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The shake of their heads sealed my fate and gave Jack one more chance to control his.

ChapterTwenty

Katie kept staring at Rasmus while she poured our tea. “Are you sure this is the original guardian you rescued?”

“It’s him, Katie. But he doesn’t remember being that first version or the second. This one only found out about his guardian past yesterday. Reality hasn’t fully sunk in yet.”

Rasmus grunted. “This oneis present and has a mouth to talk for himself.”

Katie covered her mouth and laughed. “I can see why you’re so certain. His temperament is the same.”

I winced and then grinned as the basement shook. “Oh, by the way, Conn and I are buying a house. We’ll move the cage out of yer basement once we settle on one.”

“I don’t mind it being here. It forces you both to visit me.”

“If ya’re lonely for company, we’re only a text away.”

“I know you are,” Katie said with a small smile for me. “But it’s the excitement you bring to my house that I also appreciate. I lead a dull life compared to the one you and Conn lead.”

Conn in human form eventually appeared. “I kidnapped your ex-husband as instructed. Jack’s waiting in the cage downstairs.”

“Those are sweet words to my ears,” I said.

Rasmus glared at the two of us. “I hate it when you two make fun of people you capture. Are you bad guys or good guys?”

“It depends on the day,” I said, glaring right back at him as I stood. “I’m about to restore your old bestie, Rasmus. He might not recognize ya at first, but he’ll remember after ya tell him. Though I still think ya were a fool to think Jack wasn’t a vile piece of crap unworthy to be stuck to the bottom of yer shoe.”

“You’re just bitter because of your divorce. That’s understandable, but you need to let it go. I bet being angry at your ex-husband is holding you back.”

“No, it is not, Mr. Man-Child-Who-Knows-Nothing. I’mhappybecause of the divorce. I’mbitterabout the thousand wrongs Jack Derringer did to me and our child while I was still married to him. And I refuse to argue about Jack’s worth with Version 3 of ya. It was enough to have to tolerate that nonsense from Versions 1 and 2. Stay in the kitchen if ya don’t want to see yer half-guardian pal suffer. The two of ya can go out for beers later and talk about what a mean woman I am.”

I stomped down the stairs with Conn’s footsteps falling behind me.

“Rasmus doesn’t remember Jack at all.”

“No, but he’d say the same stupid shite if he did. Rasmus is Jack’s fanboy. He always was.”

“Is Jack really a guardian’s child?”

I paused on the steps. “Yes. That was another bomb Orlin dropped on me. First generation guardian-human offspring don’t inherit guardian superpowers. They collect them, though, and pass them on totheirchildren. Da was also half-guardian because of Orlin doing the wild thing with Murieann, so I got what my father inherited from Orlin. Fiona’s powers are yet to be identified, but the guardians can’t freeze her. That confirms she has more magick than she thinks. It will be interesting to see what she got from Jack’s guardian parent.”

Conn looked as stunned as I felt when the significance of the truth hit him. “All those years Murieann never took another male to her bed was because she was waiting for a guardian to return to her. Did she know what he was? She never said a word to me. He was with her only briefly and she kept sending me away.”

“Orlin said he got wounded helping save a friend and that his regenerating took her lifetime and most of Da’s. I’m sorry, Conn. I meant to tell ya all this before now but I’m still processing it. And ya were so distracted by Mulan being away that I didn’t have the heart to add to yer worries.”

Conn stared at me. “You’re a second-generation guardian child and a child of The Dagda. Fiona is third-generation. Guardian blood runs in both your veins.”

“The power weakens with every subsequent generation... or so Orlin says. The first generation usually gets some sort of genetic gift. I believe Jack’s is telling lies that sound like the truth.”

My tone couldn’t have been any snider. Jack brought that out in me.

I continued down the steps. “I told Orlin I would not become Jack’s keeper and that I would kill him if he tried to harm me or Fiona ever again. He gave me a way to pass on the responsibility. I’m going to do that and hope for the best.”

“You’ve been saying things and dropping hints. Why did I never put this together before now?”

“Two words, my friend...WuandShaman. Yer brain had no room for anything else. I keep trying to tell ya about Da’s ring too, but ya haven’t listened to that, either. Now Ican’ttell ya.”

“Why not?”