The wizard met his gaze. “You have no idea how many of those less talented than me have used that term of disparagement.”

“Yeah, so you’ve proved you can slip into my mind. And if the shoe fits—” Dacian shrugged. “So what’s the message?”

“Taurin contacted me. He and his wife will be home tomorrow night.”

Chapter Thirteen

Cinn gazed helplessly around her greenhouse. Even here with her plants, where she’d always felt secure, everything was out of control. Asima whispered sweet nothings in Vince’s ear, er, leaf, while Teddy waved his mittened arms at them. Wade tramped down the aisle, his eyes bright as he carried his newest offering to her. And Edge sat, muscular arms crossed over his chest, scowling as he glanced at his watch.

She didn’t want to deal with any of this, and that was just wrong. How to save her plants and herself from Airmid should be occupying her every waking moment. It wasn’t. Instead, she thought about Dacian.

She’d made him mad. She’d felt his anger on the way home. He probably thought her silence meant she was still denying what Sparkle had said. Little did he know she’d stayed quiet because she was busy trying to find the right string to pull that would untangle the huge ball of confusion bouncing around in her head.

Paranormal entities didn’t exist. Hah!

She’d helped her plants evolve simply by hard work and her scientific knowledge of plants. Had to finally admit she was wrong about that.

Everything she’d done had improved her plants’ existence. Right. She’d turned Eva from a pretty flowering plant into a danger to society. Teddy was so much better off spending his days feeling frustrated jealousy. And Vince would be thrilled to realize he was the only one of his kind. No companions in his future, no hope of living an independent life.

Way to go, Cinn. Major screwups. You’ve managed to make everyone miserable. Yourself included.

But with her personal weather forecast predicting storms and more storms, she clung to one shining ray of hope. Dacian. He’d lodged in her heart and brought light, warmth, and an emotion too new, too deep, to accept right away. It was there, though. It was definitely there.

See, she’d finally found the right string to pull.

Cinn wanted to make love with him again, and again, into infinity. In order to have any chance of doing that, she had to save him from Stephan. Cinn wasn’t a violent person, but she would cheerfully plant a big fat stake in Stephan’s heart if it would free Dacian.

Wait. What had Sparkle said that first night in the dungeon? Something about Cinn using her healing power to help Dacian. She’d dismissed it just as she’d dismissed almost everything that didn’t line up with her narrow view of reality. Maybe she could—