“Count Felford caught me at the shrine. He knows I am a Revivalist. He is pleased with me as his vessel and consort, so he is punishing me himself and not alerting the Council.”
I bite back an apology to my father and it is the hardest thing I have ever done.
The ghostly outline of my father’s eyes blaze with more than just fire.
“Not good enough. You will find a way past him.”
I take a deep breath. “With all respect, my lord father, no. I am married now and my duty is to my husband. Not to you.”
My father opens his mouth to say something, but I grab the vase of flowers on the mantelpiece and dash them on to the burning logs along with a blast of my magic. The fire, and my father, vanish in a hiss of smoke and steam.
“Luci?”
I hear behind me.
“Oh my goodness! Are you okay? What’s happened?”
Sobbing, I turn and throw myself into my husband’s arms. He is here now and everything is going to be okay.
Chapter twenty-six
Drew
It’s freezing out here on the boundary of my property. I wish Luci would go inside, but I understand his desire to help with the wards and to see them done. Along with his need to be near me. He was so upset last night after the ghostly visit from his father. It took me hours to calm him down.
I’m proud that I make him feel safe. It makes me feel all warm and tingly inside. But I hate that he is out here, traipsing through the mud with me.
His nose has gone red from the cold and it is utterly adorable. He looks up at me and his breath comes out in a white cloud.
“Do you want to go get warmed up?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I’m fine.”
The look of determination in his beautiful eyes is making my heart beat faster. He probably is perfectly fine. He has been through much worse. Luci has endured things I could never imagine in my darkest of dreams. He doesn’t need me to protect him from a bit of cold weather. He does need me to get on with these wards, which now include weavings against psychic projections.
“Okay,” I say with a smile as I take his gloved hand.
We walk hand in hand to the next ward on my boundary. My garden ends in a thick tangle of weeds and a small wood heavy with undergrowth. It belongs to a local farmer and I’ve never asked why he lets this patch go wild.
As we approach the next ward, I nearly jump out of my skin. There is a man standing amongst the weeds and the trees, just on the very edge of the farmer’s property. His green Barbour jacket blends in well with the undergrowth and I didn’t see him until I was right next to him.
Luci’s grip on my hand tightens, and I give him a reassuring squeeze.
“Can I help you?” I say in my most withering tone to the stranger.
Ice-blue eyes meet mine evenly. “I was looking for a lost hound and stopped to admire your gardens. Very pretty.”
His gaze flicks to Luci with clear insinuation. Anger ignites within me and I bristle. Luci steps behind me, using me as a shield from the stranger’s gaze and I like that I can protect Luci in this small way.
“Get away from my property,” I snarl.
“I’m not on your property,” the stranger replies mildly.
A flash of magic swirls in his eyes, confirming my suspicions. This isn’t a random person. This is a mage and likely a Revivalist. Either here to test my wards or to deliver a threat. Possibly both.
“Or in your property,” he adds with a smirk as he tries to look over my shoulder at Luci.
My free hand clenches into a fist. “What do you want?”
“You know what we want. I’m just here to remind you that we always get what we set our sights on.”
What a load of nonsense. Revivalists have been trying to reopen the portals to the fey realm for hundreds of years. They still haven’t succeeded.
With a growl, I throw out a spell. The magic clouds around the stranger like a swarm of angry bees and stinging just as sharply. The stranger swears and backs away, disappearing into the woods.
I surprised him. I got lucky. I do not know if I have greater strength or skill than him. My spell will last for a few hours, but then he might come back. I think my wards will keep him out, but strengthening them is a damn good idea, except that damn parlor trick used up most of my magic.
I invented the spell when I was still a boy and it uses a ridiculous amount of power.
“Damnit!” I say out loud.
Luci tugs on my arm, and I turn around to face him. I can see in his gorgeous eyes that he understands the problem perfectly. I watch mesmerized as a tinge of pink flows over his pale cheeks.
“I’m not ripe but…” he tails off, drops his gaze and bites his bottom lip.
My heart flutters. How can anyone be this adorable? My magic reaches out and coils around his. He is not ripe, but he is by no means empty. If I take him up on his shy offer, I will gain enough power to finish strengthening the wards today instead of having to wait a few days for my own magic to slowly replenish.
My fingers find his chin and tilt his face up to mine. The words, ‘are you sure?’ are on my lips, but I let them die. He doesn’t need that from me. He needs certainty. Clear instructions. He needs me to make the decisions.
