Stone Cold Seduction

Chapter Five

Waking up from a nap after sex is fabulous.

I felt sated, I stretched luxuriously, and…I was alone. I dropped my head back onto the pillow, and stared at the ceiling. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. There was a definite twinge of disappointment. I also knew, in my heart, Jax wouldn’t go far. He wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of guy, and I wasn’t interested in that, either. I had no idea how this would all work out, but I was open to any possibilities.

It was three o’clock, and I was tempted to stay in bed for another hour or two. It was Sunday, so I could. Maybe it would help to clear my head.

I closed my eyes and exhaled. I remembered Jax’s words before I’d fallen asleep. He’d said the fates had declared I was his. But that didn’t make sense, because I didn’t know my fate. I didn’t think he did, either, or he would have said something. So how could the fates have “declared” it?

Was it like a roll of the dice? Hope you roll the right numbers, or you’re screwed and lose everything? My biggest questions and hopes were riding on something that might prove to be just as disappointing or vague. Or worse. I pushed the thought of anything worse from my mind. I needed to get my fate before I made it into a bigger issue than it already was.

A male voice drifted down the hallway.

Surprise and pleasure curved my lips into a smile. Jax hadn’t left. When I realized there was more than one voice, my smile dimmed. The last twenty-four hours hadn’t been kind when it came to meeting new people. After another masculine murmur, I realized the second voice was Teryl’s. With a sigh, I pushed myself up and out of bed.

Jax and Teryl could wait. I needed a shower, and a little time to regroup and prepare. Somehow.

I walked down the hallway fifteen minutes later. A hot shower and comfy yoga clothes did wonders for my nerves. The guys were sitting in the living room. Teryl sprawled out on the couch, and Jax had folded his frame into the small side chair. My best friend and my…I wasn’t sure what to call Jax. Boyfriend seemed too juvenile. And “mate” was an odd phrase, at least to me. I could take his lead and just call him “mine.”

Jax looked good. His jeans and shirt were a little rumpled, and he was leaning back in the chair, casual and relaxed. And he still seemed dangerous. It wasn’t fear that sent a shiver up my spine.

“Hey,” I said to Teryl.

He flashed a devilish grin. “Hey, yourself. I came back to check on you, and it looks like it was unnecessary. All I can say is, it’s about time.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. Was it that obvious? I barely resisted the urge to turn back and check my reflection in the small, decorative mirror in the hall.

I turned away to hide my red face. Teryl wasn’t known for his tact, but this was awkward enough. My feet wanted to walk back out of the room, but I stayed firmly planted. Teryl wasn’t chastising, he was teasing. I had to remember that. He was my best friend, and I loved him for his blunt honesty.

“I have an idea. Let’s head to the Thai restaurant next door and grab a bite.” I looked at Jax while I spoke, noticing how his eyes were a welcoming gray. The corner of his mouth lifted. And that fast, Teryl was forgotten as my mind went blank.

Seeing Jax smile when he was usually so serious…I sighed. He was gorgeous. And that small smile made me feel so much better.

Teryl jumped on the food idea. “I could go for some spring rolls and Pad Thai.”

Jax stood and walked over to give me a hug. I inhaled his scent. He always smelled so good. I usually preferred warmer, woodsy scents on a man, but Jax was the exception. Mentally, I ran through my fragrance list. It would have to be a blend of crisp notes, maybe ozone, mint, and a hint of vanilla. I could call it “Ice.” It would be a great seller in my shop. And the packaging…

Teryl interrupted my musings. “As soon as you’re done mooning over Jax, let me know. I’m starving.” He was tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair.

“Okay, okay. I just have to grab my purse and a jacket.” I reluctantly let go of Jax and shrugged into a dark green corduroy jacket.

We wandered downstairs and made the short trek to the restaurant. It was a blessing and a curse, having one of my favorite restaurants so close. I indulged in their meals more than I should. The owner, Mr. Li, didn’t need to ask if we wanted a booth or a table. I always wanted the booth in the farthest corner. It was dark and—crap. Did I like dark spaces because of my father’s shadow elf heritage? I returned Mr. Li’s usual warm smile with a weak one of my own, and we were quickly seated in the usual booth, me next to Jax, Teryl across from us. True to his word, he ordered spring rolls and Pad Thai. Jax ordered the Pad Preaw Wan, a sweet and sour beef with pineapple and vegetables, and I got the Thai barbeque chicken.

