CHAPTER 1
“I’m nervous,” I admitted to Grandfather.
We were in a fast yacht, speeding across the Irish Sea on the way to meet Aiden... and his family.
My hair whipped around my face, a tangled cloud of reddish-auburn in the late summer sun.
Grandfather was silent for so long that I thought maybe he hadn’t heard me.
I had just opened my mouth to repeat myself when he slowed the boat down, the loud hum of the motor dulling to background noise.
“Why?” He said it simply, but the weight of the question caught me off guard.
I studied him for a long moment. He was nearing seventy, but he looked good, like a movie star from old Hollywood. He kept his silver-white hair long, tied back in a low ponytail, not a stray hair out of place. His face was weathered from a life well-lived, laugh crinkles around his eyes and mouth. He held himself proudly, one hand resting easily on the steering wheel of the yacht, completely in control despite the choppy waters. The muscles in his forearm flexed as he held it steady.
“Aiden’s grandmother,” I said at last.
“Ah.” He stroked his strong jaw with his free hand.
“I’m worried that they’ll either blame me, or else they’ll repeat the past,” I whispered.
Grandfather frowned. “If they try to force that boy to abandon his soul bond, he will always have a home with me .” He poked his chest hard. “His grandfather should know better than to repeat his father-in-law’s mistakes. He saw what it did to Bridget. Wasting away—” He cut himself off with a sharp breath. “That’s not the point. It’s not your fault that Bridget had a soul bond with a wizard instead of a beast. And it’s not your fault that she’s dead.”
“It’s not yours, either,” I said softly, taking his hand and unclenching his fist. “You tried to save her by severing your soul bond.”
A muscle jumped in his cheek. “Hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I can imagine.”
I stood silently for a moment, trying not to think about how the severing charm had ricocheted back on Bridget, and failing. Her ex-best friend had interfered with the spell, but that hadn’t been discovered until the beginning of my second year at Blackthorn Academy. Grandfather’s name had been cleared.
“If anything, they should be grateful to you for uncovering her true murderer,” Grandfather muttered, obviously thinking along the same lines as I had been.
“Her true murderers were her parents, forcing her to stay away from you,” I replied hotly.
Grandfather chuckled. “Best not to say that while you’re under that roof,” he said. “I’m sure they regret it plenty.”
I seethed for a minute before letting go of my anger.
“It turned out all right, didn’t it?” He nudged me with his hip. “Neither you, nor Aiden, would be here if it hadn’t turned out the way it did.”
“It’s hard to be grateful for my life when it meant the end of hers.”
“She made her choice,” Grandfather said softly. “We could have run away. I offered. When she said no, I found another. We were very happy together, my Nessa and I.”
My heart clenched. “I can’t imagine a life away from Aiden,” I said.
“Yours is a vastly different relationship,” Grandfather said wisely. “You’ve mated.” He made a face. “Your soul bond is more intertwined than Bridget’s and mine ever was.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said, surprised. “I guess I assumed...”
Grandfather shrugged. “It wasn’t the way things worked back then. Courting was chaperoned, even if you were soul bonded. Especially if you were soul bonded, I should say. I’m grateful. It worked out for the best.”
I couldn’t imagine being close to Aiden and not being able or allowed to climb him like a tree. I shook my head. “That must have been so hard.”
“Not that difficult,” Grandfather said with a chuckle. “We didn’t know what we were missing.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Comforting, I suppose.”
“Do you feel better about your impending visit?”
“Not if you phrase it like that!” I exclaimed.
Grandfather laughed, speeding up the engine and drowning himself out. He let out a whoop of joy as we hit a large wave and went airborne for a second.
I let myself get caught up in his mood, laughing with him and egging him on to hit bigger and bigger waves.
Eventually, I saw the shoreline of England ahead, a fire on the sandy beach sending up a cloud of black smoke.
“There we go,” Grandfather said with a smile. “Your beau is waiting for you.”
I smiled, giddy even though I couldn’t make out any people yet. I sharpened my eyesight with a quick spell, and suddenly Aiden was visible, standing next to the fire, his hands shading his eyes as he looked out over the sea.
Even though I was too far away, I waved wildly enough that Grandfather had to grip my upper arm to keep me from falling overboard.
“We’re almost there. No more than fifteen minutes,” he said, amused. “Longer if you decide to go for a swim.”
That calmed me down, and I stopped waving so that I could hold onto the grip bar next to the steering column. I kept watching Aiden through the spell, though, and saw the second he spotted us, because he started jumping up and down, waving his arms over his head like a small child.
