Sam nodded, watching Honor move with Nessa toward a blanket set beneath a tree over by the grill and food supplies. “Yeah. Except when we’re both lost during, well, sex, she can balance out the fire and flames for me and tension for others. She’s a good lie detector, it seems.” When Honor sat down, Nessa all but forced a bottle of prosecco into her hand.
“You keeping her?” Garrett asked.
“No.” Sam straightened and forced himself to pay closer attention to the lion shifters slinking around in the forest. “Final battle, danger, the Seven, and all of that mess.”
Garrett ducked his head. “The Seven are supposed to sacrifice themselves, not you.”
“How do you know that?” Sam cut him a look.
Garrett shrugged. “I guess I was hoping. Why haven’t you ever told anybody else about the ritual you endured? Just me?”
“Why should I?” Sam asked. “It is what it is, and here I am. It was the only way I could keep Hope, Logan, and you safe.” He’d undergone the ritual to learn how to manage travel between dimensions, and if he was the Keeper, he could prevent the ritual from happening in the first place.
“Destroying the ritual circle won’t help,” Garrett said wearily. When Sam stiffened, he rolled his eyes. “Please. I know you’re a control freak and you think you can just keep us all from having to endure the ritual, but this is bigger than one place, bigger than all of us. You know that, deep down. So why not find happiness when you can?”
Sam shook his head. “If that ritual takes place, we’ll all make a sacrifice. That’s what I know.” Then he started withdrawing from the conversation. “Besides. A mate always comes first. I can’t place anyone first right now.” With his life? Even if he prevented the ritual, he’d never be able to put a mate first. Fire crackled on his arm. He sighed.
“Looks like your reprieve was temporary,” Garrett noted.
“Yep.” It wasn’t a surprise. The demand of the circle or the dimension it was in or maybe freaking hell was too strong. This was only more proof that Sam shouldn’t lock down the sexiest woman he’d ever known.
Honor deserved better.
* * * *
Honor could just die. She leaned against the tree and drank the champagne split, cooling her heated body.
Nessa quietly handed her another one. “You really have to relax. So you were having a good time. Who cares?”
Honor looked at the woman. “We started the place on fire.” Nessa had long black hair, unique blue eyes, and a peaches and cream complexion. As well as the slightest Irish brogue. “Sam is very good in bed.”
Nessa burst out laughing, and the sound was musical. “One would hope so, considering your reaction.” Today she wore a light blue sweater over jeans and kick-ass black boots. Her hands settled in her lap. The neck of the sweater slid to one side, revealing a huge, healed bite mark. Only part of one. Was the other part on the other side of her shoulder?
“What bit you?” Honor whispered.
“A bear.” Nessa grinned. “So. Sam says that your skills are in reading people, looking for lies, and finding a person’s essence.”
Honor sipped the second bottle, eyeing the pretty woman. “I guess. I mean, I’m learning rapidly what I can do, but it’s mainly with him. With other people, I’ve kind of been able to tap into the patterns of their brain waves, which has helped to find knots or bumps in the waves, which has indicated untruthfulness before. It’s harder to read you immortals. Why do you ask?”
Nessa cleared her throat. “Read me.”
Honor pursed her lips. What a wonderful opportunity. She settled in, just like she would with a human. “Okay. I’m going to ask you questions. Give me a couple of truths and then a lie.”
Nessa grinned. “Fun.”
“What’s your favorite color?”
“The green of Ireland,” Nessa said softly.
The tapestry of Nessa’s brain waves remained smooth and well spun. Truth. Honor tilted her head. “How old are you?”
“One hundred and twenty-five,” Nessa said.
Honor blinked. That was another truth. Holy crap. “That’s awesome.” She ran through possible questions. “Okay. Why does Bear have a dragon tattooed on his back? Right in the center of the animal is a cool Celtic knot. What does it all mean?” She’d seen the entire thing earlier when he’d jumped into the pond.
“He had a stuffed dragon as a kid,” Nessa said.
Honor studied her. Wide eyes, soft tone, but the oddest vibration about her lips. The tapestry of brain waves unraveled a little in the middle and then stitched back together. “That was the lie.” She delved deeper, somewhat surprised when Nessa let her. Subtly, Honor glided into her mind. “You feel that?”
“Aye.”
“Can you shut me out?” Not that Honor could read minds or anything, but still, she was in there.
Nessa smiled. “Yes. I could make it hurt, too. But I won’t.”
This was so freaking weird. But kind of fun, too. “What do you want, Nessa?”
“Keep reading me. I want to know what you find,” Nessa said, her eyes sparkling.
Honor followed the vibrations of that thought, surprised when her focus slid down the witch’s body to her abdomen. Maybe a little lower. The essence there hit her full force. “Oh my.”
Nessa leaned toward her. “What did you get?”
Honor moved closer. “You’re pregnant?” she whispered. “I can sense an essence, and it’s different from yours. Separate but very close by?”
“Yes.” Nessa grasped her hand. “Here’s the deal. Immortals have shields that keep us from using ultrasound or anything like that. I already feel health from my womb, so I’m not worried about that. I’m not worried at all, but I’d love to know what I’m dealing with. A shifter or a witch? Boy or girl? Just give me a clue here. I’m going out of my mind with curiosity—I just want to know something about him or her. Just a little something.” She kept her voice low and soft.
Delight filled Honor. What a fun task. “Does Bear know?”
“Not yet, but he will soon. He’ll be able to scent the baby, so I probably only have a couple more days of, well, this.” She gestured around the clearing.
Honor frowned. “What do you mean? Is there some weird ritual with immortal babies that you have to be on bed rest or something?”
Nessa laughed, the sound happy and free. “No. No weird ritual. I’m just mated to an overprotective bear who’ll go into full lockdown protection mode the second he finds out. I love him, but he can be a pain sometimes. My people have fought wars while pregnant, but he won’t pay any attention to that.” She pursed her lips. “Although I would like to remodel my office, and he’ll go along with anything that keeps me out of the field and happy. So there’s that.” She grinned, happiness all but flowing from her.