Page 2 of The Tides of March

“Hey,” Tony said, then grunted when he was pulled into a hug.

Nelson laughed as he clasped Tony’s head and patted his back. “Thank goodness, you’re alright!”

“I’m okay,” Tony chuckled faintly, slightly alarmed at Nelson’s delight. Very little excited the lowkey agent and he rarely laughed.

“It’s Tony, Nox! He’s back!” Nelson shouted over his shoulder before pulling Tony into another hug. “I am so relieved to see you, awakeandin one piece,” Nelson said and turned just as Nox raced from the study.

“Tony!” He shoved Nelson aside, tackling Tony. “You’re back!” Nox wound his arms around Tony, squeezing tight. “I’ve missed you so much. You have no idea!”

A wry snort slipped from Tony and he rolled his eyes. “Why? Got a mountain of papers that need grading?” he asked and Nox looked confused as he leaned back, his brow furrowing as his head cocked.

“No… Icanmanage those on my own, shockingly enough. I’ve been worried sick about you, though, T,” Nox said sincerely.

Nelson nodded, frowning. “We’ve all been worried about you. It’s been a rough month around here but Nox told theuniversity he sent you on a super special, secret investigative mission and he’s been covering your classes while you were away,” he explained.

“I heard. Thanks,” Tony said with a nod at Nox. He looked around the foyer and the open dining room and study, seeking any clues he had missed before. But the house looked just as you’d expect an anthropology professor’s to look, with various religious and tribal artifacts, expensive antique rugs, and heirloom furnishings. Nox had inherited the house and its contents from his parents, also anthropology professors. Like Nox, all the past MacIlwraith men had taught at Georgetown and occupied the stately townhouse.

And all had shared the same secret gift.

“What’s up? You look great but you seem…off,” Nox said as he put an arm around Tony and steered him toward the study.

“Off?” Tony considered, then nodded. “I have been off since the…attack,” he admitted but wrinkled his nose as he was guided into the study and to the sofa. He sat and nodded again when Nox pointed at the decanters across the room. “Not because of whatever that zombie kid did to me,” he said, thanking Nox when he was handed a crystal tumbler.

“Did Ronan hurt you?” Nelson asked as he came around the sofa and hunkered to a knee in front of Tony.

Tony snorted into his drink. “No. Ronanneverhurt me.” He took a slow sip, sighing at the heady, velvety fumes and the spicy burn. He had no idea what it was or where it came from, but Nox drank the most exquisite Irish whiskey. “Well… It was pretty rude, the way he yanked me out of bed this morning. Then, he shoved me off of his boat and back into the real world. But other than that, he was a total prince,” Tony said with another hard eye roll. “Decided he’d had enough of me, I guess.”

“You’re all better, though?” Nox asked as he sat next to Tony, warily lifting a hand to his brow.

“I’m fine.” Tony blocked Nox’s hand, giving him a pointed look. “I’ve grown up a lot while I was away and I’ve learned that I don’t belong here. Not the way I thought I did.”

“What do you mean? You’re my right hand and the person I trust the most if—” Nox started but Tony leaned away, widening his eyes.

“You trust me? Really?” he asked sarcastically, earning confused looks from Nox and Nelson. “Would you have told me the truth if I hadn’t been attacked or would I still be in the dark?”

“It wasn’t like that, T.” Nox took the drink and set it on the table so he could gather both of Tony’s hands in his. A wave of calm washed over Tony, making him drowsy and easing the tension in his shoulders. “I told you before, Ibarelyunderstood it myself. But mostly, I was protecting you and shielding you from…so many horrors.”

“You mean like Walt and those girls?” Tony countered, his bitterness piercing the enchanting calm Nox had created.

“I’m so sorry,” Nox whispered soothingly, his hands tightening around Tony’s as the room grew dimmer and warmer. “I did it to protect you—shield you—from the truth. Not because I didn’t trust you, but because I will always fight to protect the light that shines from you.”

Tony shook off the dreamy haze and flashed Nox a wide, facetious smile. “Not feeling very light or shiny at the moment.”

“No, you aren’t,” Nox agreed, sounding concerned. “What happened on Pooles Island with Ronan? Every time we talked, you sounded fine.”

“I was.” Tony popped to his feet, snatched his drink off the table, and went to the window behind Nox’s desk to see if the view was as cold and gloomy as he felt. It had been easier to lie and laugh it off in the cottage. “I thought I had more time before I had to come back, I guess.”

“You didn’t want to come back?” Nelson asked softly and Tony shook his head as he turned from the window.

“Come back to what?” He waved his glass at Nox. “You don’t really need me and I barely matter to the university. I bet they wouldn’t have hired me if I wasn’t your…pet, or whatever.”

Nox gasped, shaking his head as he jumped to his feet. “I might have vouched for you and pulleda fewstrings, but I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t believein you, T. You’re passionate about teaching and you’re still hungry to learn. Most professors are too smart to learn anything new.They’re so convinced they already know everything.”

“Maybe,” Tony said, shrugging. “I think it might have something to do with my people being from the Epona cult.”

“What?” Nox blinked back at him, earning a wry grin from Tony.

“Yup. I’m not a demigod or supernatural like you and Nelson and Merlin, but I’m not nothin’,” he said.

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