I beamed.
“You two are perfect for each other,” Grandfather said with a chuckle.
We reached the beach without any trouble, Grandfather using a small boost of magical power to get the yacht’s nose up onto the sand.
I scrambled along the water-slick prow until I reached Aiden, and jumped into his arms. He held me close, his arms shaking at first, his kisses frantic as he pressed them all over my face. By the time he’d made the full circuit, he’d calmed down enough to take my lips gently with his own, not so long as to make Grandfather uncomfortable as a bystander.
“Will you come for dinner, Sir?” Aiden asked, releasing me from his tight hold.
“That’s very kind of you, but I don’t think Hayden or Sean want to see me,” Grandfather said dryly, referencing Aiden’s grandfather and father.
“Grand-dad issued the invitation,” Aiden said. “But he also said he didn’t think you’d take it. He said to have safe travels.”
Grandfather nodded. “Thank him for me.” He winked at me. “Have a good time. I’m only a mirror call away.”
I smiled and patted my purse, where all my belongings were stowed in their shrunken state.
Aiden raised his hand, and at Grandfather’s nod of approval, gave the boat a boost of power to get it off the sandy beach. The boat motor roared to life, and we waved until it was out of sight.
“How are you?” Aiden asked. “Cold?”
“How can I be cold next to this furnace you built?” I teased. “The crossing was great, although I’m not sure Hazel could have handled it. The water was really choppy. Grandfather says we’re due for some weather soon.” I emphasized it the way he had, implying a severe rainstorm.
“We should probably hurry in then,” Aiden said, looking up at the sky. “I don’t want to get caught in that.”
He doused the bonfire with a flick of his fingers, the temperature dropping instantly with the fresh sea breeze, and took my hand. “We’re not far.”
“I look forward to seeing your house. Are you sure there’s room for me?”
Aiden laughed. “Oh, sweetheart. You know Doyle Manor?”
I nodded. I was obviously familiar with Grandfather’s home.
“Chateau Evans is even bigger.”
I raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“You’ll see.”
We finished the hike up the edge of grassland next to the beach, and stood for a moment, catching our breath.
“One more step...”
I could feel the magical barrier before I crossed it, a tingle in the air that made me think of fizzy soda tickling my nose. I took the step as Aiden requested, and the chateau appeared, right at the edge of the beach.
I nodded, impressed. “Okay, yeah, this is bigger. But mine is on a cliff.”
Aiden chuckled. “That obviously makes it better.”
“I’m glad you agree with me,” I teased.
“My family owns everything around the castle, too. There are several miles of untouched moorland in all directions. We host many magical creatures in our forests.”
“I know you’re not bragging, but it feels a little like you are,” I said absentmindedly, tipping my head back to take in the full height of the chateau.
It was easily five stories tall, the full center part of the building a wall of windows looking out over the sea. The wing closest to us was rounded, windows interspaced evenly around it. On the far side, I could just make out the stretch of the south wing continuing on past my view. Ivy covered a good portion of the stonework, making it glow green in the last of the sunlight that was rapidly vanishing behind a thundercloud.
I glanced nervously past the castle at the sky. “I hope Grandfather makes it home okay.”
“He’s a tough old coot,” Aiden said. “He can handle a little weather. He’d probably just push it aside and fly home in that yacht to avoid the choppy waves.”
I chuckled. “You’re not wrong.”
“I was going to show you around the grounds first, but we should probably get inside.”
“There’s plenty of time to show me the outside later,” I agreed. “I’m dying to see the inside! Did you ever get lost?”
“Still do,” Aiden admitted easily. “There are underground portions that I haven’t fully explored yet.” He led me around to the other side of the castle, away from the sea.
“I find that hard to believe,” I said, shocked. “I thought you were the sort of kid who got into everything as a child!”
“Oh, I absolutely was! But I was also shipped off to boarding school the moment I was old enough.”
I frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s typical here. I made some great human friends. Once my powers manifested, I obviously was moved to magical schools.”
“Obviously,” I repeated robotically. “Aiden?”
“Hm?”
“I don’t want our future children to go to boarding school unless they want to.”
Aiden’s eyebrows rose. “I would have thought you wouldn’t want to be tied down to one location so that they could go to school.”
I waved off his words. “We’d bring them with us. A traveling homeschool. They would learn so much more with us than they would stuffed in a box.”
