Stone of Destiny(27)

I broke away, breathing hard. I could feel the color spread over my cheeks and when I looked up, Ethan smirked.

“I like it when you blush, I think it’s cute,” he said.

I laughed and shook my head. “You’re incorrigible.”

He grinned. “All part of my charm.”

Smacking his chest, I pushed him toward the door. “Uh-huh.”

Before he stepped out onto the porch, he turned toward me. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow, okay?”

I nodded. “Sure.” I waved as he strolled down the walk to his truck. But what I really wanted was to pull him back and kiss him until he was out of breath.

His taillights disappeared down the road and I went to shut the door when Niamh appeared and put a hand out to stop me. My heart dropped and I stared at her for a minute, unable to speak.

“I just need a minute,” she said, glancing over her shoulder.

“Okay,” I said, stepping aside so she could come in.

I love this house, it feels so welcoming.

I didn’t say anything to that, just shook my head a little in surprise.

“When are you leaving?” I asked.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“All right,” I said, sitting at the table.

Niamh sat across from me. “I think you should come to Tír na n’Óg with me.”

“I can’t go there,” I said. “You know I have school and work. Plus my cousin’s engagement party is next weekend.”

“We have ways to get around that. I’ll send decoys to cover for you. You don’t have to worry,” she waved her hand as though these things were irrelevant.

“Can the decoys teach me what I actually need to know for my career? Niamh, it’s not that simple.”

She sat at the table and leveled her gaze on me. “I know these things are important to you. But we need to find Aoife. We can’t just wait for her to make her next move.”

“You said yourself it could take months for her to prepare a binding spell.”

“If that is in fact what she’s doing. But either way I’d like to be one step ahead of her.”

My whole life had led me to this point. Years of studying and working to save up so I could get into a decent graduate program and eventually earn a living to support my mother.

Niamh couldn’t understand that. She didn’t have to work and if she wanted something, she could just glamour a post-it note to look like a fifty dollar bill. If only I could do that.

“With enough practice, maybe you could,” she said, and I shot her an annoyed look.

“Why do you think I should go, anyway?”

She crossed her legs and placed her hands on the table. “You’re as much a part of this now as any of us. After what Samantha told us, I feel it’s important for us to stay together.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Calm, collected Niamh felt we should stay together?

You know, humans aren’t the only ones affected when we spend time around each other.

What’s that mean?

“Think about it. I’ve been spending so much time here, it’s bound to change me on some level.”

I hadn’t really thought about it that way. I knew Liam and Aodhan had become more like the Danaan from being in Tír na n’Óg, so I guessed it made sense for it to work both ways.

“You won’t become like Aengus, will you?” I asked, shuddering at the memory of Aoife’s guard in Thunder Bay. Aengus had attacked Liam and I while we were trying to find Aodhan over the summer. Which reminded me, why wasn’t Samantha’s friend Ciarán like him? He was one of Aoife’s people, shouldn’t he be in the same emaciated state?

“No,” Niamh said. “The only reason he was like that was from drawing magic from human blood. The iron in the blood goes directly into their bodies, poisoning them. As for your other question, Ciarán doesn’t believe in what the others are doing. In fact, he’s firmly against draining humans.”

“That’s a surprise. Why is he staying with them if he doesn’t like what they’re doing?”

“They told me he only stayed because Breanh had sealed the portal while Aoife was trapped in the fey globe. Then he met Samantha and I suppose he didn’t want to stay away from her.”

“Would she become delusional like my mother if he left?”

Niamh shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’ve never known any half-breeds in my lifetime.”

“Anyway, even if it weren’t for school…I can’t miss Nicole’s engagement party, she’d never forgive me.”

“She’ll never have to know. The sooner we figure out where Aoife is the sooner we can break the geis. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important. And I know Liam wouldn’t dream of asking you.”