Page 18 of Wine & Warlocks

“I swear, Ronan O’Connor, if you don’t hold yourwhist, I’m going to—”

Dropping a hard kiss on her lips, he followed it with a light smack on her arse. “Don’t be threatening me with a grand ol’ time, Dubheasa O’Malley. We’ve got company.”

“I feel like I should leave the two of you to your violent foreplay,” Trevor said dryly.

“We’ll have our entire lives and then some to hash all this out.” Ronan stared down at Dubheasa’s flaming face and smiled without humor. “Or we will if me darlin’ Dove accepts the role of mate and Guardian, but in response to your suggestion, Blane” —Ronan’s gaze bore into hers to make his point— “I’ll not be going behind Dubheasa’s back or excludin’ her from the planning process, all the same. She’ll fight by my side if she’s of a mind to.”

The softening of her expression and the gratitude in her eyes made Ronan feel like he’d finally done something correct where she was concerned. But she wouldn’t like his next words.

“Dove, you’ll not want to be hearing this, to be sure, but our friend here made a valid point. You’re still a novice when it comes to your abilities. And for sure, you’ll put yourself at risk if you join this war against Loman.”

“I thought you wanted my help to locate him?” She looked adorably confused.

“Aye. But I’d be happier if you did it behind the scenes, I would.”

As she took the time to think it over, her focus shifted between him and Trevor. Finally, she nodded. “I promise I won’t purposely put myself in harm’s way. But you both need to train my family as best you can in the interim. Should Loman come after them again, I want my siblings and nephew to be safe.”

“Sure, and you need to know I’ll lay my worthless life down for all of you, Dove. I’ll be after training you as time allows, and Ruairí will help.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ronan yawned, kicked off his boots, and flopped back on the bed, tucking an arm under his head. “Tell us the other reason you’re here, man.”

Trevor waited until Dubheasa perched on the edge of the mattress, then took the chair in the corner. “I think we need backup for whatever plan Damian Dethridge has knocking around that devious mind of his.”

“You don’t trust him?” His words came out harsh, but one thing Ronan didn’t care for was someone questioning his friend’s integrity.

“What?No!Of course, I do. I meant for your father, should he outsmart us. We need a fail-safe.”

“Oh, aye. And we’ll have that, to be sure.”

“Do tell,” Trevor said.

Dubheasa glanced over her shoulder, a questioning expression on her face.

With a tired sigh, Ronan rolled to a sitting position. “As Damian said before, we’ll have Fintan Sullivan and my uncle. With Castor comes other key players like his son Quentin, Alastair Thorne, and Knox Carlyle. Those three men are the most powerful of our kind, excluding you, Damian, and me.”

“I’ve met a few of them. And yes, while I agree they are formidable, they can be defeated. We need the undefeatable.”

“Then who and what are you suggesting?” Dubheasa asked quietly.

Ronan recognized it as her thoughtful voice. Only when her mind was going at a mile per minute did she grow silent.

“There are others. Another Guardian, like Ronan,” Trevor told her.

Surprised to hear of another, when he’d been told only a single Guardian couple existed at a time, Ronan demanded details, and Trevor was happy to respond.

“There is a group called the Authority, higher than the Witches’ Council. They are the ultimate overseers of humans, both magical and mortal alike. The table is comprised of the Fates and a handful of gods and goddesses, along with a few retired Sentinels. They rule with an iron fist.”

Ronan shared a disbelieving look with Dubheasa, then asked Trevor, “How is it we’ve never heard of them before?”

“They like to remain mysterious.” He muffled a yawn and rubbed the back of his neck before he continued. “I work for the Authority. Have for quite a few years, as has my father and his father before me. They’re after Damian, in that they want him to answer to them.”

“And so far, he’s been reticent,” Ronan concluded with a nod. “Is that why you’re here now, then? As a gift from the Authority to tempt him?”

“Yes and no. I’m on loan, it’s true, but they know I’m not temptation enough to draw him into the fold. However, they also know he’ll do anything to keep his daughter safe, and someday they’ll exploit that fact. If they haven’t already.”

“So I’m assuming this Authority has the best and brightest working for them, yeah?” Dubheasa asked.

---