Page 37 of Lunar Desires (Celestial Magic #2)

RILEY

R ight hook.

Left hook.

Uppercut.

Take that, punching bag!

Who knew I’d take to boxing so easily. I liked how it got my heart pumping, my body sweating, and put my mind on pause. Nothing but the pow, pow, pow, and the releasing of building tension.

Fae woman.

Dead uncle.

Dad.

Growing dangers.

Every punch helped keep them from freaking me out to the point of overwhelming.

“Doing good there, sir,” April encouraged.

Isaac and I had been training in the gym with the siblings for the past hour. I felt energized, ready to take on the next slice of crappy cake.

Considering I ran on five hours sleep, I was pretty spry at seven in the morning.

My brother hit the treadmill hard, practically sprinting. He looked over while I took a pause, giving the okay sign.

Aaron worked the skipping rope, while Alice pumped weights—the most ripped of the Brambles—while April supervised the session today.

Alice enjoyed hitting the gym the most, while April’s passion was for cars and cooking.

Aaron would rather be gaming or solving some mathematical problem while snacking on crumpets.

But put them together, and they were the best collective trainers you could ask for.

Always on your side, totally loyal to this house, and all skilled in combat.

I pummeled the boxing bag some more.

As glad as I was to hear of Uncle Jonathon’s demise, I’d have liked to be the one scratching a line through his name, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

Sometimes the darkness was just darkness. Human hatred I couldn’t bleach out now I’d let it in.

Oh well. I guess sometimes I just had to embrace hate. Because some arseholes didn’t deserve anything less.

I slammed another punch into the bag.

We were still clueless, though. Still one step behind. Targets rather than equals. The Kingwoods on one side, this fae woman on the other, and whole load of mystery in the middle about my dad.

I jabbed at the bag, hopping from foot to foot, working out my frustrations.

Wishing for clues wouldn’t help, but getting out there would.

We were scheduled to patrol later, being part of the hunt for the Kingwoods before they made good on their threat against Coldharbour.

And possibly take down shades with our new abilities.

Good. I’d rather be outside than stuck inside twiddling my thumbs.

After the physical training, the siblings left me and Isaac to flex our powers. I pushed and pulled boxes and weights around the gym under the blaze of Isaac’s sunlight.

“How are you this morning?” I finally got to ask him.

“About the same.” He shut down his sunshine. “You?”

“Pissed off. Smitten.”

“Smitten? Do tell, even though it’s painted all over your face.”

“It is?”

He rolled his shoulders. “Please. You’ve got that ‘I’ve just been bent in half’ afterglow about you.”

I giggled. “Well, no bending in half as such. But we’re officially boyfriends now.”

He beamed at me. “Utterly adorable, little brother. I’m so happy for you.” He picked up a towel, wiping his sweaty hair. “So, everything’s good between you?”

I divulged all the details.

“I love that,” he answered. “And why not just go for it? You know your own mind. Both of you. Go with it. Enjoy it. Keep making me jealous.” He laughed.

“Kidding. Sort of. I am jealous, but also happy for you.” Tossing the towel onto the workout bench, he stretched.

“I’ve never been lucky in the love department.

Sex, yes. I found the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.

” He cracked his neck. “And I’m not complaining.

I love sex. It’d just be nice to have a guy stick around for a while, you know? ”

Sadness glimmered in his eyes.

“You’ve never had a boyfriend?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Well, I did for a few months. You might have heard of him. Tony Gilbert. A US soap actor.”

“No. Sorry.”

He laughed. “Consider yourself lucky to have never been subjected to The Sands of Love . Anyway, two weeks of shagging and a few dates quickly fizzled out when he told me he felt stifled.” He rolled his eyes.

“By what, I don’t know. I’m not a clingy person.

I think he found someone else. Well, fuck him and his nipple clamps. ”

Laughter came thick and fast, taking me out. Uncontrollable, one of those moments when you couldn’t break the giggle spell.

By the end of it, we were both on the floor having totally lost it, tears streaming down our faces.

What a fabulous feeling. A release like no other.

Spent, laying on our backs, our crowns touching, Isaac said, “Are you calling your mum today about visiting her?”

The mood shifted from happy to ugh. “Yeah. I’ve asked Drake to come with me if she agrees. Do the introducing the boyfriend thing, then work in…” I hesitated.

“The Dad thing,” he finished for me, sitting up. “I did think about going with you, but that might be too much.”

