Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
“Yeah, man, this is way better than the subway to Queens,” Ethan said as he crashed into the backseat, too.
Kierse shot Gen a wounded look. She’d thought they were having a girl’s day.
“Uh…Ethan is coming, too,” Gen said apologetically.
“Wait, am I interrupting? You were going to chat without me?” he asked.
“You’re just…” Kierse waved her hand at him. “Happily in love.”
“So is Gen!”
“Whoa. We haven’t said the L word,” Gen said as George pulled away from headquarters.
“And things are complicated with Niamh,” Kierse added.
Ethan swiveled his head between them. “What is complicated by Niamh?”
“Kierse,” she hissed.
“Are you into Niamh?” Ethan demanded in shock.
“No!”
“Yes!” Kierse said at the same time. “Well, they had an almost thing in Ireland and then worked together. But it’s still there.”
“This isn’t about me. We’re here to talk about you and Graves and Lorcan.”
“Ugh. Don’t put us into a love triangle.”
“More like a throuple,” Gen muttered.
“Holy shit, are you all fucking?” Ethan asked. He tilted his head. “I know Lorcan has had a poly relationship before, but I really didn’t think he and Graves were into each other like that. Is that why they hate each other so much?”
Kierse tipped her head back on the headrest. “I think they would murder each other before sharing me.”
Gen’s cheeks heated. “But…would you?”
“Would you?” Kierse shot back. “You, Ronan, and Niamh are much closer to sharing than I am.”
Ethan jerked his head back and forth between them. “Am I the vanilla one in this triskel?”
Kierse and Gen burst into laughter at the same time.
“No one said we were kinky,” Kierse said as she glanced out the window.
Ethan shot her a look. “Right,” he drawled disbelievingly.
“And Ronan and I haven’t even…” Gen trailed off.
“You haven’t?” Ethan asked. “But you’re together all the time.”
“Well, I’ve never…” She made a face. “…with Ronan.”
Kierse was aware of this information, but it was Ethan’s softening that went straight to her heart. Because Ethan could have easily joked the way he had about everything else, but not with Gen. Gen had grown up around sex, but she had never had a real relationship before Ronan and the fact that the alpha werewolf took things slow was a good sign.
“Do you want to?” Ethan asked slowly.
“Yes,” Gen said with a flush. “But I’m not like you two.”
“Horny?” Kierse teased.
Gen giggled. “I don’t know. I love people too much, too fiercely. Seeing even with a touch of sight, it changes things. The closer I get to people, the more I see.”
“Are you seeing things for Ronan?”
Gen nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what any of it means. But what if I get closer and I see things I don’t want?”
“Easy,” Kierse said. “You train. I know you’re doing all this training for High Priestess work, but you can train yourself not to see the way I train myself to close my mind. It’s just mental work. Graves could help.”
Gen perked up at that. “I’d like that. You think he’d help me?”
“He’d do anything for Kierse,” Ethan said.
“And you and Graves,” Gen said gently, “seem better.”
“We are,” Kierse said. “Who knew we just needed to confront our ghosts?”
“Who knew?” Gen deadpanned.
Ethan snorted. “I’m glad you’re not depressed anymore, but what about Lorcan?”
Kierse had not wanted to think about Lorcan since she and Graves had worked things out. She still didn’t.
“I don’t know,” she said, waving it off. “I hope the stone fixes everything.”
Ethan and Gen exchanged a look that said they were worried that Lorcan would be more of a problem before they got their hands on the stone, but what else could Kierse do? No matter what had gone on with her and Lorcan or how their dynamic had shifted, she wanted to break the bond, and there was no other way to do that. And if Lorcan knew, he wasn’t going to tell her. So she was stuck with it.
“Just be careful. Lorcan isn’t going to be okay letting the bond go,” Gen said. “Not after his fight to put it in place to begin with.”
“And all for nothing. He doesn’t even have my magic on lockdown anymore.”
“Not for nothing,” Ethan said. “Now he knows where you are at all times and can talk to you at will and can build a bridge for you to love him.”
Kierse wrinkled her nose. “Thanks for that reminder.”
Gen squeezed her hand. “We’ll get through this.”
And as they all held hands something happened: their magic connected, the triskel activating without even prompting. It felt perfect in every way, as if it was really what she had been looking for all her life. Their friendship meant everything to her. This connection was warm and friendly and such a relief. A bond worth fighting for.
George pulled over at that moment, and they let the connection drop. But they were all smiling and giddy with it.