Eden rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She hesitated a moment before putting it on, suddenly wondering if this was maybe some elaborate ruse to suppress her magic again, but holding it in her fingers she could tell it was a fake. The real bracelets had a sort of charge to them, from the magic rope inside. She slipped it on her wrist. “So, while these losers are here, I’m going to have to act like a slave?”
Leo eyebrows furrowed with anxiety. “Maybe. Just a little. Only if he sees you!”
“That’s just great.”
“I’m sorry, truly, I had no idea they were coming until just last night.” Leo put his thumb and pointer finger to the sides of his forehead and rubbed. “It’s all very stressful. They are coming to ask for money and I have to tell them no, which they are not going to be happy about. I know it’s a lot to ask, but it would really mean a lot to me if you could just keep to yourself the next two days, and if you run into anyone, be careful about what you say and do.”
Eden thought about this for a moment. “So, basically, what you’re saying is I get to just lounge around all weekend, and you’d prefer it if I didn’t talk to anyone?” She smiled. “Yeah. Okay. I think I can do that.”
“Great!” Leo put his hands on Eden’s shoulders. “I owe you one.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Remember, if you see Lord Wellson or his family—”
“Act like a scared, hard-working servant who definitely does not have free use of her magic! I got it!”
“Seriously. Thank you.”
“Seriously,” she said, mimicking his tone of voice. “Go before I change my mind.”
He smiled and ran up the stairs.
Eden successfully avoided Lord Wellson and his posse for the first two days he was there. She spent most of the day in her workshop, taking her meals there, and only heading back to her room well after dark, when she was sure everyone was already in bed. Meanwhile, Leo was so busy looking after his guests and Chris was preparing to launch his “break into Eden’s shop” mission, that she didn’t see much of them either.
That is, until Sunday, when everything went terribly, terribly awry.
The morning was exactly as the previous two had been. Eden woke up early, before sunrise, grabbed a cup of coffee from the kitchen and went to work. She was in the infirmary, working to translate another section of the ancient spellbook with Amira, when Wen ran in looking disheveled and annoyed.
“You!” she said, pointing her finger in Eden’s direction. “This is your fault. You fix it.”
“Fix what?” said Eden. “What happened?”
Wen was out of breath. Instead of explaining with words, she simply turned around and pointed to her left shoulder blade, where a small, insect-like robot was attached to her shirt.
“Cricket!” Eden said. At the sound of her voice, the robot let go of Wen’s shirt, fell to the ground, and scuttled to Eden, who was bending down to pick him up. “How you doing, buddy?”
“Buddy?” said Wen. “You have some nerve. That thing jumped on me the second we got inside your shop—”
“You got in?” Eden said, sounding impressed if not dubious.
“Yes, we got in.” Wen gave her a mean look. “Your wards are not that advanced, okay? I managed to get them down after a few tries, then the dragons broke through the bars on your windows and door, and somebody smashed in your alarm system with a bat. Easy. Except, for that little bastard.”
Eden held Cricket up to eye level. “Did the mean burglars scare you? You poor little baby.” She was using a voice one might when speaking to a toddler who scraped his knee. She knew what Cricket had done once he realized the shop had been infiltrated. She was the one who programmed him to do it.
“He jumped on me, stuck his claws in me, and then some automotive voice spoke from his little speaker, telling me to find you immediately and let you know the shop was broken into.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” said Amira, now joining the conversation from her roller bed in the back corner.
“He gave me a shock, every ten minutes until I found you! It’s a forty-five-minute drive back!”
Eden laughed. “C’mon, they were super low voltage shocks.”
“Are you hearing this!” Wen looked at Amira. “She’s a sadist! I won’t work with her. You can’t make me.” She stomped out of the room and yelled from the hallway, “We shouldn’t trust her!”
“Ignore her,” said Amira. “She’s just mad because Leo hasn’t been paying her any attention since his special guest arrived.”
“Lord Wellson does seem to take up a lot of his time.”
“No, dear,” said Amira. “I meant you.”
“Oh.” Eden decided to avoid the topic and instead found a reason to get the hell out of there. “If Wen is here, I guess that means the others are back as well. I better go check in with Chris, see what they managed to get. Cricket, you stay with Amira. Keep her company and measure her vitals.”
“I don’t need that thing to babysit me,” said Amira.
“If you let Cricket keep track of your vitals, I’ll tell doctor he doesn’t need to check on you as much,” bargained Eden. She knew Amira and her doctor did not get along well.
“Fine!” Amira said. She held her hand out and Cricket hopped from Eden’s palm to hers. “But you better bring me back something sugary from the kitchen when you’re done!”
“Can do!”
Eden heard Amira start to grumble about the crappy food her doctor was making her eat as she turned the corner and headed upstairs.
Chris and two of the dragon shifters he’d brought to the shop were standing in the living room, looking down at their loot. They’d gotten it. The Hadron Collider. It looked very out of place, sitting on top of the plush white carpet, next to the 1960s vinyl chair, rusted and bulky. Next to it sat Eden’s toolbox, which she’d also requested they pick up, and a few buckets of random parts she said would be helpful if there was space in the truck.
