Page 33 of Wooing the Wiccan
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Raðulfr
Eoin isquiet as he drives the car toward Jared’s house. The only reason we’re even in the car is because I thought I’d be going back to Jared’s with him tonight, and I wanted to drive us both. The car mostly stays parked in its very expensive space under the condo building, since all the elves on my security team are portal-capable, and that’s how I usually travel. I did make a point of learning to drive soon after we migrated, though, so I wouldn’t need to be dependent on others if I wanted to get around.
Am I really thinking about the car and driving right now?
“That didn’t go well,” Eoin says, finally breaking the silence, and I slide him a sideways glance.
“No. It didn’t.”
“I apologize for making it worse.”
I resist the instinctive urge to snap at him, and let that energy out in a sigh instead. “I don’t think anything could have made it better.” Though it might have helped if he hadn’t deliberately riled Jared. “I don’t really know what to do now.”
“What do you mean? You tell him the truth, like you said you would. He knows now—the law allows you to explain.”
I know that. As soon as things between us became more intense, I made sure to read the exact wording of that law. And then I read it again… and again… and again. I have it memorized now. Jared found out about the community by accident—mostly—and so I, as a member of the community he knows well, have the right and responsibility to make sure he understands how imperative it is to keep the secret. In doing so, I’m free to give him any information that is available to the general community. If I don’t want to be the one to have this conversation with him, I’m legally obliged to call CSG, where there’s a team dedicated to this.
It's all clearly spelled out and very straightforward. Especially the part specifying that if Jared reacts badly to this information, if he refuses to keep the secret or attempts to harm me or any other community member, I must call enforcement. They also have a team dedicated to dealing with this situation, and when they’re finished, Jared will have no memory of me, what happened tonight, and, most likely, his ability to use magic.
I don’t want to have to do that to him. I don’t want to lose him, but if he decides he’s not ready for an interspecies relationship, I can learn to cope. His magic, on the other hand… I’ve seen firsthand how much joy it brings him to feel that connection with the world. He would still be able to practice Wicca without it, but it would take something from him that he doesn’t deserve to lose.
I can only hope that things don’t go that way.
Instead of telling Eoin all of that, I reply, “Yes, but what if he doesn’t want me when he knows the truth?”
“He will.” The reply comes fast enough to be gratifying. “You’re still the same person, and he doesn’t strike me as being bigoted. It shouldn’t matter.”
“The lies, though… What if he can’t get past that?”
Eoin hesitates, then says, “Once he knows why you lied, surely he’ll understand. Your reasons aren’t frivolous—there are literally millions of lives at stake.”
I shrug and return to staring out the windshield. “I’m sure he’ll understand, but that doesn’t mean he’ll trust again.” There are too many variables to be certain of that.
The life force swirls comfortingly around me, as if assuring me everything’s going to be okay, but I know just as well as it does that every being’s free will is out of its control.
Eoin turns the car onto Jared’s street, and I glance at the dash clock. Two minutes to go—right on time. I wanted to drive straight here and wait on the street outside the house, but told Eoin to drive us around to kill time instead. The last thing I need to do is make Jared feel pressured or unsafe.
Turning off the engine, Eoin turns to me. “Are you ready?”
I nod, then shake my head.
“I’d offer to come and support you, but I don’t think ignoring his wishes is going to make this go better.”
What might have been a laugh escapes me as a huff of air. “Definitely not. I can do this.” I take a deep breath and get out of the car, then force myself to maintain a steady pace as I walk up to the front door and ring the bell.
He makes me wait on the doorstep for long enough that I begin to think he might not let me in, but then finally he opens the door. He hasn’t changed his clothes, hasn’t made himself more comfortable, but he has added a bracelet of black stones, and there’s a bowl of dried herbs on the console table where he leaves his keys. I sniff—rosemary, sage, and lavender, I think. He’s talked before about the role herbs play in Wicca, and I strongly suspect that these are aimed at me.
That hurts. I don’t know what this combination is supposed to do, but the fact that he feels the need to use them is painful.
“I guess you’d better come in.” There’s no welcome in his tone, and he looks past me to the car at the curb. “Eoin decided to stay in plain sight, did he?”
Ignoring the mocking edge, I step inside and toe off my shoes as I have so many times before. “Yes. Would you be more comfortable if someone else came to replace him?” Eoin’s the one on shift, but given the circumstances, I’m sure someone else on the team wouldn’t mind.
Jared scoffs. “No, thanks. Better the devil I know, right?”
Not the best start.