Aiden tilted his head, considering my words. “If that’s what you wish, then we can give it a shot. I don’t know much about children.”
“Neither do I,” I admitted. “My mother’s siblings all had kids before I was born, so all my cousins are older than I am. I think one or two of them have kids of their own, but I haven’t met them.”
The heavens opened up at that moment, drenching us in seconds. I held my hands out and laughed, letting the water run down my face and arms.
“Wow, that’s cold!” I said. “We should get in and warm up.”
Aiden hugged me tightly. “I would rather get caught in a rainstorm with you than be anywhere else.”
A flash of lightning in the distance was followed by a roll of thunder.
“I echo that sentiment, but I still would rather not be out in a lightning storm.”
“Is that where you draw the line at dangerous things?” Aiden said, pulling away. He choked, his eyes dragging over my form. “Do you ever wear a bra?”
I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t wanted to wear one that morning, the underwire cutting into my skin making me uncomfortable. I had pulled on a simple pink t-shirt and packed my bra away.
It hadn’t been an issue, until the biting cold of the rain had both rendered my shirt transparent and made my nipples tighten into hard little buds.
I should have worn a bra, comfort be damned .
I flushed. “I can’t meet your parents like this.”
“No, but I’m having a hard time trying to see the downside here,” Aiden said, cupping my breasts in his palms. He ran his thumbs over my nipples and I echoed his groan of appreciation.
“No, really.” I tried to resist my body’s urging to push into his touch. “They’re expecting me. Us. And I’m dripping wet and?—”
“Are you really?” Aiden purred, ducking his head into the crook of my neck. “Can I feel you?”
“What are you two doing out there in the storm?” shouted a voice from behind Aiden.
He groaned at the interruption.
I cast two spells in quick succession; an umbrella shield and dried my clothes, mostly hiding what we’d been up to.
Aiden dried his own clothing and took my hand. “You are a brilliant witch,” he murmured, leading me to the door of his home.
“You must be Siobhan,” the woman standing at the door said, holding out her arms.
I smiled and let her take my hands in hers. “I am.”
“This is Charlotte, our housekeeper,” Aiden said, performing introductions.
She snorted at Aiden. “I do more than that,” she admonished him.
“I’m sure you do,” I reassured her.
She kissed the air beside my cheeks in greeting. “I like this one. You’d better keep her.”
My eyebrows rose and I looked at Aiden out of the corner of my eye.
“That’s my plan,” he said calmly.
“Come, your family is waiting in the green parlor.”
“As opposed to the rose one?” he said sarcastically.
Charlotte frowned. “That would have been more appropriate, I agree.”
I shook my head, bewildered at their exchange.
Didn’t Charlotte know that we were soul bonded?
“I can take your things to your room?” Charlotte offered to me.
“Oh, no?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Aiden said smoothly. “She’ll be staying with me.”
Charlotte hummed noncommittally. “We’ll see what Master Evans says.”
I swallowed hard.
Hayden . If he doesn’t like me, it won’t matter how tight our soul bond is. He has to like me.
Aiden squeezed my hand as we walked behind Charlotte to a dark room off to the left. The only light was provided by the three fire beasts, in full shifted form.
Ah. The full intimidation.
“Aiden, how lovely to meet your friend,” his mother said, approaching us.
It took everything in me not to flinch away from her fire. I’d never been close to another fire shifter other than Aiden.
What if it hurt me because we weren’t bonded?
I sucked in a breath, bracing myself for the potential searing pain. I embraced her lightly, breathing in relief when her fire didn’t sear my skin, and following her lead with the kisses in the air beside my cheeks. It felt awkward, but I couldn’t decide if that was because I wasn’t used to the greeting or because I knew it was fake.
“Thank you for welcoming me into your beautiful home,” I said, as if this was a normal conversation. “The history here must date back centuries.”
“Chateau Evans has been in our family for almost as long as the Blackthorn Castle has been used as a school,” Hayden said.
“That’s incredible,” I murmured. “What a legacy.”
“You can understand why we would want to keep it in the family,” Hayden continued.
“Naturally. The fabric of your magic would be tied to the building. Your family is more powerful the longer it stays your home,” I said, smiling sweetly.
Silence met my statement.
Aiden, who I noticed had not shifted, squeezed my hand gently. I could feel his approval radiating off of him.
“Grandfather sends his regrets for not joining us,” I added. “He wanted to beat the storm. I’m a little concerned about him, actually. Would it be possible to take a moment to check on him?”