After our order was taken by Mr. Li’s youngest son, Teryl leaned on the table and said, “We need to finish our conversation.”

My mind rebelled, and my knee-jerk reaction was to avoid the subject. “I thought we were done. I’m a shadow elf. You’re an oracle. Jax is a gargoyle. I don’t have MacLean’s stolen souls. What else is there to talk about?” I sipped my iced tea. The brew was bitter today. They made a mean Pad Thai here, but seemed to struggle with a regular iced tea.

Teryl pressed his lips together in irritation. “Your fate, remember?”

“Right. I thought we agreed that we’d find my fate. Until then, I’m good.” It would clear up everything, and it seemed like the easiest thing to do. At this point, I was all for easy with a hefty dose of boring for good measure. I’d had enough surprises to last a lifetime.

Teryl wrapped his hands around his water glass and tapped his fingers on the side. “There’s a sense of urgency here. I think the latest turn of events might force our hand.”

“Force our hand?”

Teryl was being a serious mood killer. Things were going to get worse before they got better. Anything my father had a hand in got ugly, fast.

“Yes, we need to clear a few things up.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A few things? Would that include the shadow and light elf thing? Or what about the phoenix poofing into ash then reappearing thing? Or maybe the whole mate and alleged engagement thing? Or…” I pretended to tap my chin in thought. “How about the whole figure out my abilities thing?”

Teryl grimaced. “Okay, one at a time. Your fate will give us a better idea about your abilities.”

“Question. What do the fates look like? Are they a book? A sentence? Are they detailed, or more like a riddle? How will I know mine when I see it?”

“That’s more than one question,” Teryl said.

“It depends on the individual,” Jax answered, before I could take a breath to make a snarky remark. “Some are a few sentences long. Others are paragraphs long. I suspect yours will fall in the latter category because of your family line.”

“The royal families usually have more to their fates,” Teryl added.

“Goody for the Queen of England, then.”

“You’re royal, Elle. Jedren is the king of the shadow elves.”

I sat back and forced a smile as the owner’s wife brought our dishes. Originally from Thailand, she stood just under five feet tall and had a wide, beaming grin. She had a fondness for my lemongrass scented soaps, so I tried to bring her one when I came over. I’d forgotten today, with the chaos.

She didn’t seem to notice, because she beamed at Teryl. “I brought extra spring rolls. I know you love them.”

The shameless flirt followed their usual script to a T. “Be careful, Mrs. Li. I might sneak you away from your husband and shower you with gifts, so you’ll make them every day for me.”

She laughed and bustled back to the kitchen, glowing with pleasure.

The guys didn’t wait to dig in, but I couldn’t start eating with words like “you’re royal” hanging in the air.

“Thanks for the reminder of Daddy’s rank, Teryl. Back to the important stuff: what does a fate say? Does it outline your whole life? Tell you your job? Your favorite color? What styles look best for your body type?”

“Not quite,” Teryl said, before dipping one of his spring rolls in the restaurant’s famous plum sauce. He hummed in pleasure.

Jax got talkative. “Fates can be a few sentences about your strengths and weaknesses in life. Fates can also detail your career, your ability, and your mate. They can outline your death. It varies, but the information given is usually the most important to your life path.”

I gave him a sharp look. “So, why do you say we’re mates?”

He was calm when he said, “My fate specified you as my mate.”

I had nothing to say to that. I looked over at Teryl for help, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. Instead, he attacked his Pad Thai like a starving man.

I could tell he was mulling over something with each quick bite, but it was Jax who spoke next. “What was your mother?”

That caught me off guard. “She was amazing, beautiful, loving…”

“Do you think…?” Teryl stopped eating and shook his head slowly. “Oh, shit.”

Now I was worried. “Why ‘oh, shit’?” In my experience, oh, shit was never good.

Jax looked at both of us. “I’m not asking about your mother’s personality. What was she?”

The shock hit me.

They had to be joking.

“Oh, no.” I shook my head, vehement in my denial. I lowered my voice when I saw a couple at a nearby table give me an odd look. “No, no, no. My mom was human. One hundred percent, grade-A human.”

“Elle,” Teryl said. “You’ve got to consider the idea.”