Eden gawked at it all, honestly shocked they were able to not only get into her shop, but that they also somehow managed to get everything in one go.
“Wow,” she said. “You did it.”
Chris grinned. “I wish I could say it was no big deal, but seriously woman, you have built yourself a goddamn fortress!” His hair was messed up and he had bags under his eyes. It had been a stressful morning, clearly, but Eden didn’t try to hide her displeasure at how much they struggled. She didn’t want to admit it, even to herself, but Wen had sort of bruised her ego when she’d said it was easy to get Eden’s wards down. This helped.
“Well, I’m glad you got through, now I can finally get to work on this thing. I could probably have it running by the end of the week, if you guys can acquire all the remaining—”
“What the hell is that?” A man stood in the doorway. He wore very expensive looking clothes, accessorized with leather boots and a few thick, solid gold bracelets going up his one arm.
“Lord Wellson!” said Chris. “It’s so nice to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t been around these past few days, I’ve been working on getting this. I hope your stay has been satisfactory so far.”
“It will be more so,” said Wellson. “Once your cousin agrees to my request for a loan. I know he’s only hesitating to make me sweat a little, but really, it all seems very childish. We are too old to be playing such games, don’t you think?” Before Chris could answer, Wellson walked into the room and eyed the Hadron Collider. “Really, what is this?”
“It’s a Hadron Collider,” said Eden.
He gave her a strange look and then went back to looking at Chris. “Please, Chris, tell your servants not to speak to me unless I speak directly to them.”
Chris cleared his throat and smiled apologetically, whether the smile was for Wellson or her, Eden wasn’t sure. “Sorry about that,” he said. “This!” He pointed to the Collider. “Is the machine that’s going to save the world.”
Wellson leaned in to get a closer look at the collider. “W
hat exactly is it going to do?”
“It’s going to close the portals,” Chris said simply.
Wellson made an odd, indignant snorting sort of sound. “It does what?” He looked around the room, at the others present, as if hoping to find someone who was also in utter disbelief at that moment. “That’s impossible! Tell me, how does it work?”
Eden smiled at Chris and eagerly awaited his attempt at an explanation.
“It well, uh,” he stuttered. “It collides… hadrongs? Which, in turn, um—”
Wellson laughed. “That’s what I thought! This machine won’t close portals. You don’t even know how it works. I don’t know who sold you this hunk of junk, but I’m quite certain you got ripped off, kid.” He went to kick the collider but Eden caught his leg, mid-air, her hand wrapped around his ankle.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Wellson shook his leg free of her grip. “Let go of me, slave! Chris, control your servant.”
“Don’t do that!” Chris said, his tone of voice somewhere between confused and demanding. “You can’t do that!”
Now Eden was laughing. It was just too funny. Clearly Chris was trying to regain control of the situation, but he was also keenly aware of the perceived power dynamics in the room and how they related to the actual power dynamics. With access to all her magic, Eden was arguably the most powerful person in the room. The dragons could maybe put up a good fight, if it came to that, but Lord Wellson, an aging, skinny wolf shifter definitely couldn’t.
“If you’d like me to explain how the machine works,” said Eden, calmly, standing up and staring Wellson down. “I would be happy to. I built it, and I am the one who is going to make it work and close all the portals for good. Just do not, under any circumstances, touch the machine. Got it?”
Wellson closed the small gap that was between them and spoke firmly, without a hint of doubt. “You will not speak to me like that. You will not give me orders. I do not tolerate insubordination in my house, and I will not tolerate it here. I don’t know what these boys let you get away with, but now that I’m here, you will demonstrate some respect. Do you understand? Or do I need to make myself more clear?” As he said this, he crossed his left arm over his body and held his hand by his head, showing Eden the back of his hand.
“Do it,” she said, still smiling. “I dare you.”
“Let’s all just clam down,” said Chris. “Take a step back and regroup. Eden, if you—”
Wellson swooped his hand in the direction of Eden’s face. She ducked in time to avoid being slapped and immediately sent a mental attack spell his way. It was a small spell, one that the heat waves coming off the attacker’s own body as fodder. The sensation was more surprising than it was painful. It felt sort of like having your legs suddenly fall asleep, but it did send Wellson back and onto the ground.
Eden stood over him. “Try that again, and I won’t just make your legs tingle. I will make your blood boil. Understand?”
“You,” Wellson said. “You have your magic? But the bracelet!”
She frowned down at her lower arm. “Huh. Interesting. I guess it’s broken.”
“Eden!” it was Leo. He was standing at the bottom of the staircase in the other room. “Don’t!” He looked so frightened, like he was a deer and Eden was the wolf.
“You heard your master!” said Wellson. “Stand down.”
The sound of Lord Wellson’s voice, berating her, was grating to Eden’s ears. She filed through her log of mental spells, looking for the perfect one to shut him up but not necessarily for good.
