filled Nia’s ears.
“Excuse me?” she demanded. “Why the fuck not?”
“It seems…” Vinny tugged at the collar of his shirt, the movement small but telling. “Well, I… I just can’t.”
Nia’s jaw tightened.
“I can feel your anger.” His magic must have been clawing at him, dragging every bit of her fury straight through him. Good. “Please, calm down and?—
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You annulled Ivy’s marriage, and that devil didn’t even need to be here!”
Shadows darkened the room, rising with her anger.
“That was a different situation,” the lawyer said, his hands trembling. “I can’t help you. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Nia stood so fast her chair fell and clattered to the ground behind her. This couldn’t be happening. She fixed things. That was what she did. Her mind began to work, looking at all the options. Extorsion would take time; threatening would be a lot quicker.
She searched the office, looking for?—
A gentle hand wrapped around her forearm.
“Come on, Nia.” Lochlan’s voice was cool and calm in a way that eased her anger. “I know someone who can help us.”
Despite the tension in the room, his expression was all careful concern.
Nia turned back to the lawyer, the tips of her writhing shadows pointing at him, each sharp as a blade. “You’re going to regret this.”
The second lawyer’s office was nothing like what she’d expected. A gaming table covered in tiny painted figures stood in one corner, while mostly tasteful posters of half-naked people lined the walls. A mini fridge sat in one corner, stocked with more beer than water, and numerous plants thrived in the small, eclectic space.
And then there was Becket—tall with dark skin and a careless grin, his slacks and shirt rumpled like they’d spent the night on someone else’s floor, or possibly like he’d just rolled out of an orgy.