“No, I don’t,” I said, anger making my voice slightly hoarse. “That’s ridiculous. Even if my father stole my memories, I remember my mom perfectly clearly. I would have known if my mom wasn’t human.”

Teryl held up a placating hand. “Okay, okay. Just listen for a sec. Yesterday, when you shifted Jax to stone, that was incredible.”

I watched him, wary about where he was leading the conversation. My hands were shaking, so I sat on them.

“It’s not a common skill for a shadow elf. And,” he flicked his gaze to Jax before looking back at me. “Only a mate should have been able to do it.”

Jax placed a hand on my thigh. “She is my mate.”

His tone brooked no argument. I was happy for the comfort, mate or not. I picked up my chopsticks and pushed the chicken around on my plate. I was no longer in the mood for my favorite spicy dish.

“At this point, I’d have to agree with you. But…” Teryl trailed off and stared at Jax.

I felt Jax stiffen with tension. He shook his head once, and then took a bite of his dinner.

“But?” I prompted.

Teryl twirled his fork nervously—the guy was hopeless with chopsticks. “You also shifted MacLean.”

Ash on my hands. Ash on the floor. It wasn’t an experience I would be able to scrub from my mind any time soon. MacLean seemed like he’d grown up to be a nice enough guy. He might have been my first crush, but I couldn’t remember why or what kind of history we’d had.

Was Teryl trying to say I had two mates? Despite the obvious chemistry and connection Jax and I shared, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be anyone’s mate. Not yet. Not until I figured out who or what I was.

I tried for nonchalant. “So, maybe because I’m not full shadow elf, I have a few quirks.” Quirks, I could handle. More skeletons in the closet? Not so much.

Teryl’s face reflected the doubts in my mind. I snuck a quick glance at Jax. He was frowning and his eyes were starting to show streaks of silver. He took a deliberate bite off his chopsticks. I sighed. It was best to get this over quickly.

“Spell it out for me What’s the significance of me shifting both guys?” I gave Jax’s thigh a quick squeeze. I didn’t think I was the only one who needed comfort.

Teryl sighed. “I’m not really sure. Shifting a phoenix is only something a light elf should be able to do. And a mate.”

“So you think I have light elf blood?” I tried to be calm about the idea. I even ate a small bite of my chicken, which I normally loved. Today it didn’t taste as good. But the heat exploding on my taste buds gave me something else to focus on.

Teryl watched us, and his face relaxed. “It’s a possibility. That’s why Jax asked what your mom was.” He resumed eating his Pad Thai as if he hadn’t dropped a bombshell.

Okay, that hurt. The thought that my mom might have been something more and I’d gone my whole life not knowing was awful. She might have taken that huge secret to her grave.

She had been truly beautiful with big blue eyes, light brown hair, and a tall, willowy frame. Her smile had been contagious. Gentle and kind and always a lady. To this day, I didn’t understand how she and my father had become a couple. It hadn’t lasted long, and I didn’t know any of the details. She hadn’t talked about it, and I hadn’t asked. I had lived with her for all but two weeks of every year, yet I couldn’t think of one strange thing I’d ever seen her do or say.

What if my father had taken some of those memories as well?

I forced another bite down my throat before saying, “Let’s say she was something…more. What does that mean for me?”

Jax’s face was unreadable, but his eyes had calmed to his usual, cool gray. “It means we need to find your fate as soon as possible.”

If it held answers, I was all for it. “Okay, let’s do it. You said the oracle should have it? This should be easy. If my mom was a light elf and my dad is a shadow elf, that can’t be all that uncommon.”

Jax cleared his throat. “Do you remember Teryl mentioning how the lines have been diluted?” When I nodded, he said, “They’re also very careful about mates and marriages between the lines. In the past, when shadow and light elves were mated and had children, the children weren’t normal.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” I joked.

Neither of them laughed.

“He’s right, Elle. Most were born with health problems and didn’t make it out of infancy. The rest had abilities so volatile…” Teryl trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

“What? They exploded? They had to be locked up?”

“They had to be killed.” Jax’s deep voice delivered the news in a near whisper, cognizant of the other customers in the restaurant.

I turned to him, horror on my face. I kept my voice as soft as his. “Killed? They killed their own kids?”