“What’s going on?” A woman came down the steps behind Leo. She was older, also dressed in expensive clothes. Likely the Lady Wellson. Behind her was a young woman, maybe in her mid to late twenties. She was a witch, Eden could sense by the energy waves coming off of her. There was a leather collar around her neck which was attached to a leash, the handle of which was clasped tightly in the woman’s hand. “Mira, go to him.” The woman dropped the leash and the witch hurried to the side of her owner.
“Lord Wellson, are you alright? Does anything hurt?” When he didn’t answer, the witch looked up at Eden. “What did you do to him? He is old and frail! How dare you attack an unarmed, elderly man.”
“I gave him a warning,” said Eden. “He didn’t listen.”
“He does not answer to you!” said Lady Wellson. “Leo, honestly, why does that witch think she has any right to behave this way? You really need to demonstrate more discipline over your servants.” She ran to her husband’s other side and took his hand. “Dear, are you alright?”
“He’s fine,” said Eden. “I barely did anything. It was just a muscle relaxing spell.”
The old man was grabbing at his chest and breathing heavily.
“He has a heart condition!” said Mira. “The shock could kill him.”
“Get him downstairs,” said Chris. He stepped up and gently guided Eden out of the way. “We have an infirmary down there. I’ll call for the doctor.” The two dragon shifters who were in the room went to Lord Wellson and picked him up. They carried him downstairs and out of sight, followed quickly by Chris, Mira, and Lady Wellson.
This left Leo and Eden alone.
“Leo,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. He was just being so—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Just let me explain! I know I promised you, but if you heard the way he was speaking to me—”
“I’ve heard it!” Leo yelled. “He speaks down to me all the time. He’s a smug, condescending man who hasn’t said a kind word to me. I could easily push the guy down, give him a heart attack, but instead I keep my cool and take it. Do you want to know why?”
Eden stood there silently.
“I take it because that’s what you do when you come from a noble family. You just take it. And you do whatever needs to be done to save face. I’ve been doing this my entire life and you couldn’t even handle it for a single weekend!” Leo shook his head and let out a small, sarcastic laugh. “You think you’re so tough because you can bully some old rich dude. Grow up.”
He turned and went up the stairs.
Eden’s stomach was turning over onto itself, twisting into knots of anxiety and frustration. She stood staring at the spot where Leo was just standing for a long time, debating whether or not to chase after him.
She ultimately decided to give him some space.
Instead, she grabbed a few things from her toolbox and went to work on the collider.
Chapter Eleven
Stress Relief
Eden was vaguely aware of the presence of someone else in the room. She was in that sort of half-asleep, half-awake state that happens when your eyes have fallen shut out of pure exhaustion but your mind hasn’t fully given itself over to sleep yet. She felt something squirm underneath her knees and behind her back, and the next thing she knew, she was weightless. Somebody was carrying her.
She opened her eyes, ready to strike, but saw Chris instead, and relaxed, even if just for a brief moment.
“What are you doing?” she asked groggily. He was bringing her up the stairs. It was dark
outside.
“You fell asleep on the living room floor,” he said. “I figured you would be more
comfortable in your bed.”
As her conscious mind started to come back, Eden remembered the day’s events. “Leo is so mad at me,” she said. “I didn’t think he could even get that mad.”
“He’s not mad,” said Chris. “He’s just disappointed. And scared.”
“How’s Wellson?” At this point, as Chris reached the top step, Eden realized she could ask him to put her down, she was more than capable of walking herself. But for one reason or another, she didn’t say this. She let him carry her the rest of the way. “Please, please tell me he didn’t die.”
Chris laughed. “He didn’t die, the old faker! He didn’t even have a real heart attack, just
a measly panic attack. The doctor has him on bedrest until tomorrow, but he should be fine.”
Eden let her head drop back in relief and breathed in deep.
They reached her bedroom door. Chris shifted her weight a little, leaning her body closer against his, so that he could open it. Once inside, he brought her to the bed and laid her down gently.
“Thanks,” she said, feeling incredibly awkward. It seemed so silly to her, now that she was in bed, that she would have him carry her all the way up the stairs like she was a child.
Chris nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you in the morning. You can give me an update on the work you finished today with the collider.”
Eden nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Of course.”
He turned to leave.
“Chris, wait.”
He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“I know this may sound stupid, but could you go over the details of how you got into my shop?” she asked. “It’s been tugging at the back of my mind all day, and I’m worried that I won’t be able to fall back asleep until I know for sure where the weak spots are in my security.”
He smiled and sat down at the foot of her bed.
“Sure,” he said. “It started when we got there and one of the dragons tried to smash in your window. He kept climbing through, and we would all see him climb through, and then we’d blink and suddenly he would be climbing back out and wondering how he got back outside again. Once Wen figured out what that ward was about, which took her like two hours by the way, we started to evaluate the security systems…”
They talked for hours, Eden interjecting every minute or so with a question of clarification or to verify that the systems she programmed did in fact work as she had hoped they would. Finally, when it was nearing midnight, Chris yawned and came to the end of the story.
Auctioned to the Werewolf Princes Page 11
