Chapter 13

Rosemary

I kept my arms crossed over my chest as I trekked from the farm to the nearby town. It was a futile action, but it felt like holding myself tightly was the only thing that kept me from unraveling completely. I had moved a mountain, literally. Well, not a mountain, but it might as well have been. I’d restored that cliff like it was nothing, just closed my eyes and pictured all that dirt and rock moving back in place, and it had happened.

There was no denying anything Chardum said. I was a nymph, or at least, half-nymph. I had magic running through my veins and a dragon sidekick as a partner. Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed any of this could be real, but now? I had to face the truth. Magic was real, dragons were real, and my mother had known about it.

She’d told me endless stories of my father doing such things. Stories I thought she’d made up to soothe the ache of his absence, but they were true. Someone had come to this house, to my father’s home twenty-six years ago, and they’d cursed both Chardum and my dad. Trapping them in some bizarre way, and that’s why I’d never met Zachary, who’d been doomed to roam the earth.

That was the part that was almost the hardest to believe, that he hadn’t abandoned my mom. That he hadn’t left me because he didn’t want kids. I found that I ached more for his passing because now I knew he would have been with me if he’d had the choice. I tried to picture that now, like I had never allowed myself to do once I got older. Picture him at my side, teaching me how to master these strange powers I had.

Powers that allowed me to move rocks as large as a car with my mind. I still remembered vividly how it felt doing that, how warm and welcoming the earth had felt beneath my feet. How it felt like I was tapping into something powerful and infinite. I hadn’t expected the exhaustion that had followed, but Chardum said that was to be expected.

I’d lain in bed, sleeping soundly, for nearly twelve hours straight, then devoured all the food my dragon buddy brought me. I rubbed my arms with my hands, clutching a little more tightly when my skin tingled in remembrance. He’d carried me inside and tucked me into bed so gently. His scent had clung to my clothing and my sheets, and now I wanted it to stay there.

I was so ready to jump his freaking bones that I found him walking around in jeans and flannels, almost as tempting as when I had him naked that day we met. He’d said it once, mate. That’s what he’d called me, though never again. But the endearments, the way he would huskily call me Rosy, that was close enough. I was starting to think that the word mate meant exactly what I thought it meant. A primal, primitive word, a word that shouldn’t have meaning to my human sensibilities, but it did anyway. I wanted him to call me that again.

Which was exactly why I’d decided to run errands in town; I needed to get away from him for a while and clear my damn head. I needed to figure out if anyone could sell me a used car to make running the farm easier. We needed groceries and supplies to rebuild; I couldn’t keep asking Chardum how he’d procured things when I woke up the next morning, for him only to grin mysteriously at me.

I’d reached the town and was traversing a cracked sidewalk toward the only general supply store. I was a little shocked that it was so rundown, with many shops closed and boarded up. There weren’t many people out on the street, but the ones I did run into kept staring at me. Some even waved and smiled, and it felt like I should know them somehow.

I recognized Ted, the plumber who had been out at the farmhouse twice already. The older man cheerfully waved and started to cross the street toward me and I realized I was happy to see him too. Maybe he could help me figure out where I could best find exterior paint for the house, which I knew Char was eager to get his hands on, and maybe he knew someone in town who could sell me a car. I hadn’t needed one living in New York, but out in the countryside I was starting to discover that being without was a major pain.

“Rosemary!” Ted shouted, and he waved, his bristly beard quivering from how wide he was smiling. “You came to town! Can I help you? Let me show you around!” He was already crossing the street. I smiled and waved back, my eyes darting over his shoulder to the younger man following behind. Ted’s son, no doubt, and he was outright ogling me, but I didn’t mind. I was getting the feeling that my father had kind of been a celebrity around here, and they definitely knew Chardum too.

“Ah, Miss Foster. How good of us to run into each other!” a voice drawled coolly from behind me. I spun around in shock, my skin shivering at the touch of a hand against my elbow, fingers curling against my skin, cold rings pressing against my flesh. The lady standing closely behind me seemed to have materialized out of thin air. She definitely hadn’t been on the sidewalk with me a moment ago.

I recognized those elegant features, the pale blonde chignon, and the ice-cold look in her blue eyes. What was her name again? Miss Elie? The woman who’d offered me an extraordinary amount of money for drilling rights on my land.

I still had her business card and papers lying around my bedroom, but I hadn’t even looked at them once. In fact, I’d completely forgotten about them with all that had happened. I also knew more than ever that I couldn’t let anyone have that kind of access. It felt wrong, and if I was really tasked with some bizarre job to protect that place, this was exactly what it needed protecting from.

“Have you had a chance to consider SunWorld’s offer?” the woman asked, ignoring the angry rumbling coming from the two men who had just joined us on the sidewalk. I glanced from her face with the haughty expression down to where she still held my elbow, her thumb pressed into the crook against my pulse. Could she feel it pounding?

“I have and I’m declining,” I said firmly. “I’m not interested.” I shrugged her hand from my elbow and took a step back. She was shooting me a very chilling, angry glare, but she quickly transferred it away from me to Ted and his son hovering right behind me.

“I really encourage you to rethink that choice, Miss Foster. Sunworld can change your life, in many ways.” There was an implied threat there, and I bristled. Yup, this lady was exactly like my old boss, ready to crack the whip or offer rewards as long as she got her way.

I shook my head, squared my shoulders, and raised my chin. Giving off a powerful impression was pertinent when dealing with people like this. I was very ready to get her off my back. Someone trying to get access to my land was the last thing I needed. I had way bigger problems to consider, like my powers, my fledgling feelings for Char, and this something I was now supposedly tasked with protecting. I needed more answers.

Heat washed along my back when I shot the woman my own glare. I knew exactly what I was sensing, a warm body pressed against my spine, hands on my shoulders. A pose Chardum and I had stood in for a long time when I worked my magic in the vegetable patch. I didn’t question it, just drew a little extra comfort and strength from that presence.

When I opened my mouth to send her packing, it was Ted who jumped in. “The lady said no, now get lost, leech! We don’t want you here.” His son just wordlessly snarled, fists balled as he stepped closer. Was it me or had the hair on his head raised to stand practically upright just now?

The woman curled her lip, her hands sliding down her body to straighten her jacket. Without another word, she spun on her fancy spiked heel and strutted away. That expensive black Lexus purring around a corner for her right on time so she could slide into it. “Good riddance,” I huffed, “Nobody takes my land.” I really meant that, and I was happy with that choice.