Page 105 of Sidhe
Nathan sunk back against Sasha gladly. “I definitely prefer you alive and kicking. And I preferyou. Nobody else compares.”
“Right back atcha,” Sasha said.
“Good. I’ll have to go out there eventually, huh?”
“Yep.”
“And talk to everyone.”
“Yep.”
“And…lead the army against the apocalypse.”
Sasha laughed, the sound being by far one of the more glorious things Nathan had the pleasure of hearing in his life. “Yep, that you will.” Sasha hugged Nathan tight, almost too tight, and Nathan knew it was entirely intentional.
He almost missed not being able to feel Sasha’s emotions, that connectedness he’d had while he was an incubus, but then he realized he stillcouldfeel Sasha, in his own way, because they would always be connected. And now, one day when all of this was over, Sasha could initiate him. Sashacould. That made all the difference.
“Nathan…” Sasha whispered, his face pressing to Nathan’s, still holding him in that backwards, intimate hug on the bed, “thank you for this, for what you did. Not because it worked out, and I’m here, but because…because I knew you could do it, Nate, I knew it, you just had to believe finally that you could make the right choice. I know this doesn’t fix everything. It doesn’t make up for Iain, and so much else that Malak’s done, but I am so proud of you.”
A jolt ran down Nathan’s spine at those words, and he felt his breath hitch.
“Nathan?”
“I…I’m good, just…” Nathan closed his eyes, willing the tears away; he didn’t have time for tears. “I’m great. Coz things are gonna get pretty hairy from here,” he opened his eyes again, “but Malak is not going to win.”
Chapter 37
Afterasomewhatforcedand awkward—as far as Nathan was concerned—gathering of everyone, which had him a little wary of knives flying toward his head again, the masses were assuaged enough to go about their business and let Nathan have a few minutes to breathe. He just wanted two minutes to jump through the shower and wake himself up. He was still feeling a little sluggish being human again, not that he was about to complain.
He had habitually left the main door open a crack as he walked through his and Sasha’s room to fish out a clean outfit from his duffle, really looking forward to that shower, when he heard someone enter and shut the ajar door.
“Hey, babe, figured you’d join me?” Nathan said as he turned around, only to be met by the sobering sight of someoneotherthan Sasha. Nathan dropped his armful of clothes and grabbed the gun off the nightstand, aiming it swiftly atDanny, Ula’s shapeshifter friend.
“Was that an offer, coz I don’t think you’re quite my type, Nathan,” Danny grinned.
“Please tell me you’re not another god damn enemy in disguise,” Nathan grit out.
“Me? Oh no,” he said as he walked confidently into the room, nonplussed by having a gun pointed at him, apparently. “I just figured this was a good way to keep an eye on how mygiftturned out for you. Not too shabby, huh?” He winked and, in that same moment, shifted, but not the way a shapeshifter normally would, ripping off skin for a new form; he shifted the way Sasha shifted between human and incubus until the man Nathan was looking at wasn’t Danny anymore butPuck.
Nathan dropped the gun. “You gotta be fucking kidding me. How? Jim looked right at you and said he saw a shapeshifter.”
“Please,” Puck huffed, “you think I can’t fool a changeling’s senses? Give me more credit than that.”
“So…what? Were you just pretending to be this Danny guy or did Ula make the wrong kinda friend way back when?”
Puck continued to grin as he stood before Nathan, utterly at ease. “Don’t blame Ula. She’s a sweet girl. Figured she could use the camaraderie. You remember she got caught up with that family in Maine because seals and others of her kind were after her, right? Well,” his grin went crooked as he looked to the side, “they were all being such poor sports, I figured they could use a goodlesson. How do you think she managed to remain undetected for so long?”
Nathan couldn’t rightly be angry if Puck was being honest; Ula deserved the rescue. “Fine, fine, so you’re an upstanding guy when you feel like it. But now you’re trying to boast about that gift of yours like you’re the reason things turned out okay? Switching me and Sasha almost cost us everything.”
“And yet,” Puck paced the room, clearly pleased with himself, “here you are now, human like they need you to be, actuallyconfident for a change, Sasha’s out of his deal, and all your followerswantto follow you. I see why you’re angry with me, Nathan.”
Every comeback that sprang to mind went dry on Nathan’s tongue. “You…planned all that?” he asked skeptically.
Puck leaned against the wall by the closet, leaving the bed between them. “Amazing really how the simplest things can help a man see what he’s worth. I told you I didn’t want to see this world fall to Malak and I meant it, but you were bound to screw it all up, kiddo, going about it as you were. Now you know better. Now you know you can do this. And ya know,” he smirked a little, “I’m happy to stick around as Danny if you want the extra help. Their royal pains in my highness will expect me to anyway.”
Nathan knew it would be stupid to hold grudges right now. He didn’t really have any ill feelings toward Puck, though he doubted the guy would ever be honest from the get-go aboutanything.
“You wanna help,” Nathan said, “I’m not gonna tell you to leave.”
