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She’d constantly urged me to be wicked while an eavesdropping Conn snickered like an eighth-grade boy behind her.

“Use him for what, Mulan?” I’d demanded. “A booty call on those rare occasions when he spends over ten minutes with me?”

No, I wouldn’t be doing anything like that. A woman had to draw a line somewhere. Since I needed his help with Zara, drawing the line at my bedroom door was the best I could do. Rasmus could stay but he would sleep in his own room, which even he had to see was a massive upgrade from his days spent sleeping in a garage.

And no, despite what Henry and Gale thought, I would not be swallowing my pride and eating my words soon. I could last as long as it took for the guardian to learn my warm welcome was not to be taken for granted.

Rasmus had taken cues from Conn in turning Zara into his fake sibling. Conn had created what we both called his “brother” form so people wouldn’t think we were a couple. He’d done it to make it easier for him to pick up women for a night.

Sans my height, of course, because Conn preferred to be taller. No man-creature of any species would choose to be five feet tall when he could be six or seven. Truth be told, I’d have been six feet tall myself if I had possessed the power to change my body that much.

Dylan, who was even shorter than me, morphed into a six-foot human male to hide among humans. For Dylan, size was about controlling how people—especially human females—looked at him. How could I hate him for that? Goddess, to look most men in the eyes, I had to stand on a chair or make them sit in it.

Sure, I’d learned over the years not to care too much about my short stature or to let it worry me. After meeting Mulan, who was also height-challenged, I’d at last found someone who understood. That didn’t mean I didn’t still have moments.

Seeing Rasmus standing at nearly seven feet and Zara at over six made me feel child-sized. Maybe there was a height requirement for packing that much arrogance around. I’d have to ask him that once we were on better terms again.

“Hello,” I said, nodding to them both. “I saved the big chairs for the two of ya. They belong to my tall daughter.”

Rasmus motioned to Zara to sit in one, then lowered himself into the other. Zara looked uncertain when her body slid back and down in the large Adirondack seat. A cautious female, who looked at me fearfully, had replaced the bitter female I originally met.

What on earth had Rasmus told her? He said he’d reset her to the being she’d been at the beginning of her service to our planet. Had she been fearful of the other species who’d lived here?

What kind of power made it possible for him to change her personality? By now, I knew the guardians excelled in crafting lies that made people believe what the guardians wanted them to believe. I was currently taking part in the one about Zara because I had a moment of sympathy for her controlled situation.

Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed to me. I mean, Demons did the same with their compulsions. The difference was that the guardians could redefine a person permanently.

Like Rasmus, Zara had been some sort of scientist among her people. When I met her, she’d felt nothing but disgust for Earth’s residents and what she saw as their human flaws. Was this cautious woman the real Zara? Or was she still the one I met—the one who’d stolen the life essences of young women without a shred of remorse just so she could survive?

It hurt my brain to think about it. What had I seen in her that made me bargain to save her? It should have been enough punishment for her that Rasmus could create this timid version out of the strongest female I’d ever met. If he set her loose on Earth again, she would be fine for a while. Right?

I needed to stop churning on this because philosophizing was counterproductive to keeping my promise to Orlin. I hadfive years to convince Zara humans did not need to be ruled over by beings like her. If the Dagda were here right now, I’m sure he would have laughed and laughed at the trouble my runaway mouth had once again gotten me into.

I guess I’d been staring too hard at her because Zara cleared her throat and spoke first.

“My brother says I owe you my life.”

I moved my gaze to Rasmus as I answered her. “Yer brother exaggerates, Zara. I kept someone from killing ya because saving people is part of my job.”

Zara barely looked at me. “I hear I wasn’t the sort of person anyone would choose to save, and he said that I tried to kill you. I don’t have a lot of recall from that time, Aran. All I remember is being furious at everyone and everything. I couldn’t feel happiness in any form. A terrible rage had taken me over.”

I don’t know how Rasmus seeded that scenario into Zara’s memories and somehow twisted it to our benefit. The guardians seemed to have powers that rivaled the gods. But I’d met her when she’d been in full survival mode. Five years from now, when Zara came out of this fugue state Rasmus put her in, the female guardian was going to be pissed at both of us for manipulating her as we had.

Once again I reminded myself that I’d voluntarily signed up for this shit show. No one had twisted my arm. I had only my conscience to blame.

I blew out a breath and nodded to her. “If ya try killing me again, I won’t show ya the same mercy. Something ya need to understand about me is that I kill bad guys for a living. If ya travel down that path, that’s how I’m going to see ya.”

Zara nodded before dropping her gaze. “Rasmus and I have talked about this at great length. We both agree that some dark force possessed me. I feel nothing toward you but gratitudenow. I hope you can believe that. You’re very important to my brother and I don’t want him to have to choose between us.”

I studied her while trying to figure out if she was being sincere, but I couldn’t tell. “Good. I don’t want him to do that either. Despite the many, many things yer brother and I don’t agree about in this world, whether or not to keep ya alive was never one of them. I’d be happy to make peace with ya, Zara. Also, yer brother and ya are welcome to stay with me for as long as ya wish. And there’s work to be done if ya’re interested in joining my team.”

Zara seemed surprised by the offer.

“What kind of work?” she asked.

My shrug was large and as unconcerned as I could make it. “Depends... what skills do ya possess? Rasmus said ya were a magick practitioner like me.”

“I don’t know what he meant by that, but I’m good with animals. Not domestic ones, but those with wild natures. They respond to me.”