Page 45 of Evil Eyed
Jealousy and relief battled inside me, a swift, vicious war of emotion. I hated the leprechaun in that moment. He wouldn’t die at Evil Eye’s hands. He hadn’t been doomed to return over and over to the mortal plane to die brutal deaths for humans who didn’t even care. Immortal fae, he was powerful enough to walk into Evil Eye’s wards and pluck Riann out from beneath his very nose.
Which wiped away the wave of jealousy. Gratitude welled up inside me, inside us all. We treasures couldn’t guarantee her safety. Treasure magic was for war and killing, not penetrating Faerie. We hadn’t been able to get her out of Fhroig’s swamp. We wouldn’t be able to get her out of Dún Bhalair either.
But the leprechaun had… and would again.
“Can you keep even Evil Eye out of the Summer Isle?” Doran asked.
Warwick tossed his head slightly, making the long fall of hair ripple about his shoulders. “I can indeed—unless me magic fails entirely. Queen Morgan herself restored me to full health and has promised that all the might of the High Court stands at my back. Though if we fail, and the Summer Isle joins the Windswept Moors at the bottom of the Land Beneath the Waves, at least Riann won’t be at his mercy.”
If all the powers of Faerie fell… I didn’t know what the mortal plane would look like. Very likely the empty skeletons of her painting. Without us to keep the dark fae in check, they’d feast and ruin and destroy until there wasn’t anything left. Best case, if we were killed and forced to return and continue this never-ending war, at least she’d be safe.
Silently, I held my hand out to him. Warwick closed his fingers around mine with a firm, unwavering grip. I didn’t have to ask him to swear it on his gold. I could see the promise gleaming in his eyes.
She still had one wish remaining from his golden coin.
He was Riann’s ticket to safety, and for that, I owed him my life. I would pay that debt gladly.
26
Istill didn’t have a fucking clue what we were going to do once we got there, but I was confident that I could get us to Tory Island. How we’d gain entrance into Dún Bhalair… well, we’d have to figure that out once we got there.
Warwick whisked my painting back to the Summer Isle for safekeeping. Vivi said I used to wear the hag stone like a necklace, but it took us a while to find it. I must have dropped it when I fell backwards. Keane and Ivarr spent a good five minutes crawling around on the kitchen floor with me until we found it under the refrigerator on the other side of the room. Luckily it wasn’t broken.
“Do you have a string I can thread through the hole?”
Warwick snorted and rolled his eyes. “The leprechaun delivery service can do far better than a string. Turn around and give me the stone, please.”
I placed it in his palm and turned around, lifting up my hair.
He settled the stone around my neck—on a beautifully delicate gold chain. “I would have given you a thicker one coated in diamonds and emeralds, but I thought you might want to hide its existence from Evil Eye.”
“It’s perfect.” I whirled around and laced my fingers behind his neck. “Thank you.”
He leaned down and lightly rubbed his lips against mine in a soft, gentle kiss. “You might wish to wear a different shirt.”
I glanced down at my front, not sure why he might care about my clothing. He’d never commented about what I wore, other than putting me in that sexy corset top I’d first worn toShamrocked. The nicer sweater I’d worn to the police station had been streaked with mud, and I didn’t want to wear something nice to battle. Especially if…
I forced that thought away. “What’s wrong with it? This is my favorite shirt. Vivi got it for me as a graduation present.”
It was just a slightly faded white T-shirt from the Hard Rock Cafe.
His lips quirked. “Absolutely nothing is wrong with it, though again, I thought you might wish to conceal your magic from Evil Eye.”
“What magic? I’m not…”
A soft green light glowed beneath the thin white cotton T-shirt. I pried the neck away from me and looked down my shirt.
The green glittery splatters that Warwick had gifted on my breasts were glowing with magic, easily visible through the thin cotton. Blushing, I bit my lip. I hoped my nipples weren’t prominent too but the more I thought about it, the harder they felt. “Um, maybe a hoodie instead. I’ll go change.”
Lightly, he dragged a finger down the side of my throat and the swell of my breast. “No need.” His finger brushed over my nipple, making me gasp. “Your wish is my command.”
I blinked and the scandalous T-shirt was replaced with a heavy green hoodie. A large dark-green shamrock covered the front with “Get lucked” in glittering gold letters. My tattoo—that I hadn’t been able to get.
Warwick’s lips quirked and he winked at me. “A message for Evil Eye, and also free advertising forShamrocked. Can’t beat a two-for-one deal. Plus it hides your hag stone quite well.”
“Maybe I want to get lucked,” Aidan said.
“Me too,” Keane and Ivarr said at the same time.
