Page 75 of Under a Wicked Moon
Ky’s stomach twisted to the point he felt it contract and threaten to vomit.
“It’s Roman and one of his brothers.” Nova eyed Ky. “I’m Nova.”
“I gathered that,” Ky said. “Good to meet you, ma’am. I’m Ky. You’ve made a difference in Roman that we’ve all noticed.”
“You’re polite. That’s…well, it’s unexpected, since Roman tosses the f-bombs around like candy. Good to meet you.” She lowered her voice. “She won’t remember. She’s still confused about a lot of things.”
His stomach bottomed out. He’d hoped she would remember him. Hoarsely, he forced out, “I know.”
“Shoot them if they didn’t bring the chocolates,” Vivi called out. Her voice soaked into him.
“Roman’s distracting me,” Nova called back. “You know how relentless he can be when we’ve been apart for what, a half hour?”
Roman planted a kiss on her lips. She tucked the Glock into a holster beneath her shirt. Full respect for her. She was a fighter. “You have the chocolates?”
Roman held up a small paper bag.
His breath caught when he looked inside the adjoining bedroom.
Vivi sat on a small sofa surrounded by cut briars with withered leaves. A pile of miniature constructed briar crowns lay next to her. She pushed her long, silky, dark hair behind an ear to glance up, which accentuated the heart shape of her face. Everything about her seemed light and peaceful.
She stared at him in an absorbing way until her forehead crinkled.
He drank in the sight of her. He loved her. He knew it down tohis gut. Nothing about that was going to change.
He wanted to know this new her.
He rubbed the back of his neck, waiting for the introduction she needed.
“What’s she doing with all those Barbie crowns?” Roman whispered to Nova.
Nova shook her head and scrunched up her lips. “She’s making crowns for the fairies, since they’re celebrating…what’d you say it was, Vivi?”
“It’s a festival to celebrate their prince’s marriage. They need chocolate.” Her gaze wandered over Ky’s chest as if trying to study the definition of his muscles beneath the shirt. But before she spent too much time staring, she snapped her eyes up to his and smiled bashfully. Her “caught” look was new. And adorable. He liked this more vulnerable Vivi. Made sense, since she’d reset to a time before she had the trauma of imprisonment.
“You talked to fairies?” Roman asked, skepticism rich in his tone.
“The will-o’-the-wisps told me they needed the crowns and chocolate. They’ll show me where to leave them. It’s supposed to be good luck to contribute to the festival. Figured we could use some luck.”
“Were they the blue ones or the yellow ones?” Ky asked.
Roman craned back to grant him a double eyebrow raise.
“The blue.” Vivi’s smile widened.
“What?” Ky shrugged at Roman. “Whenever we visit Scotland, they talk to me. Don’t they talk to you? It’s why I like to take walks. I enjoy the sense of…” He felt his face heat and softly added, “Marvel. It comes from seeing them and the wisdom they give freely.”
“I get that,” Vivi said. “They are miraculous.”
Roman said, “I thought the walks were an excuse for you to disappear. You get cranky if you don’t get your alone time.”
“If you can find some relatively untouched areas in these parts, you’ll see them.”
Roman shook his head. “Those puffs of light aren’t magical. They’re the result of swamp gas leaking.”
“You believe in ghosts, necromancers, witches, and all kinds of magical entities. You pull magical spells out of your ass at random, but mention a will-o’-the-wisp and you go all scientific?” He addressed Vivi. “I’m Ky, Roman’s brother. I don’t think you’re crazy.”
“Vivi. Nova’s sister.” A blush spread over her cheeks and across her nose, which had new freckles. Because she’d been outside. There was more of a glow to her skin from recent sun exposure. That made sense for her to love the outdoors, which was her element. Why wouldn’t she commune with fairies?
