41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

As I saw Grandy off, Nina's lights caught my eye. I made my way over to her, accidentally surprising Wakado and Nova in another passionate embrace against the walls of the building. It seemed that leaning against Nina was their special spot.

‘Alpha!' Nova said awkwardly, brushing down her clothing.

‘I didn't see anything. Don't let me interrupt!' I headed to the door. Behind me I heard giggling and Nova say, ‘Wakado!' in an admonishing voice.

‘Shall I stop?' he asked softly.

‘Don't you dare!' Her tone was breathy. ‘She said she didn't want to interrupt, and your hands were definitely here…'

I hastily dived into Nina. ‘Hey, Nina,' I called. ‘How are you doing? '

I'm wonderful, she said exuberantly. I can speak to all of the lone wolves in my care. It is so beautiful to be able to converse again. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it.

Hey! Terrance objected. You've been speaking to me this whole time.

Oh yes, darling, of course. But now I can enjoy ten conversations at once. It is delightful.

Sounds hellish to me, Terrance pouted. He seemed disappointed to find Nina in such high spirits without him; he obviously needed her as much as she needed him.

‘So,' I said to them both, ‘I rang a dryad friend of mine earlier and got some advice.' I licked my lips. ‘You both have to think about it and be in agreement or I won't do it, but I think I might be able to transfer Terrance's spirit to join you in the house rather than residing in the crown.'

Yes! they both chorused instantly.

‘I won't be able to undo it,' I explained. ‘So you need to think carefully—'

Yes! they repeated, once more in concert.

‘Are you sure?'

Yes! they said a third time.

Lucy, Nina said, you have to remember that our relationship isn't new. Terrance and I have been together for two centuries, dreaming about being together properly. If you can do that, we would owe you everything .

We didn't think it was possible, Terrance said. We didn't dare to dream that it might be.

‘I'm not certain,' I repeated. ‘It might not work.'

Try it, Terrance said.

Please, Nina added.

‘Well then, Nina, I need you to show me to your heart.'

The floor opened slowly for once. Instead of plunging me three floors below, the peeled-away floorboards formed a staircase that hovered in the air. I started down it, wishing for a handrail.

We don't need a handrail, we're not infirm. We're a wolf!

I gave Esme a mental pat and continued carefully downwards in the darkness. I nearly screamed when a torch lit up by my head, but at least now I could see where I was going. There were more torches as I moved deeper and deeper into the roots of the seat of power.

Finally I came to the bottom floor. Nina was in the centre of the room. She wasn't the young child I remembered seeing in one of my earliest visions of her; instead she looked about my age. She was buxom, with green skin so pale as to be translucent and tumbling red hair. She was stunning.

She was also locked into the ancient tree at the heart of the building .

Nina, Terrance breathed. My love.

Nina was a true dryad. She appeared to be sleeping half in and half out of the tree which the seat of power was built from. Its circumference was awe inspiring; I'd never seen one so thick before.

That's what she said, Esme murmured, startling a guffaw out of me.

‘Sorry,' I apologised aloud. ‘Esme made a joke.' I paused. ‘A really good one, which is rare for her.'

Hey!

‘Anyway, um, I'm going to place the crown here for a moment.' I put it at Nina's feet, closed my eyes, and for the second time that night I pulled up my piping magic.

I reached out to the crown, to Torrance himself. Come , I ordered him, as I gently pulled him out. Live here, I ordered, pushing him into the tree with Nina.

Exhaustion shuddered through me and the faintest itch began. It was time for a trip to Rosie's. I opened my eyes. ‘Are you okay?' I asked anxiously. ‘Terrance, are you in there?'

He is. Nina's voice was full of wonder.

I am, he agreed warmly, but his voice no longer sounded inside my head. He wasn't speaking from within me as he had before.

‘I'd better go,' I blurted, their intimate tone making me want to run away and give them some privacy.

Visit the orb first, Nina suggested, pulling the staircase out for me again.

I suppressed a sigh. I didn't want to visit the orb, I wanted to go to bed. Nevertheless, I started up the stairs to the room that housed it. It was glowing brightly on its pedestal. ‘Hello,' I said aloud, feeling a little foolish.