Teryl put his fork down and leaned on the table. “You have to remember, this was a few hundred years ago. They were burning people at the stake, slaughtering innocents in the town square, and killing children in infancy if they didn’t look or act right. The mind set was different. And from what I’ve read, the combination of shadow and light elves produced monsters.”

White-hot fury burned through me. “They were kids. They had no control over their genes. They killed these children because they happened to have the wrong set of parents?”

“No. They were killed because their powers were so volatile and dangerous, scores of people died.” Teryl paused when the owner came by to check on us and fish for more of Teryl’s praise. He waited until she was out of earshot before continuing. “Shadow and light elves are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Your typical yin and yang, black and white, sun and moon. You’ve heard the saying ‘opposites attract?’ In our world, opposites destroy. You put two opposites together, and you get big problems. Instead of a melding of abilities, you get an entirely new set of powers altogether. And not in a good way.

“These children were born with serious health problems. The ones who weren’t in poor health had the ability to wipe memories clean from large groups of people. They wouldn’t just remove memories, they would cause severe enough brain damage that their parents, teachers, or whoever was around, died. And then there were the kids who would set entire buildings on fire, along with the people inside.”

“Why didn’t someone work with these kids to help control their abilities?”

“It wasn’t that simple. They couldn’t get the victims back.”

“So they became monsters who had to be killed?”

I was possibly one of those monsters? Nothing like a little bad news to ruin my appetite.

Teryl picked his fork back up and twirled rice noodles around the tines. “No, they weren’t all monsters. And it’s not just the elves. Each of the lines has problems. The oracles and seers had to merge about two centuries ago. The powers were becoming so unstable and weak, it was the only way to maintain the reading of the fates and retain some of the other oracle abilities. But if the oracles and fae tried to combine lines…”

“Seers? How many lines are there?”

“True seers are all but gone.” Teryl shook his head sadly. “There weren’t many, and they began to blend with the oracles over a few generations. Gargoyles and phoenix cannot mix. The combination of stone, fire, and ash cannot bond, so the powers do not work together. Once the children turn to ash, they cannot rise again.”

I sucked in a breath. “That is the most sickening thing I’ve ever heard. How many children have been lost because someone couldn’t keep their pants zipped?”

“No, that wasn’t the problem. They didn’t know that would happen. Not at first.”

“What do you mean, ‘at first?’”

“They had no idea an alliance between certain lines would have disastrous results. And it wasn’t immediately apparent it was a genetic issue. It wasn’t until recent years geneticists were able to pinpoint the problems with combining certain bloodlines and DNA. Some aren’t compatible. It’s no different than any other disease. It can take decades for doctors to understand a condition, if ever.

“They’ve discovered which lines can mate, and which can’t. Shadow elves are compatible with gargoyle and phoenix. Light elves can also mate with gargoyles and phoenix, but not shadow elves. Fae are only compatible with fae. Oracles have already blended, so now oracles can only mate with oracles.”

“Elle.” Jax waited until I turned my head to look at him. “The royal families of each line carefully manage the alliances. There hasn’t been a child born with problems in at least three hundred years. It was devastating for everyone, and they’ve done everything they can to prevent it from happening again.”

A tear slid down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away. I couldn’t help it. My mixed blood made me one of the monsters. Would they kill me, too?

The owner walked up again, looking concerned. “Too spicy?” he asked, pointing to my plate and then my wet cheek.

“No, no, I love it,” I assured him, and took a big bite to prove my point. He offered a wide grin similar to his wife’s, and moved to the next table, happy once again.

“We don’t know what your mom was,” Teryl said, sounding sympathetic. “It’s just speculation at this point. Regardless, you’re next in line for the throne. If your father thought you didn’t have abilities, you wouldn’t be a viable mate. Any children of the marriage might potentially be powerless, like he assumed you were. That’s probably why your engagement to MacLean no longer stands.”

Jax brushed his thumb across my cheek. “He’s right. Until we have your fate, we can only guess. And that could cause needless worry.”

“You think?” I laughed quietly, and the sound was watery. “Is there any other combination of lines that would be able to do what I did?”

“I’m not sure,” Teryl said. “I’d have to review the history of the lines. I can get my hands on some books that would summarize them for you. But getting your fate should be our top priority.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. One thing at a time, I chanted silently. It was quickly becoming my new mantra. “So how do I find out who the oracle was?”

“I know her,” Jax said.

Finally, some good news. “Great. Do I call her? Email her? I can do it right now.”