I had to be sure about Mum. The fae woman using my dad’s image might be a thing, but I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions.

Ugh. Things were so complicated.

I stayed on my back. “You can come if you like.”

“No. I’m good.” He got to his feet. “I’ll hit the shower.”

“Do you want to talk?”

“Not right now.” He appeared above me. “Thanks, though. Appreciate it.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Still processing.”

“With you on that one.”

He nodded. “Anyway, see you at brekkie.”

With that, he left.

I remained in the same position for a good ten minutes until my stomach grumbled. Erin promised us one of her famous full English breakfasts. Bacon, sausage, fried eggs, hashbrowns, fried bread, tomatoes, the works.

Just no black pudding for me.

Yuck.

God, I was more than ready to fill my boots with hearty grub.

Breakfast came with a side of an incredibly beautiful man from Singapore.

Wow. Those dark eyes were like glossy obsidian orbs, paired with a stunning tawny beige face dusted with artful stubble. His black hair was so perfectly swept back it gave my brother’s immaculate tresses a run for their money.

Dean Tseng sipped his black coffee, sat beside a stony-faced Jake, who was directly opposite me, doing his best to hide the tension between them.

My nosey side would love to know what’d gone down between them.

“Thank you so much for having me,” he said, exuding polite sophistication.

“Thank you for coming,” Erin answered, sat at the head of the table. “So, you can definitely repair the solar diamond for us?”

“Yes. It will take me a day, but not a problem.”

Dean’s fae magic fixed things, which Aaron loved. He’d already cemented himself to his side, insisting on following each step once he got to work.

Dean didn’t mind.

“It’s so cool having another fae under this roof,” the Bramble brother said, holding a heavily buttered crumpet close to his lips. “If only for a day.”

“What’s wrong with us?” Alice countered, incensed.

Uh-oh. Pissed off big sister alert.

Rather than answer, Aaron stuffed the dripping crumpet in his mouth.

Alice grunted, April chuckled.

Dean smiled, glancing at Jake. For a moment, their eyes met, only for Jake to look away first, scowling.

“So, how are you all feeling about the patrol later?” the witchcop asked, stabbing aggressively at a sausage.

A euphemism for how he felt about his fae ex?

“Pretty good,” Isaac answered. He glanced at Ollie, who’d be joining us on his first official gig as a witchcop. He was due to leave for the High Coven’s Coldharbour HQ later for initiation, then he’d meet us in the field.

Erin’s son poked at his scrambled eggs with a fork.

“Nervous,” my brother added.

Jake nodded, shuffling in his seat. “I get it. But there will plenty of backup around. Including me and this bloke.” He pointed at Ollie. “He’s a top tier witchcop already.”

“Thanks, dude,” Ollie replied, his eyes darting to Isaac. “Can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Erin sighed. “My baby boy is all grown up.”

“I’m twenty-four, Mum.”

She pouted. “You never stop being a mother. Or a worry wart. How is the food?”

“Wonderful,” Dean answered. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Wait until you try Riley’s cookies,” Aaron pointed out.

Ugh. Why put me in the spotlight?

“If you like cookies,” I responded.

“I love them,” Dean said, turning to his ex. “Remember the place in Camden we used to frequent?”

Jake faced him, paling. Shocked. “I… Why are you bringing it up?”

“Because it’s cookie-related.”

Jake cocked his head. “White chocolate and pistachio were the best.”

Dean’s smile made Jake’s lips twitch. “Absolutely.”

Was that a little twinkle in Jake’s singular blue eye?

The fae leaned closer to him, the pair of them falling into their own world. “I’m sorry for what happened.”

Jake blinked, his lips parting, releasing a trembling breath. A softness passed over his face, revealing clear affection for the man before him.

Dean took his hand. “Can we talk later? It’s been too long and?—”

Jake snatched his hand away, the softness vanquished by a furious scowl. “Don’t touch me.” He looked around the room. “This ain’t the time or place. Eat your food. Fix the diamond.” He pushed his chair back, standing. “Excuse me.” He walked off.

Once Jake left the dining room, Dean dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “I apologize for causing a scene.”

April guffawed. “This house has seen plenty of scenes, don’t worry about it. You alright?”

He steepled his fingers before his face, his eyes on the table—so elegantly laid by Erin. Like something out of a high-class restaurant. Lots of white and gold. Super clean and gleaming. I panicked over getting brown sauce on the linen tablecloth.