I felt its joy at my presence. As the orb pulsed, warm affection washed over me.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘I'm actually not in the market for a sentient object right now,' I complained. ‘I've pretty much got my hands full with one house and a fiery crown. Though admittedly they're going to be busy for a while.'

We're not a handful! Nina groused.

A perfect handful, Terrance flirted. Ack.

The orb's light dimmed and I got the impression of a shy abashed child that felt unwanted. Oh jeez. ‘I'm sorry,' I said hastily. ‘Of course I want you. Who doesn't want a magical' – sulky – ‘orb? I'm so happy you're here.'

The light returned tenfold and I patted it gently. ‘I could do with some air lessons,' I said lightly.

Instantly visions of flying in werewolf form assailed me. ‘Whoa, whoa,' I laughed. ‘Slow down. We probably need to start with the basics.' A yawn cracked my face. ‘But not now. Now I need to recharge, in more ways than one. The last few weeks have been very difficult.' I patted the orb. ‘You're okay here, right?

It pulsed again and I took that as a yes.

‘Great. I'll be back soon, okay? I'm eager to get to know you.'

The orb's light bathed me, pulsing over my stomach before glowing a soft pink and then a soft blue. It was trying on disco colours.

‘Okay,' I said softly. ‘I just really need rest. I'm exhausted.'

Before I could say anything, the orb had gathered air magic around me and propelled me upwards on a gust of wind like a werewolfy Mary Poppins. It gently deposited me on the main floor and I had a gentle feeling of pressure all around me, like a hug. And then its presence left me.

That was actually super cute and I vowed to make good on my promise to hang out with the orb. Voltaire's words of warning were running through my head; it wasn't enough to know my air magic, I needed to be able to use it under pressure.

I rubbed my eyes. Not now, though. The air magic could wait. Man, I was tired. Too much piping .

I stumbled out of the seat of power and saw Greg approaching. He looked solemn and there were shadows in his eyes. ‘Hey,' I smiled warmly, hoping to see him light up.

His answering smile was reserved. ‘Hey. I was just coming to find you.'

‘You found me,' I said with an impish smile.

‘And I always will,' he promised. He slung an arm around my shoulders. ‘Everything okay, Peaches?'

‘I'm really tired. I need to go to Rosie's and I need a nap.'

‘You got it. I'll drive. Come on.'

I waited until we slid into the car to ask, ‘Mindy?'

He grimaced. ‘She's been dealt with.'

I licked my lips. ‘Is she dead?'

‘No – I got her cleared. Poetic justice. She isn't a threat to us anymore. She thinks she's Common.'

I shuddered; that was a fate worse than death. ‘That must have been hard for you.'

‘Not really,' he admitted. ‘She kidnapped Daniella.'

‘Was she Domini?'

He shook his head. ‘No, just devoted brethren.' He looked rueful. ‘It happens. Some of us get fanatical. She admitted that she was the one who found your adoption papers on Darius's desk and told Geneve about them. She led everyone to your door – Ben is a werewolf because of her. She admitted she was jealous and wanted to destroy you. She thought I'd fall in love with her if she removed you from the equation.' He grimaced. ‘I don't know why she thought that. I never loved her.'

‘For some people, sex and love are intertwined.'

He shot me a startled glance. ‘I haven't had sex with her.'

‘What? But when Mark died and you went to pick her up…'

‘She was drunk. I picked her up and drove her home because she was threatening to drive her own car if I didn't come. We talked for a bit then she put the moves on me. I said no and left.' He slid me a glance. ‘All this time you thought I'd shagged her?'

‘Well, yeah.'

‘Lucy,' he said, looking rueful, ‘I haven't had eyes for anyone else since the moment we met. You and your pink froofy outfits have ruined me for all other women.'

‘Froofy?' I objected.

He grinned. ‘You know what I mean.'

‘My outfits are feminine and tasteful.'

‘They are,' he agreed with a poker-straight face that made me snicker.

Something in me eased. Mindy was out of the picture; even better, she'd never actually been in the picture. That'd teach me about not communicating properly.

Communication was the key to any good relationship and I wasn't going to make the same mistake again. If Greg and I were going to do the whole ‘for better, for worse' thing, I needed to get better about revealing what was going on in my head, and not just with Esme.