“Wait.”

I sensed a big “but” coming.

“I know where she is, but you’ll have to go to her.”

I shrugged. “Sure, that’s not a problem. I can go tomorrow sometime. Do you have her address?”

Jax nodded slowly.

“Was it Carys?” Teryl asked Jax.

Jax nodded again.

Teryl groaned and refused to look at me. Both guys took a bite of food, so they wouldn’t have to elaborate, I suspected.

“What? What’s wrong with Carys? And why can’t you guys ever just spit it out?”

“She’s in Scotland,” Jax answered, after he finished chewing.

I blinked. Okay. Scotland. That was going to be a problem. “So…I have to go to Scotland? I can’t just call her?”

“You have to go through the proper channels,” Teryl muttered. “When you ask the original oracle for your fate, you have to offer a token of respect. They might give more information if they like your offering enough.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Being a regular human was so much easier. “I don’t need extra information. I just want my fate. Are you sure I can’t buy her off? Give her some free soap and lotion?” I was only half joking.

Jax eyed me speculatively. “If you created a special blend as a gift, it might work as a token. But Carys wouldn’t take money, because it’s an insult. And you have to give her the token in person.”

“I can’t just up and head over to Scotland.” He was crazy if he thought I could lock up my shop and waltz across the world. “We’re in Seattle, Jax. That’s not a hop, skip, and a jump from Scotland. That’s hours and hours on a plane, courtesy of a really expensive plane ticket. And who would run the store?”

“Cassie can,” Teryl said.

“You’re not helping. I can’t ask your sister to run my shop for a week.” Cassie was Teryl’s younger sister. She was fresh out of college and still looking for a job. I occasionally hired her to help when I had large orders. She was capable, and I knew she’d do a great job.

“I will buy the tickets,” Jax said. “The oracle has to see you and verify you are who you say you are. There’s a ritual to be followed.”

“A ritual? Dance naked under the moon and smear mud on my body sort of ritual?”

“God, Elle.” Teryl rolled his eyes. “No, it’s a formality and a magical process. The way the oracles read fates is by first reading your signature magic. It’s the essence that makes you who you are and enables them to document your fate. She can’t do that over the phone.”

I scowled. “Well, why didn’t you explain that in the first place?”

Teryl’s expression softened. “Hey, I’m sorry. I just forget that you…” He waved his fork at me in a vague manner. “You forgot.”

I arched a brow at him.

“What I mean is, I keep forgetting you don’t know or don’t remember some of this.”

“Any of it. I don’t remember any of it. And that’s another thing.” I turned and looked at Jax. “Can I get my memories back?”

His eyes flashed silver for a moment before he said, “I believe so. If something triggers a memory, it might open the door for more memories to surface.”

Excitement flared for a moment. “I had a memory when I touched MacLean.”

Jax’s eyes shifted to pure silver before I quickly added, “It wasn’t a big one, just a memory of when I was sixteen. Very brief.” His eyes were still shining, so I added, “Very boring. I was getting ready for dinner at my father’s.”

He was watching me and sitting very still.

Teryl cleared his throat. “Well, that’s good news. Maybe meeting with the oracle will trigger more.” He flagged down the owner’s wife to ask for a piece of paper and a pen. When she brought them, he absently smiled his thanks, and immediately started scribbling notes.

Jax and I ate in silence while I tried to digest more than spicy food.

After polishing off his food, Jax pushed his plate away. “When we’re done here, I’ll book our flight. Teryl, you’ll come with us. Be packed and ready to leave by morning.”

Jax’s eyes slowly began to melt back to their normal shade of gray. I couldn’t help but ask, “Are all gargoyles like this?”

He quirked a black brow. “Like what?”

I squirmed under his direct stare. “Ah, a little, um, jealous?”

That wicked, sexy smile curved his lips. “Only where our mates are concerned.”

I blushed. I couldn’t help it. Anyone would, with that smile directed right at them. “Oh,” was all I could think to say. I knew that later I would think of a hundred other things I could have said, but for now, oh was all I had.

Jax continued to smile at me. There were times when I didn’t mind him being so quiet. He didn’t need to use words when he could smile like that.

Teryl finally interrupted, “Well I hate to disturb this little moment, but we’ve got things to do.” To make his point, he shook the paper in his hand until it rattled.

