Page 3 of Beneath the Earth (Seven Wardens 3)

“Is there anything anyone needs?” Cam asked the room in response.

Most of them shook their heads, and murmured nos. But Macey actually stopped to consider. While she felt better rested than before, she didn’t feel completely at peace with herself. Something was definitely up.

“Waffles?” she suggested with a cheeky grin. “Or home. I think I need a swim,” she admitted hastily.

Jared gave her an appraising look, with a much more serious expression on his face than normal.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

“Just a little worn,” she replied. Maybe she should have worried about being so honest in front of people she barely knew. Rónán was still a complete mystery, and she hardly knew Izban beyond the fact he hadn’t liked her at first. Technically, she barely knew Amber either, but somehow their imprisonment superseded that.

“Maybe Cam can try and make waffles again,” Jared prompted.

“Try?” Amber asked, amusement glinting in her green eyes.

“Last time didn’t go quite to plan,” Jared replied, a little more jovial again.

“It was the waffle iron,” Cam grumbled, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “I’ll try again for Macey though.” He looked up, his grey swirling eyes meeting hers, and filled with so much love, it almost floored her.

How had she ended up here? Sure, the saving the world stuff was a little bit tiring. While being kept a prisoner of the Voice wasn’t exactly enjoyable either, she’d gained so much more by leaving the Loch. She had her men, who were all more than willing to show her how much they loved her, and she had the beginnings of a best friend too. Something she’d never had before.

Despite the Voice trying to kill them all, and the Staran dying, she had a good life. Certainly better than most kelpies got.

She could definitely use a swim though. A swim and some tasty sweet pastries. Both of those would be good. Then maybe another night wrapped in her men’s arms…

“Where would we go?” Amber asked Izban softly.

“Where ever you wanted to,” he replied, his voice low and intimate.

“You’ll come with us,” Flint responded. “Our house grows as and when we need it to. And it’s probably better we’re all in the same place, just in case…” he trailed off.

“Basically for when the next thing goes wrong,” Jared joked before taking a swig of his tea.

Macey grimaced, able to feel the heat of her own through the mug she was holding. How he was letting that touch his throat was beyond her.

“Would you like to come too?” she asked Rónán, unsure what it was that was making her ask. It just felt right to. And if there was one thing she was certain of, it was her own gut feelings.

Most of the time anyway. Her gut feeling had led to her to nearly drown herself, so maybe she shouldn’t put so much stock in it.

“Yes,” he replied. “Though I will need to come back here.”

“I think we all will,” Cam muttered ominously.

Two

The house was just like Macey remembered. Big, airy and cosy. She let the others show Amber, Izban and Rónán around and headed to the swimming pool. On the way, she begged the house to make the water pure, without chlorine. The guys had told her that the house fulfilled wishes and needs, so surely it wouldn't hurt asking?

The chemicals in the pool had made her skin itch last time, but she really needed a swim. Her kelpie form was threatening to burst out any moment. She'd not felt the urge this strongly in a long time. Usually it took at least a week without shifting for her to feel that way. She'd been swimming yesterday, back at St Kilda, so it didn't make any sense for her to be that desperate. Strange. Maybe her body was making up for all the shifts she wasn't able to do while in the Voice's prison. Back there, she hadn't felt the urge, but there had also been no magic, so maybe that had stopped it.

When she reached the swimming pool, she breathed in deeply, then smiled. No chlorine. Just fresh, beautiful sea water.

"Thank you, house," she whispered, feeling a little silly about talking to the tiled walls around her.

She took off her clothes as fast as she could and jumped into the cool water, shifting almost as soon as she hit the surface. It was the fastest she'd ever shifted. One second, she was human, the nex

t, a large, scaled kelpie.

She breathed in a large gulp of water and expelled it back through her gills. Oh, it was the most amazing feeling.

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