“I haven’t forgotten how difficult that first time is, sweetie.” Nyx held out a hand.
Eavan went to her. She took her grandmother’s hand as she sat at the woman’s feet. Centuries of experience hid under Nyx’s flawless skin.
“I’m not going to do it,” Eavan whispered.
“You will.” With her free hand, Nyx pulled the pin from Eavan’s bun. It’d been only a week since it’d been cut, but it was already past her shoulders. Nyx ran her fingers through it, loosening the strands so they drifted freely. “You’ll hunt. You’ll fuck. You’ll kill.”
“I’m not like you.”
Nyx squeezed her hand—gently this time. “You’re a glaistig, love. You’re exactly like me.”
“I’m not a murderer.”
“It’s the natural order of the world.” Nyx smiled indulgently. “The higher beasts eat the lower. Do they get upset over eating other animals? The predators thin the herd, taking away the diseased or aberrant or weak. It’s natural.”
“It’s not.”
“Humans do it. Kill animals. Raise them like pets and butcher them…our way is far more humane. At least we don’t wear their hides for garments. We’re far more civilized.”
Eavan looked at Nyx’s hand-sewn leather boots. They were butter soft, custom made of the eel leather Nyx preferred these days. “And if they were able to be crafted into clothing you liked?”
“No.” Nyx ran her fingertips over a boot. “Mortal skin isn’t as silky…Plus, it’s just gauche.”
“Gauche?” Eavan asked. “And a stripper pole in the parlor?”
“Practical,” Nyx said. “If you are so sure you can be a mortal, here’s your test. Prove to me that you don’t have the same lusts we all do. If not, he seems a good sort to keep around for at least one of your appetites. We picked him especially for you.”
Eavan sighed. “Sometimes I really hate you.”
“I know, dear.” Nyx stood and pulled Eavan into a hug. “It’s one of the reasons I respect you. Let’s go find your new temptation.”
As if I need another one. Resisting hunting Daniel was using up all her self-control. Resisting another entanglement was the last thing she needed.
Maybe he’s a bore…a girl can dream, right?
5
Cillian waited outside in the overgrown yard behind the house. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was left to grow wild, but like everything, the truth was in the details. There were plants in this yard that he hadn’t seen anywhere else in the Triangle area, ones that wouldn’t flourish, even in the Raleigh humidity, without attention. The illusion was one of disorder, but the truth was that this was cultivated fecundity. His current job depended on his noticing minutiae, on seeing past the lies people wove, and on creating his own illusions. Those were the skills that would help him pretend to know nothing about Eavan, despite the hours they’d be forced together.
“Mr. Owens?” Nyx stood on the back porch.
“Ma’am?” He turned to face her.
Nyx paused as Eavan kissed her cheeks; then she turned her attention on Cillian. “You’ll keep her safe.”
“I’ll do my best to not let anyone harm her,” he said. It was the best he could offer, especially as he had no idea who or what Eavan was. Was Brennan human? That information was the sort of thing that the C.D.A. was never privy to, but it did make a difference. The first time Cillian had had his ribs broken, he learned exactly how much it could matter.
Eavan took a step backward. “I’m not that fragile.”
“You’re more fragile than you should be, Evvie.” For a strange moment, Nyx was the one who looked truly vulnerable. Her thus far implacable calm vanished. She licked her lips anxiously. “You’ll let him teach you what you need. You’ll be careful. He’s good at what he does…and the things you…I picked him for reasons you—”
“Nyx.” Eavan backed down the porch stairs and looked up at Nyx. “I’m not actually in any danger. You and I both know that. Hiring him”—Eavan glanced at Cillian—“is a control tactic. It won’t change anything, but you don’t have to pretend it’s a legitimate bodyguard situation.”
Nyx lashed out with a closed fist.
Eavan gripped the banister in front of her to keep from stumbling. Blood slid down her chin from a cut lip.
Cillian started forward.
“Stay out of it.” Nyx didn’t even look his way. Her attention and her next words were for Eavan. “You’ll let Mr. Owens guard you as carefully as if there were hellhounds pursuing you, Eavan, or you’ll move into this house. I make the decisions in this family, and this one is not negotiable.”
Eavan stood motionless, staring at her cousin as the blood dripped from her mouth. They both had all of the affect of statues.
“Don’t challenge me, Eavan. The consequences would be very unpleasant.” Nyx’s hair seemed to move of its own accord; the dark tendrils twitched like restless serpents around her shoulders.
Cillian stood there awkwardly. He wasn’t sure either of them should be trusted, but instinct told him that there was a threat to Eavan whether she was inside the house or on her own. It shouldn’t matter as much as it did, but he had a longtime habit of cheering the underdog.
“Am I understood, Eavan?” Nyx asked.
Finally, Eavan bowed her head. “You are, but I’ll prove that I don’t…need him.”
“I almost wish you were right, Evvie,” Nyx murmured. Then, before anyone could say another word, she spun on her heel and stepped back inside the house. She didn’t close the door. Instead, she left it open so they could watch her walk away swinging her hips like an invitation. Her footsteps echoed as she went into the room, a heartbeat rhythm beat out by her sharp heels.
And Cillian couldn’t look away. Seeing Nyx go made him feel like he was losing something—even though she made his skin crawl.
“Are you all right?” Eavan’s voice drew his attention from the open door.
“Are you?”
“I’ll be better once I’m out of here.” She dropped her shoes to the ground and slipped her feet into them. Then she pulled out a tissue and wiped the blood from her face.
He started down the walk, but stopped when he realized that she hadn’t moved.
“Why did you take the job, Mr. Owens?” She watched him as she twisted her hair back into a tight coil. Everything in her posture screamed “challenge.” It made him want to refuse any answer. Which works out well. He couldn’t tell her anything.
“It’s what I do right now.” He didn’t lie, not really. Watching her was his job. His supervisors were very clear that he should accept the terms of his anonymous source’s offer—including guarding Eavan.
“Guard people against nonexistent enemies?” She almost smiled, and the change was remarkable. She was every bit as tempting as the beautiful monster that had hired—blackmailed? manipulated? — him, and based on her family and her association with Brennan, she was also likely to be just as deadly.
He tamped down the softness he was feeling when he’d watched her face off with Nyx.
“Nyx seems certain you’re in danger,” he said.
“Nyx is sure I’m in danger every time I’m not in her direct line of sight.” Eavan shook her head. “If you wanted to simply say you guard me, but not—”
“She hired me to watch you. I’ll watch you.” He tried a falsely friendly smile. They’d do better if they were at least civil to each other. “You could make that easier on both of us if you answered questions.”
“Sure. I’ll answer what you need to know to do the job Nyx hired you for.” She smiled again, not full of promises like the women inside, but with barely curved lips. It was a dismissal, and in case he missed the message, she turned and walked down the flagstone path.