“Oh? And what might our obligations be?” I asked, arching a brow.
“The Council would like Oanen to fly to the Goose and Gizzard in New York on official business, and I have two more recruits for you to verify.”
I looked at Kelsey and Zoe, who were still pale. Although some of the color loss could be blamed on Eras, I knew most of it was due to me.
“I’m sorry, guys,” I said.
“No, we’re cool,” Kelsey said. “We didn’t see anything.”
I started to grin, but my temper flared hot and fast, the only warning I had to turn and grab Adira’s wrist before she could touch my shoulder. I let all the anger Adira and the Council had caused to burn in my eyes.
When she saw the flames there, she flinched and paled.
“I warned you not to toy with me, Adira. Don’t ever try to teleport me without my permission again. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes. Perfectly. With your permission, I would like to teleport all three of us to the Quills’ for an overdue meeting.”
“No. Oanen has been gone for days. He’s not doing anything tonight but spending time with me. And, I’m not verifying another recruit for you ever again. Uttira needs to fix its educational process before putting more fish in the fish bowl. Are we clear?”
“Yes. Please come see us first thing in the morning.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I’ll see you when it’s convenient to me. Now, stop pushing.”
She gave a single nod then disappeared.
Eliana’s phone immediately buzzed. She looked at it with a frown.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s from Adira, and it’s for Oanen. She says to keep a close eye on Megan tonight.”
I smiled widely. Adira had just confirmed what I’d suspected the moment she’d paled. The Council knew they could no longer control me. I was free. Almost.
Oanen stepped close and wrapped his arms around my waist. He pressed his lips to my temple in a brief kiss and looked at Eliana.
“I already planned to keep a very close eye on her. Tonight and every night after.”
Twenty-One
I scrubbed my hair a second time before adding conditioner. At my feet, bits of seaweed swirled near the drain.
“I hate mermaids,” I called loud enough for Oanen to hear. He probably would have heard without me yelling, but I wanted the volume to convey the loathing I felt.
“Lakes too!”
I finished up in the shower and quickly dressed. When I joined him in the kitchen, he was leaning against the counter, waiting for me.
“So a moonlit ride in a gondola is out?”
“Since gondolas are usually found in Italy, no. I’d suffer some water for that to happen. But more swimming in Lake Uttira? No way.”
He pushed away from the counter and stalked toward me. My stomach fluttered wildly, but nothing started burning. I still couldn’t believe that I was okay.
He snagged the edge of my shirt and slowly reeled me into his arms.
“Are we done fighting this, now?”
“You were never fighting it,” I said with a small smile.
“Stubborn fury, just answer the question.”
I grinned and stood on my toes to kiss him lightly.
“I’m done fighting what’s happening between us.”
“Good.” He released me then tugged me toward the table where he had sandwiches waiting for us. A brownie sat on my plate, too.
“I’m so hungry,” I said. I sat and took a huge bite, moaning at the taste of mayonnaise and turkey.
“Thought you might be.” His lips twitched as he watched me swallow. “That brownie is from Michigan, which is where I was when Eliana called me.”
I wrinkled my nose and squinted at him.
“Is this where you lecture me again?”
“Nope.” He picked up his sandwich and took a bite.
I could see he wanted to say more and waited for him to finish chewing. He didn’t leave me waiting long.
“I’m too smart to annoy a fury with lectures.”
“I’m going to remember that.”
“I bet you will. I’m sorry I didn’t find your mom,” he said, changing the subject. “I’ll look again when I go to New York.”
“We’ll look,” I said after finishing another bite.
He frowned at me.
“Did you already forget our promise?” I asked. “Together from now on. Remember?”
“That might be a problem when I need to leave for Council matters.”
I grinned. “I don’t think so. First, there’s no longer any reason for the Council to keep me trapped here. I’m not burning you every time we touch now, and I didn’t beat Eras tonight even though I was angry. That means I have control. I just have to tell Adira tomorrow. Second, the Council doesn’t own you. You’re the one who told me not to be a cog in their wheel of lies.”
“I don’t recall saying wheel of lies,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“It was implied. Regardless, they don’t own you, right? So, until I get my mark, we’ll stick together. And once I have my mark, if you choose to continue to help the Council, I’ll go also. If we’re lucky, we’ll run into my mom at some point.”
“You still want to find her?” he asked.
“Yeah. I want to know why she couldn’t have spent five minutes explaining things to me instead of just bailing.”
After we finished up our late dinner, we went to the living room where we watched TV together. Oanen held me the whole time, his fingers traveling the length of my arm. I stopped watching several times to turn my head and kiss him. Each time ended with me breathless and wanting more. But, no fire. No burns.
I stared out at the Quills’ large house, not looking forward to our meeting.
“We can go do something else,” Oanen said.
I laughed lightly and shook my head.
“There’s nothing else to do in this town at eight in the morning.”
“We could go back to bed.”
I turned to him and arched my brow. We spent the night comfortably sleeping in each other’s arms. It’d been the best night’s sleep I’d had in ages. The kisses he’d trailed along my neck to wake me had been amazing, too.
“I like this new you,” he said. “I know when you’re thinking about me. Your eyes start glowing light orange.”
“How do you know I wasn’t getting mad at you?”
“They start glowing a deeper orange when you’re angry.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him.
“As much as I want to have a repeat of last night, I also want to get this done.” I glanced at the house again. “You won’t try to stop me, right?”
“No. I’ll support whatever decisions you make in there. Even against my parents. I trust you, Megan.”
“All right. Let’s do this.”
We got out and walked the snow-covered path. As usual, his mom opened the door before we reached it.
“Good morning you two,” she said with a wide smile.
I frowned at her barely contained joy, not trusting it.
“I changed my mind. Let’s leave,” I said softly, threading my fingers through Oanen’s.
A look of hurt crossed Mrs. Quill’s face.
“I know these past few weeks have been a struggle for you—”
“No thanks to the Council and Adira,” I said.
“—but I want you to know, I couldn’t be happier with Oanen’s choice in a mate.”
Oh, sure. Now, she was happy.
Oanen’s fingers squeezed mine lightly, and I knew I needed to be gracious for his sake.
“Thanks.” That was as gracious as she was getting from me after trying to keep us apart.
She smiled and stepped aside to let us in.
“We’re meeting in the study,” she said.
Oanen and I walked the familiar path. When we entered, I was surprised to see several people already there. While I recognized Fenris’ dad, Mr. Quill, and Adira, the rest were new to me.
“Thank you for coming, Megan,” Adira said, turning toward me. “With your permission, my sister and I would like to lay our hands on you.”
I glanced at Oanen, wondering what the hell was going on. The amused glint in his eyes and encouraging nod had me agreeing. He released my hand and took a few steps back.
Mrs. Quill touched one shoulder and Adira the other. Both said several soft words I couldn’t understand. A flare of pain scorched the inside of my wrist, and I jerked back from their hold. Lifting my arm, I saw the small, umber mark of Mantirum decorating my skin.