“No, but I do want you to enchant a few weapons for us. That will be enough to get us there.”
“I can do that,” she said. “We have access to one of Kellan’s jets if you’d like to use it.”
“I can fly you there,” Owen said.
Eli glared at the aliens. “Perfect. The fewer humans we involve, the better.”
Ava had no idea what they were talking about. She didn’t know who Kellan was, and she didn’t know who this new guy was who’d just offered to fly them. She’d thought she knew Eli, but maybe she hadn’t known him at all.
They waited in the lab for Nora to enchant three large knives for them to take, and then they all escorted the aliens out to Niall’s SUV.
When Eli got to the car, he pulled Ava into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I owe you an explanation.” He looked into her eyes. “Can you forgive me?”
She could forgive him, but she didn’t know if she could get over all the things he’d kept from her. That was a pretty big ask. “I do forgive you.” She kissed him right on the lips.
She wasn’t going to send him off with these four lethal aliens without letting him know she still cared about him. As to whether they had a future…she had no idea. “We’ll talk when you get back.”
Once the guys were gone and the aliens, too, she stared at Nora. “Should we go in and clean up?”
“No, I’ve already called some close friends and they’re going to come handle it.”
“Friends? Those are good friends to help you clean up a busted lab. Are they like you? Or like Eli?”
“Davi and Carolina are more like family, and yes, they’re like Eli. They’re called dragon shifters.”
Dragon shifters. That was a new one for her. “And you’re not a dragon shifter.”
“No, I’m a witch.”
A witch. Ava had to actually close her mouth with her hand. She’d never thought of herself as particularly naive, but at that moment, she felt like a child.
“Come on.” Nora put her arm around Ava. “Why don’t we go back to my house?”
“Did Eli ask you to take care of me? Is that why we’re not cleaning up?”
Something passed over Nora’s face. “Eli didn’t have to ask me. I know how he feels because Niall would feel the same way if it were me. And I just spent forty-five minutes using my magic on a very unpleasant task, so I’m ready to get back home, too.”
“Oh. Right. You must be exhausted.” Nora had expended a lot of energy, and her husband had been in danger, too. Ava had stood there and watched, and she felt beyond drained just from that. A thought occurred to Ava. Nora and Niall had an adorable baby who was around one. “Oh my God. Your baby. Where is he?”
“The friends I mentioned live close by. They came over to be with him. They’ll leave as soon as we pull in. And I am exhausted,” Nora said. “Do you mind driving?”
“Not at all.” She put her hand on Nora’s arm. “I’m sorry I took your car without asking.” And she felt guilty that she’d pulled this sweet couple away from their young child only to rope them into a deadly confrontation.
Nora smiled over at Ava. She was so calm. “It’s okay. I don’t care much for driving anyway. And you were worried about Eli. I understand that.”
Nora was right about that. “Have you done that before? Fought aliens?”
“Aliens? No, I didn’t know they existed.” She looked down at her hands. “But I’ve fought before. Many times,” she said quietly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a painful memory.”
“It’s always on my mind. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She collapsed her hands together. “It’s always been with me.”
“Eli’s never mentioned anything like that.”
“I think that his life has been very different from mine.” Ava took a second to glance at her. Nora’s eyes glittered in the dark. “I’m glad it has, though.”
Ava got the hint—Nora didn’t want to talk about it. That was understandable. They’d only just met.
“Do you love him?” Nora asked.
“Yes, I do.” Ava hadn’t told Eli that yet, of course. They’d barely begun to date.
How could she love him? He was everything she’d ever wanted. Except this—the dragon. This was something she’d never accounted for.
“And how do you feel about the part where he’s a dragon shifter?”
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet at all.” She rubbed her face with one hand. “I’m a scientist. And yet I know what I saw from all of you.” She put both hands back on the wheel and held on tight. “It just doesn’t seem possible.”
“I don’t have any advice. I can’t imagine not knowing,” Nora said. “My mother was a witch, too. Everyone I knew was a witch. I don’t have any idea what it’s like to be normal.”
“You seem normal enough.”
Nora huffed. “I could never be. The coven I grew up in was cruel and power-hungry. My mother was responsible for the death of nearly every member of Niall’s clan.”
Ava couldn’t hide her shocked gasp.
Nora held up one hand. “See? I have that with me all the time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I escaped them. All of them are gone now. And I have a home with Niall, and with our friends, Davi and Carolina, and all of our extended family in Texas. And now I have Eli and his clan, too.”
“I’m glad,” Ava said. She had no idea what else to say. “Is that kind of thing common in your world?”
“Until I met Eli’s clan, I would have said yes. The stories I knew were mostly of strife.” Her voice broke. “But that was because of my coven.” Nora wiped her eyes. She leaned her head against the car window. “But Eli’s clan hasn’t been touched by that kind of tragedy. I don’t want to tell you
