Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

" H as anyone ever told you that you have a pretty shoddy way of asking a girl out?" Rosa asked Eldon hours later. They were sitting at the kitchen table in the cottage, Eldon's long raven hair still damp from his shower.

Eldon frowned. "It surprised me too. And it's a drink , not a date. Also, it's none of your business."

"Fair enough, but take my advice and make the most of it," Rosa suggested, clutching her warm mug of tea. "I never got to do anything normal with Bal. I got drunk with Saul and yelled at Bal, but never actually went and had a date with him."

"Sounds like your ideas of courtship are as sophisticated as mine," Eldon chuckled. "And I repeat—it's not a date."

"You keep telling yourself that, cousin. She might not know what's the significance of it, but you do. Don't just take her to Glastonbury and yell at her."

"I don't need your advice, youngling."

"I don't care if you need it. You're getting it anyway. You two might not feel the same way about each other, but sure as hell feel something deeply. Don't hurt each other anymore." Rosa drank some of her tea before adding, "You two both deserve a little happiness when you can get it."

"It's strange. You're the second female to give me a lecture about being happy in the last twenty-four hours. Keep it up, and I'm going to start thinking you care."

"We all care, you arrogant ass," Rosa huffed. "You need to sort out whatever is eating its way through you. We all have enough to worry about with the Autumn Queen breathing down our necks, let alone whatever personal demons you're fighting and then taking out on the men."

"You're a kind-hearted girl. I'm surprised someone like Balthasar, the great Leiddiad, is attracted to you."

"Don't try to change the subject. I know exactly what Bal is and what he's done. Go out and have fun tonight. Maybe it'll get the bug out of your ass."

"Is everything I say going to upset you today?"

"Probably. You're in a dick mood."

"It was a long night," Eldon admitted. "Nimue was having nightmares."

"You were up with her?"

"For most of the night, though I doubt she remembers much," he replied. "It seems I didn't heal everything."

"There are some things magic can't heal, but you can." Rosa bit her lip. "This place has a way of bringing up nightmares so we can face them. If Nimue decides to share a few of hers, you had best make damn sure you are ready for them."

"Where are you taking me?" Nimue asked as they left the cottage that evening. She had dressed warmly in boots, tights, and a grey knit dress that Eldon struggled not to look at.

"I want to show you something," Eldon said, leading her along the path to the lake. "I've been thinking about what you said. If you want to learn about what changed me, then this is the place we need to start."

"I don't understand."

"You will." Eldon stepped closer to her. "Please take my hand or this won't work."

Liar . He sensed her hesitation, but she took it anyway. Another small step back to trust. As her warm hand curled in his, he could feel the heat and magic inside of her.

"Now when I start to walk…walk," he instructed. He opened the back door, and they stepped from the cold, windy night into one still and clear.

Nimue's hand let go of his as she stared about the laneway. "What is this place? It feels..." She crouched down beside a stretch of grass and dug her fingers into the dirt. "I can feel you all through this place, but the Ancient Magic…it's gone." Her face was pale as she stood up and rushed him, grabbing the lapels of his leather jacket. "What did you do ?" She was so appalled, she was almost vibrating.

"Come on, let's get a drink," Eldon sighed.

"I don't need a drink…"

"But I do. If you want to know what happened, you'll come with me."

Nimue was close enough that he could feel her breath on his lips. It would be nothing to close the space between them. She let him go quickly and stepped back, realizing it for herself.

If Nimue was awed by her surroundings, she didn't show it as Eldon led her through the stone streets and into The Lancelot . He pointed Nimue to a booth and headed to the bar.

"Jesus, Blaise, where have you been hiding her?" asked Lewis, one of the regular bartenders.

"She's an old friend of mine," he said with a wink.

"Who knew you could punch so far above your weight?" Lewis laughed and handed over the two pints of stout.

"Smartass. Keep these coming tonight."

"Nervous, are you? Christ alive, I don't blame you." Lewis let out a low whistle. "Look at all that glorious hair." Eldon fought the urge to growl at him as he picked up the drinks.

Growling! You're spending far too much time amongst the Unseelie .

Nimue took the glass from him and sipped the thick black liquid. A small smile spread across her lips.

"I like this drink. Rosa told me this place is connected to the stories the humans tell about you," she said.

"Some of them," he admitted, wondering what else Rosa had filled her in on.

"They portray me as a villain, no?" Nimue arched a golden eyebrow.

"I wouldn't worry. They portray me as an old man who is rather perverted."

"Good to know they've got some details right." Nimue looked at him over the rim of her glass, a gleam in her blue eyes that used to drive him crazy. She was baiting him, but he wouldn't fall for it.

"You wouldn't know what I'm like anymore."

"Why don't you tell me then?"

Eldon took a long drink. "Get comfortable because I'm going to tell you a story I haven't spoken aloud in over five hundred years. Consider yourself warned. You won't look at me the same way by the end."