I wanted to crumple the paper and stuff it where he’d have no use for it ever again. Yes, it was a bad time to make googly eyes at Jax, but damn if I didn’t need the pick me up. Damn it more that Teryl was right. “Okay. What do I need to do?”

“Jax is going to leave, and we’re going to go to your apartment and talk,” Teryl replied. When Jax turned a frosty stare his way, Teryl sighed. “Look, I want to give Elle a better idea of what she’s getting into. It might sound better coming from her best friend.”

The men went silent.

“Manversation,” I muttered under my breath. They ignored me.

After a few moments, Jax tilted his head in Teryl’s direction in acquiescence. He scooted out from the booth and bent over to kiss me. It was a long, leisurely kiss. He took his time, and he made two things very clear. One, he was an amazing kisser. And two, I belonged to him. By the time he ended the kiss, I was perfectly happy with both.

Jax brushed the back of his finger along my cheek. “Until tomorrow.”

And he walked away. The muffled sound of his deep voice drifted our way as he went to the register to pay Mrs. Li for the meal. He managed to draw a pleased smile from the tiny woman, much like Teryl had. These guys had a way with women, that was for sure.

I wasn’t sure what I’d gotten myself into, but I wasn’t about to complain on this front.

“Ahem.” Teryl coughed into his hand.

I smiled at him. I’m sure the smile looked ridiculous and sappy, but I didn’t care. “What did you want to talk about?”

His expression was serious. “If you’re done, we can head upstairs. There are a few things we need to go over, starting with what it means to be a mate.”

And that burst my bubble. His tone was solemn, and it made me uneasy, so I deflected the only way I knew how. “Don’t tell me. On a full moon, we’ll turn into wolves, he’ll be stone, I’ll be a shadow, and we’ll have to sacrifice a deer to show our devotion and commitment for all eternity.”

His mouth twitched, but he didn’t laugh. “No. But you’re close.”

“What?”

“Ha!” He pointed a finger at me. “Gotcha. You need to take this seriously. It is a commitment for eternity. And whether it’s in the fates or not, you need to know about it. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

I slid out of the booth and waited until we hit the street. “Okay, what does it mean to be or have a mate? And if it’s fated, do I even have a choice?”

“You always have a choice. But if it’s written in his fate and your fate, it will happen eventually. You just get to choose how.”

I couldn’t stop the goofy grin that curved my lips. I unlocked the door to my building, and we made our way up to my apartment.

Teryl waited for me to lock the door behind us. “If MacLean hadn’t shown up today, I would have said ‘go for it’ and given my blessing. But Elle, you shouldn’t have been able to shift the phoenix. And you did it so fast and effortlessly…”

I remained quiet. Teryl might be a smart ass, but he was also great at seeing the big picture. I always knew when he was turning over a puzzle in his head. I just had to sit back and wait for him to work it out.

A minute later, he rubbed a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up at odd angles. The tousled look worked for him. He looked like a handsome, absent-minded professor when he was in critical thinking mode. “I don’t understand. If your father signed the engagement contract with the Douglas family, you should already be married. You’re almost twenty-eight.”

“Yeah, I am getting a little long in the tooth,” I said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

“That’s not what I mean. You would have known about it and been married by twenty-five, at the latest. If there’s an engagement contract, there are usually stipulations about when and where the wedding will take place.”

Stipulations? It sounded so cold when he put it like that. I wrinkled my nose. “So what happened?”

“I’m not sure. Something ended the contract, but it would have to have been pretty serious.” Teryl dropped onto my couch and leaned back into the cushions. “When a contract is made between two lines to secure an alliance, both sides take it very seriously. If the contract was made null and void, it means something major happened.”

“Like what?”

“There could have been a disagreement between Jedren and MacLean’s father, Cian. The contract could have been tied to a business deal, and if that fell through, both would fall through. Or maybe because your abilities never surfaced, MacLean’s family could have used that as grounds to be released from the contract.”

“And because of the screwed up kids we’d have,” I added with sarcasm. I sat in the armchair next to the couch. The smaller frame fit my body perfectly. The cheerful print fabric usually put me in a happy mood. Not today.

“Exactly.” He noticed my dirty look and shrugged. “You know what I mean. Because the lines have been weakening, strong abilities are a requirement. That’s one of the reasons marriage contracts are so carefully made and entered into. To ensure the continued success and strength of the families.”

