are being treated—rounded up and bundled off to internment camps? It’s practically prehistoric!”
Cora chuckled. “Not nearly so dramatic, honey. You know that I’ve been working to solve this problem . . .”
“Oh, I do,” Deidre told her, sliding a glance around the dining room in the president’s private quarters as if to make sure no one was left to overhear them. “And it’s great, really. But unless everyone steps up to protest what’s happening, nothing will really change.”
“It’s dangerous, Dee,” Cora told her daughter. “You could have been killed in that mob scene yesterday. If the Secret Service hadn’t been there to pull you out . . .”
“But they pulled only me out,” Deidre complained. “My friends were left to fend for themselves.”
Dropping her fork onto the Reagan china with a clatter, Cora said, “You can’t expect the agents to save everyone, Dee. You are my daughter. It’s their duty to keep you from harm.”
“Protect me but fry the witches. Is that it?”
“Watch your tone.”
Instantly, Deidre got hold of herself. “Sorry. Look, I’m doing what I have to do. I don’t expect you to approve, Mother, but you can’t stop me from this.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Dee,” Cora told her, reaching across the table to squeeze her daughter’s hand. “I can do whatever I like. Not only am I your mother, but I’m the president. If I think you’re in danger, don’t for one minute believe that I’m not going to act.”
Deidre looked into her mother’s eyes and what she read there must have convinced her because her attitude shifted and she said, “I’m sorry I worried you. I’ll try not to let it happen again. But I can’t promise to stop my work with the RFW. It’s too important. To me. To the world.”
Cora patted her hand and nodded. “I understand completely. But you must understand that I will do whatever I think necessary to ensure that you stay well.”
“Of course,” Deidre said and squeezed her mother’s hand. “So, let’s talk about something else. Did I tell you I found a condo I might want to buy?”
Cora sat back and watched her daughter, smiling at all the appropriate times, while she silently made plans to talk to the agents assigned to Deidre. Yesterday, her daughter’s safety had been compromised. She might have died.
Cora would not allow that to happen.
Chapter 40
I always think of you.
Torin’s words were simple, Shea reflected, but so profound. He was everything to her. She never would have thought that any two people could bond so completely in such a short time.
But these last few days had been the most amazing of her life. It was as if the magic itself was a living entity, separate from her, yet a part of her at the same time.
She was even dreaming about spells and enchantments. She woke up knowing the lore of crystals. She could create a talisman or craft a love spell. She could now list medicinal herbs and how they should be used. Her mind was filled to overflowing with the knowledge of the many lifetimes she’d lived. She remembered more every day. It was all there, in her mind, her heart. She had only to uncover the last of her own deeply buried secrets.
Torin carried her into their bedroom. She squinted against the bright afternoon light glancing off the water with a knife’s edge. Automatically, she dimmed the light, but kept the brilliance of it. Because she wanted the curtains open to the light. Wanted the terrace doors open to the wind.
She drew strength and energy from the elements of nature and felt the sunlight and wind and sea filling her cells, becoming a part of her.
It was cold, but that was easily remedied. A wave of their hands and they felt only the kiss of the wind, not its bite. Torin laid her down on the bed and stretched out alongside her. Shea snuggled in, pillowing her head on his chest, listening to the silence within, still puzzled by the fact that a man so richly, thoroughly alive could have no heartbeat. She kissed the spot where beneath his shirt, the mating tattoo coiled.
“If you begin doing that,” he warned quietly, “there will be no talking.”
“Right,” she said, feeling the sparks within her ignite. Being close to him only made the magnetic pull between them that much stronger. Shea ached to feel his warm skin against hers, feel his hard, thick body pumping into hers. Her core tingled and her breathing became fast