“Whatever. Really, my cousin’s safety is really the difficult thing, Mr. Owens. As I said, that’s why I needed you here today.” Nyx caught Eavan’s hand and tugged so that their clasped hands were resting just over her collarbone. “Eavan doesn’t seem to understand how dangerous refusing to stay with the rest of the family is. A young girl in the difficult world all alone…”

“Is she in some sort of danger, ma’am?”

“Inevitably. She’s foolish, you know.” Nyx squeezed Eavan’s hand until tears threatened. “I worry so over her. Beautiful. Wealthy…and with the things I see in the news…Did you know there were shootings just up the street from her flat?”

Eavan blinked the tears away. Her voice was clear, though, as she said, “I’m not moving home. No matter what…happens.”

“I’ll accept that,” Nyx said mildly. “In fact, I’ve hired Mr. Owens’s firm for that very reason. I’ve taken a lease on the vacant flat across from yours.”

“I don’t think—”

“Or you can move home.” Nyx looked back at Eavan. “You have choices. Prove to me that you can do as you’re told or return to the fold where I can look after you. I’ll not have you die to prove a point.”

“Nyx,” Eavan pleaded, “please?”

Nyx turned away.

“I want to apologize for making you stay in Eavan’s dismal building, Mr. Owens. How anyone could want a tiny little nest in some ugly modern thing…It’s appalling.” Nyx’s reply couldn’t have held more vitriol. She sighed melodramatically before adding, “NeNe and Chloe will go over the other details with you. Eavan and I have things to discuss in private before you two leave.”

And with that, Nyx dismissed him, and NeNe and Chloe were at his sides almost instantly to assure that he was removed from the room. Nyx spoke, and the world obeyed.

Except me.

“Tell me about your associates, Mr. Owens,” Chloe murmured as she trailed fingertips over his stomach.

“Chloe.” Nyx curled her mouth into snarl. “Not acceptable.”

“Yes, Nyx.” Chastened, Chloe ducked her head and hurried the man out of the room.

Eavan repressed a shiver as everyone left her behind.

Not that witnesses would matter.

Eavan stood. Wordless, she walked over to place the brush on one of the vanities.

Nyx pulled the dark spill of hair over her shoulder, where it coiled into a rope that would’ve made Rapunzel jealous. She turned her gaze to Eavan. “Do you think it’s easy for me to think of you vulnerable to the dangers of the world?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“I’d rather you didn’t die.”

“I’d rather no one died,” Eavan said.

“Sometimes death is necessary.” Nyx made a fluttering gesture with her hand as if to shoo away an insect. “Yours is not one I’d like.”

Eavan bowed her head. She’d lost. She’d lost months ago, but simply hadn’t known it yet. Nyx had concocted some story, hired a bodyguard, and effectively entrapped Eavan. She’d been sentenced to spending her time around a tempting mortal.

How am I to do anything about Daniel now? Eavan wasn’t about to admit that she’d been hunting the drug dealer. Nyx was always surly over dealers. She liked her strip clubs well enough, but refused to allow any drugs in her clubs. Unlike Daniel.

“He’s pretty.”

Eavan turned to stare at her grandmother. “What?”

“The man. He’s pretty. The type you try not to look at.” Nyx stretched her legs out on the divan. “I notice, child. I’ve been noticing for years.”

Eavan didn’t dare turn her back on Nyx, so she settled for a shrug.

Nyx laughed, sounding joyous as she often did after long days of partying.

“I’m not like you, Grandmama. I won’t be.” Eavan’s mouth was dry. It’d been months since Nyx struck her, but the possibility was always there. “Putting him in my path doesn’t change that. You’re wasting money hiring him to ‘protect’ me.”

“I haven’t forgotten how difficult that first time is, sweetie.” Nyx held out a hand.

Eavan went to her. She took her grandmother’s hand as she sat at the woman’s feet. Centuries of experience hid under Nyx’s flawless skin.

“I’m not going to do it,” Eavan whispered.

“You will.” With her free hand, Nyx pulled the pin from Eavan’s bun. It’d been only a week since it’d been cut, but it was already past her shoulders. Nyx ran her fingers through it, loosening the strands so they drifted freely. “You’ll hunt. You’ll fuck. You’ll kill.”

“I’m not like you.”

Nyx squeezed her hand—gently this time. “You’re a glaistig, love. You’re exactly like me.”

“I’m not a murderer.”

“It’s the natural order of the world.” Nyx smiled indulgently. “The higher beasts eat the lower. Do they get upset over eating other animals? The predators thin the herd, taking away the diseased or aberrant or weak. It’s natural.”

“It’s not.”

“Humans do it. Kill animals. Raise them like pets and butcher them…our way is far more humane. At least we don’t wear their hides for garments. We’re far more civilized.”

Eavan looked at Nyx’s hand-sewn leather boots. They were butter soft, custom made of the eel leather Nyx preferred these days. “And if they were able to be crafted into clothing you liked?”

“No.” Nyx ran her fingertips over a boot. “Mortal skin isn’t as silky…Plus, it’s just gauche.”

“Gauche?” Eavan asked. “And a stripper pole in the parlor?”

“Practical,” Nyx said. “If you are so sure you can be a mortal, here’s your test. Prove to me that you don’t have the same lusts we all do. If not, he seems a good sort to keep around for at least one of your appetites. We picked him especially for you.”

Eavan sighed. “Sometimes I really hate you.”

“I know, dear.” Nyx stood and pulled Eavan into a hug. “It’s one of the reasons I respect you. Let’s go find your new temptation.”

As if I need another one. Resisting hunting Daniel was using up all her self-control. Resisting another entanglement was the last thing she needed.

Maybe he’s a bore…a girl can dream, right?

5

Cillian waited outside in the overgrown yard behind the house. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was left to grow wild, but like everything, the truth was in the details. There were plants in this yard that he hadn’t seen anywhere else in the Triangle area, ones that wouldn’t flourish, even in the Raleigh humidity, without attention. The illusion was one of disorder, but the truth was that this was cultivated fecundity. His current job depended on his noticing minutiae, on seeing past the lies people wove, and on creating his own illusions. Those were the skills that would help him pretend to know nothing about Eavan, despite the hours they’d be forced together.

“Mr. Owens?” Nyx stood on the back porch.

“Ma’am?” He turned to face her.

Nyx paused as Eavan kissed her cheeks; then she turned her attention on Cillian. “You’ll keep her safe.”

“I’ll do my best to not let anyone harm her,” he said. It was the best he could offer, especially as he had no idea who or what Eavan was. Was Brennan human? That information was the sort of thing that the C.D.A. was never privy to, but it did make a difference. The first time Cillian had had his ribs broken, he learned exactly how much it could matter.

Eavan took a step backward. “I’m not that fragile.”

“You’re more fragile than you should be, Evvie.” For a strange moment, Nyx was the one who looked truly vulnerable. Her thus far implacable calm vanished. She licked her lips anxiously. “You’ll let him teach you what you need. You’ll be careful. He’s good at what he does…and the things you…I picked him for reasons you—”

“Nyx.” Eavan backed down the porch stairs and looked up at Nyx. “I’m not actually in any danger. You and I both know that. Hiring him”—Eavan glanced at Cillian—“is a control tactic. It won’t change anything, but you don’t have to pretend it’s a legitimate bodyguard situation.”