“I shouldn’t bring this up here,” he said. “It’s just, I haven’t seen him in a whole year. Since the…” He sighed, stopping himself from elaborating. “I miss him so much.”

Jake returned, taking his seat.

Neither man said another word, so Erin moved the subject onto the Rainbow Stones and the fae woman.

Aaron chimed in with some information. “I’ve emailed a request to Winter Palace for an audience with the Winter Queen. I mentioned the stones. We’ll see if it gets her attention.”

“How would we get there?” Alice inquired.

Aaron pushed his glasses up his nose. “Hopefully we can chat by video call.”

“Her Majesty is notoriously closed off about what lies beyond the wall,” Dean contributed.

“And you have no idea who this woman might be?” Jake asked him in a surprisingly soft tone, considering their wobble a moment ago.

“No. Nothing. Whoever she is, the queen doesn’t want anyone to know about her.”

“Then Drake is our only connection right now,” Erin said.

I gave Drake’s thigh a squeeze. This damn creature wouldn’t be harming a single scrumptious hair on his head. Unless she wanted me to peel her face from her skull.

Warranted bloodlust, there.

“I don’t like the idea of you visiting her,” Erin directed at my boyfriend. “How she can pull you to Blue Orchard is troubling to say the least. Still, we must do what we can to get answers. If she is the ultimate threat, then we must know who she is.”

“There might be a spell to help,” Jake said. “It allows you to connect to someone’s mind and share in their inner experience. A new spell, like glamouring.”

“That would be wonderful,” Erin replied.

“Let me see if I can get it for you.”

A good plan. A spell like that would be a massive help.

Anything to keep my man safe.

“With all this shit, Stefan needs to pull his head out of his arse,” Jake threw in with a huff. “He gets on my fucking last nerve.”

“I’ll cheers to that.” Isaac lifted his cup of tea.

The two men clinked their crockery.

Hey, at least it wasn’t Sunday.

Yet.

“Hello?” Mum answered her landline.

Hi! It’s your adopted son. “It’s me.”

“Hello, you. Good to hear your voice.”

What did you do to Dad? “Are you free anytime this week? I was going to see if I could come over one evening.”

“Finally! How about Thursday? I’ll make salmon en cro?te.”

Which she may throw across the room the moment I mentioned Dad. “Sounds great. Erm…” Crap. Deep breaths, keep things cool. “Is it okay to bring someone?”

A brief pause. “What kind of someone? A boyfriend?”

Why the damn bashfulness creeping up my neck? Ugh. “Yeah. His name’s Drake.”

“Oh, sweetie. That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to meet him. Does he like salmon en cro?te?”

Considering we were sitting on the bed together, I asked him.

He did. Thank God.

Mum was relieved. Being one of her signature dishes she made from scratch, she loved to show it off whenever possible.

Not your mum…

“I’m so happy, Riley,” she said. “ How about seven on Thursday?”

“Sounds great.”

“I can’t wait to tell Peter.” She chuckled with delight. “ You’ve brightened my day. I was in such a bad mood earlier.”

No change there, then . “Happy to have helped.”

“As much as I want to question you on this new man of yours, I’ll wait to see him in the flesh.”

“Cool.”

“Are you keeping well?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“You sound tired.”

“I am a bit.”

“Make sure you get some rest. When are you back to work?”

I’d have to give my notice soon.

Damn.

“Soon, I think,” I answered.

“Great. Well, I’d better go. See you on Thursday. Thanks for your call.”

“Bye, Mum.”

“Bye, son.” She hung up.

I dropped the phone, tearing into the bathroom to vomit. It came on so suddenly, so violently, I almost didn’t make it in time.

“Riley!”

Drake followed me in, crouching with me, rubbing my back, doing his best to make me feel better.

I coughed, acid burning my throat. “Crap…”

“What happened?”

I got up, rinsed my mouth, and gathered my composure. “I don’t want to have this conversation with her. Part of me would rather keep the truth hidden. To spare us the drama.” I rubbed my tender belly. “Wishful thinking at its finest.”

He pulled me into a hug. “I’ll be right by your side.”

It meant the world to me. No, the universe. With one sentence, he eased the pressure, making this journey a little less frantic.

From there, the rest of the morning passed without incident. Dean went off with Aaron to the basement spell room to repair the solar diamond, and I took a nap with Drake. Snug as a bug in a rug in his arms, riding the calm before the inevitable storm.