Page 27

Soon, Rasmus and I were the only ones left in the blue house. “Do you need me to go along with you?”

I shook my head. “No. Conn and I need to spend some quality time together. I’ll tell ya about it later.”

“As you wish,” Rasmus said, bending to kiss me goodbye. He insisted on doing it every time we parted now and didn’t seem to care if we had an audience.

“I’ll work on organizing the third-floor library until you finish.”

My face wrinkled in confusion. “When did we get a third-floor library?”

“Henry asked Zara and me to secure the books we use for our studies because his people were growing too curious. We’re calling the room the ‘big library’ and keeping it locked whenwe’re away. Even Henry doesn’t have a key to it. Zara, me, and you will be the only three with access. We will grant Dylan access on an as-needed basis until he stops courting his lady demon.”

“Those sound like wise precautions, given Orlin’s books from the Venusians are in there,” I said.

“Indeed,” Rasmus said, smiling as he headed back to the main house.

I strode off toward Mulan’s house with a smile on my face. My life was still a mess, but it was a good mess. Having this property truly had worked out better than I ever dreamed.

While the news about Fiona’s angel disturbed me, I understood my daughter was in an unchangeable situation. Worrying about how she was doing wouldn’t help her. Only she could release herself from the obligation. And it was her choice to make, not mine.

In my heart, I knew guarding the ring was Fiona’s destiny. And not just because it had told me when I wore it. And not because Orlin had confirmed it to Rasmus. I had known all my daughter’s life that the power she’d gotten from my family would be used for important things. Now that her destiny had manifested, all I could be was her backup person.

Until my daughter needed me, I would keep doing what I felt compelled to do. My next task would be to turn Ben's beast form into a valuable asset rather than a liability.

Chapter Eight

Conn asked to move our discussion to my firepit. He spat a small fire into it—something I used to call his ‘demon party trick’—and then threw some calming herbs into the flames. When satisfied with his efforts to season his smoke, Conn inhaled it in deep breaths and exhaled it with satisfaction.

“I wanted to talk to ya alone about Ben’s problem.”

Conn stopped his version of smoking to answer me. “Rasmus and Zara are the geneticists. They would know the most about his situation.”

I waved away his suggestion. “I’m not looking to undo his changes or calculate his future evolution. I have a more basic question, and ya’re the expert I need.”

“Ask away then,” Conn said with a grin.

“Can ya tell if one of yer kind was used to make his beast?”

Conn shrugged in answer. “I think it’s a logical assumption given the size and shape of his fangs and claws. Based on his giant size, they either used some royal demon’s blood or the largest gorilla on the planet. Lilith and I could possibly determine whose blood was used if he would give us a sample. Does that really matter to you?”

“I’m going with a negative answer about learning the demon source,” I said. “What I want to do is to see if ya can command his demon side and maybe use yer kingly powers to help Ben learn to control his beast. Ben called his talisman a crutch the other day, and he was right. Having that beast form is a liability if he fears his creators might have more control over it than he does. He’s like a werewolf who refuses to shift and they eventually go mad. It’s beyond time for Ben to accept that other side of himself.”

Conn crossed his arms as we talked. “Apart from trying to intimidate and show off his strength, what else can Ben do as his beast?”

“I have no idea. And I don’t think Ben knows either. I realize training Ben isn’t in yer job description, but it’s in mine, Conn. And worrying about him is a waste of everyone’s time, even his witch-wife’s. In between actual jobs, I see no reason we can’t do something about the situation.”

“What if Ben doesn’t want training?”

“Then we’ll get the Shadow Breakers to put trackers in him so we can rescue him after he’s kidnapped. Because, sure as we’re sitting here, that’s going to happen. Even Rasmus thinks so and he never criticizes a scientist of any kind.”

“Well, what if Ben’s wife doesn’t like the idea? She seems to have strong opinions about what he does.”

I frowned at that because he had a point. “I’m sure Felicity won’t like it. If he was my husband, I wouldn’t, either. Ben will have to talk her into it if he agrees.”

Ben snickered. “Or you will.”

My mouth quirked. I had gotten no warm and fuzzy vibes from the Caribbean witch Ben had married. I also wasn’t looking forward to having her around if she and Ben said yes to my offer to stay with us. Despite my desire to help them, my already complicated life was challenging enough.

Conn chuckled as he stared at me. “You’re wearing your most serious look. The last time I saw it, you were forcing your daughter to go to Ireland.”