Page 93 of Her Irish Treasures
“Three wishes for a single gold coin. What did I ask for, leprechaun?”
Warwick’s face twisted into a miserable grimace of shame. “I could not lift a hand or weapon, magical or mundane, against you. I was forbidden from searching for the treasurekeeper. I could not say your true name or any identifying information to anyone, on this plane of existence or beyond.”
Jonathan clapped his hands again, this time with a giddy, excited happiness that twisted in my stomach like a rusty knife. “Oh yes. So much fun. I enjoyed watching you stew and fret around the city, almost as much as I enjoyed watching the Slaughterer drink himself into a coma. Knowing that he refused to even lift a finger to help you only made it sweeter.”
He’d been watching me this whole time, even though I’d left him. My nape prickled with unease, imagining him trailing me on the dark, abandoned street to the diner. Or watching me stumble intoShamrockedthat first night. Aidan had been there. He’d known who I was and had ignored me.
Jonathan knew that he’d refused to help me.
I’d thought I was free of him. Especially after the divorce finally went through. I’d thought I would have a new beginning. A new life where I’d never spend another moment thinking about my ex-husband. I’d never even see him again.
Meanwhile, he’d been listening and spying on me this whole time. Waiting for me to fall into his trap.
I couldn’t even kill the bastard because he was immortal.
I inched my hand down into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around Warwick’s coin.
“Ah.” Jonathan licked his lips, making me shudder with revulsion. “So many emotions just flickered across your face, honeybun. Rage, despair, hatred, and now, resignation. You’ll never be free of me. All of this magic and power at your fingertips, yet the treasures are helpless to save you. They’re not the saving kind, darling girl. They’re meant for war and killing, death and destruction. Come with me and escape the brutal death that awaits you if you remain as their treasurekeeper. You might think my techniques are cruel and unjust, but I assure you that I’m kind compared to what Evil Eye will do to you. I’ll have no need to feed on you to sustain myself in Faerie. I’ll be much gentler than he will ever be.”
Lies. I could see the hunger lurking in his eyes. Not for my body, though yes, I would suffer pain and humiliation and degradation again. He wanted my pain. No, it was more than that. He wanted to experience the complete range of human emotions, playing me like a delicate instrument that he could enjoy at his leisure. Pain was just the appetizer.
“Be nice,” he warned softly. “And I’ll reward you by not taking your friend too.”
Vivi stiffened against me. He must have done something to her because it wasn’t like her to remain silent. He must have really hated that salt, or her words. Or both. Which gave me hope that my plan would actually work.
Dropping my gaze to the ground, I let my shoulders sag and I gave him a faint nod. “I’ll do what you want. Just don’t hurt her. She’s not a part of this.”
A deep, rumbling roar rolled up through the soles of my feet, vibrating through my body.
“Noooooooooo.” Doran’s howl of agony echoed like he was a million miles away.
I gently untangled myself from Vivi’s arms, turning to see her face. Her eyes rolled frantically, her mouth working, though no sounds came out of her throat. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Her throat strained, her lips tight and pale as she tried to speak. I touched her cheek lightly and turned to Warwick. His jaw flexed, muscles flinching across his cheek. His eyes were dark pits of desperate rage. The eyes of a wounded animal unable to escape.
I leaned up to brush my lips against his. “I have only one regret.”
“Only one?” His voice broke but his mouth softened beneath mine, his lips trembling.
“You were supposed to leave green sparkles on me.”
A choked laugh escaped his throat, and he pressed his forehead to mine. “The sparkles be on the inside, love.”
“Remember your oath, Greenshanks,” Jonathan warned.
Warwick jerked his head up, his mouth twisted into a snarl. “A leprechaun’s oath on his gold is unbreakable.”
“Good.” His eyes flared at my words, and he jerked his gaze back to mine. I shoved the gold coin into his hand. “I want my three wishes.”
29
Isensed movement behind me, as if he only now had realized that I, too, had a piece of Warwick’s gold on my person.
“Eochu Bres!” I shouted. “High King of Maige Tuired, Pillars on the Plain. Names have power, changeling, and I know your name. You cannot hurt me.”
“Well done,mo stór.”Warwick drawled out in a sinister voice that made me shiver. “She’s invoked me gold. I’m powerless to object.”
The ground rumbled and rocked so hard that I was afraid the roof was caving in. Stone engulfed me. Hands gripping my face, holding me tight.