From a logical standpoint, what he said made sense. But what about love and partnership? “Okay, let’s say that’s what it was. I didn’t show any abilities, the engagement was called off and…?”

“And that might be why Jedren wiped your memories. If you had no abilities, you would be a liability to him.”

I cringed. I couldn’t help it. From what I could remember, I had always been nothing more than a liability to him. It wasn’t something a child wanted or needed to hear.

Teryl grimaced as he realized what he’d said. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know you didn’t. I know exactly what you mean. You’re probably right. But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to get back to the whole mate concept. Talking about Jedren isn’t going to help right now.” Any time my father was brought up in conversation, fury simmered just below the surface. I didn’t need to be on an emotional roller coaster right now. I was having enough trouble keeping up with the rest of it.

“Like I said before, when you find your mate, you make a commitment. You’re bound forever. It’s like a marriage, only more.”

“More, how?” I was genuinely curious. I wasn’t ready for marriage, and I wasn’t ready to take eternal vows. However, I did want to know why Jax was so adamant to “claim” me.

“There’s a ceremony. The details differ from line to line, but the type of ceremony is determined by the magic involved.”

“The magic? Meaning the abilities?”

“Yes, exactly. To be honest, I don’t know much about them. Oracles only marry oracles, so Jax would have to tell you more about what his line requires.”

“I don’t have to drink blood or anything weird like that, do I?”

Teryl smirked at me. “You really need to stop watching those vampire shows.”

“What?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Like there’s anything normal about having a mate and the ceremony that goes with it?”

“It’s normal for our world,” Teryl said, in a quiet voice.

I let my hands drop to my lap. I would have to start considering it my world, too, now. “Right. So, Jax is supposed to be my mate, and there’s a ceremony, and what happens depends on our lines.”

“Yes.”

“And Jedren is the king of shadow elves, and I’m his heir.” I refused to use the title of princess. Not even Teryl knew why. Luke did.

Teryl watched and waited for me to finish.

“And I can shadow and shift Jax, but shouldn’t be able to shift MacLean. Therefore, my mother might have been more than just human. If my father did wipe my memories and void the marriage contract because I didn’t have any abilities then, why are they showing up now? Is there a certain age they should appear?”

“Yes, by age eleven the abilities have matured. Right around the time a child is presented their fate. For some it’s earlier, and for some it’s a little later, but if they haven’t shown up by fifteen or sixteen, you start to worry.”

“Am I considered a late bloomer?” My twenty-eighth birthday was only a few weeks away, but I thought that was still young.

“I’ve never heard of someone coming into their abilities this late.” He pulled the piece of paper from his pocket and put it on my coffee table so he could scribble a few more notes. A minute later, he looked up at me with a slight frown. “Obviously it’s not impossible, but I don’t know anyone who would believe it could happen.”

“Do they all just,” I waved my hand in a pantomime of a fairy wand, “poof into place?”

“Poof? No. It can take a few years, a few weeks, or a few days for them to develop. Some lines develop more slowly than others. Gargoyles usually take a few years. Oracles develop their magic within days. The shadow and light elves can vary, but I would say a few weeks to a few months on the average. It’s largely based on your line and your genetics. If your parents came into their magic within a month, you should, too, give or take a week.”

I rolled my eyes. “I won’t be calling Daddy Dearest to ask. Besides, it sounds like I’m already not following the typical pattern.”

“I wouldn’t even call it a pattern.” Teryl began drumming his fingers on the glass table top. “And you’re right. You’re not anything like you should be.”

I decided to take that as a compliment. As he continued to tap his fingers, I made a mental note to get him a set of drum sticks for Christmas. I knew it was a nervous habit, but it sure wasn’t helping my nerves. One of us needed to be calm and levelheaded.

Finally, he said, “I’m worried about what else will develop.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think your magic is done manifesting. and it scares the hell out of me.”

“Why?”

He tugged at the hem of his shirt as he leaned back into the cushions once more.

“Why, Teryl?” I pressed. “Or maybe I should ask, what scares you?”

“You do.” And he couldn’t quite meet my gaze when he said it. “Look, I’ve gotta go get my own stuff in order so we can go to Scotland. I’ll see you soon.”

Great. I was trying not to freak out, but how was I supposed to react when my best friend tells me I scare him?