“Lady Raina, you know Fermac was only trying to protect you.”

“Could someone tell the son of Lugh I don't give a shit?”

Saxon smirked, looking at me. “Apparently she's decided not to speak directly to me or use my given name. Which wounds me greatly as we used to be the best of friends.”

If he wasn't fae I wouldn't have believed him. Wait …

“Did you say the son of Lugh?” I asked Raina.

“I did. And before you ask, yes, the god of the sun is Saxon's father.”

My eyes rounded. “You're a god?”

“The son of one,” he said nonchalantly. “My mother was half fae, half human. Fermac, get your ass over here.”

I had so many questions, but now wasn't the time.

The dog, if he could even be called such a thing, trotted over to Nox who patted his head affectionately. Then he bumped his head against my thigh, something he had to lower his head to do.

“He won't bite you,” Nox assured.

Warily, I looked down at Fermac. His irises had faded to a champagne gold with fractures of navy. His short fur was a mosaic of various-sized patches of white, black, and blue-grey.

He licked my hand and left his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. It made Fermac look like a two-hundred pound puppy.

“Is he making sad eyes on purpose?” I asked incredulously, more curious than afraid.

“Yes,” Saxon answered on his way over to Raina. He held out his hand. “Apologies for his behavior. He was told to protect you and he takes such orders very seriously.”

Raina took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “I know. But he's stayed within inches of me the entire time. I think he has codependency issues. But thank you, anyway.”

He inclined his head then retreated, saying, “We'll leave you to it. Door open or closed, Nox?”

“Closed.”

The odd pair exited and left us to speak with Raina. I hoped she would agree to Nox's offer.

“Are you sure we need to keep her in there?” I asked on our way back up to the main level.

“It's only for another hour or so, until Lorne can gather her things. Plus Saxon removed the nullifying glyphs. It's best to keep her out of sight until she departs. The wounds are too fresh from yesterday.”

Nox was right. Raina could handle herself but I didn't want her to be forced into any situation where she would have to defend herself. Though, ensuring she wouldn't run into Liam was for the best.

Luckily, she'd accepted the offer.

I was giving her my cottage in Greenhollow to live in. It wasn’t much, but it was far away from all the drama and she could have time to herself before figuring out what came next.

Raina wasn't ready to return to Snowfall Manor, her family’s estate. Nox didn't think it was safe there and Raina had agreed.

Most likely, there were other conspirators still alive. He wanted to thoroughly search the mansion and the grounds, which would take time.

He offered to clear out the property and ward it while Raina was in Greenhollow. He told her she could return to her home whenever she was ready.

Raina told him to burn it to the ground. Taken aback, he decided to simply hold the property for the time being.

I wondered if she’d have burned it herself if I’d mentioned some of what I’d picked up from Portia.

The bitch was dead and would never hurt Raina again, so Nox and I decided it would be best to not twist the knife already planted in her heart. Her parents had hurt her enough already.