Not only was she stunningly beautiful and strong in her magic, but she was sly. To Owen, Salina had always presented a sweet, innocent, beguiling face, at least until today, but to everyone else, she had eventually showed her true, deadly nature. It was a sticky web she'd caught Owen in, pitting his feelings for her against how she'd hurt the people he cared about most. I wasn't sure if my lover could ever fully untangle himself from her and what she'd once meant to him - or if he even really wanted to deep down inside.
The idea of losing Owen scared the hell out of me, but I forced myself to stay calm and listen to what he had to say.
He finally stopped pacing and looked at me. "What Salina did to you and Cooper was terrible. And what she did to Eva and Phillip all those years ago is simply inexcusable. I know how you want to handle it now, and I can't say I blame you. If Donovan had done to me what Salina did to you, I'd take my blacksmith's hammer to the bastard's knees before I used it to cave in his skull."
I didn't respond.
"But she needs help, Gin. I wish you could have known her before Mab murdered her father. She was different then."
I wanted to point out that Mab had murdered my family too and that I hadn't let it turn me into a monster - at least not as much of one as Salina. I might have been an assassin, but I could keep my rage in check, whereas the water elemental couldn't, and I didn't blame people for things that weren't their fault. Most importantly, I didn't go around hurting innocent people.
But I kept those thoughts to myself. Instead, I just looked at my lover, that calm expression still fixed on my face. "What exactly are you proposing?"
"I want to go talk to Salina and get her to check herself into a facility."
As the Spider I'd once done a hit inside the confines of Ashland Asylum, and I'd have been quite happy knowing Salina was locked up there. In fact, there was no place I'd rather have seen Salina - except in the ground. But Owen was asking me for a chance. I owed him that.
"And if she doesn't agree?" I asked. "What happens if Salina doesn't want to get help?"
Owen's body swelled with tension, and a bit of fire flashed in his violet eyes. "Then I'll kill her myself for what she's done to you, Eva, Cooper, and Phillip. She either gets help, or she gets dead. Is that something you can live with?"
I would have skipped the getting help part and gone straight to getting dead, but I couldn't deny Owen what he was asking. I didn't want him anywhere near Salina, but I couldn't stop him from going, not without being a total hypocrite. Not after everything he'd seen and watched me do these past few months. Owen hadn't batted an eye at my killings. The least I could do was give him one more chance to get Salina under control before I plunged my knife into her heart.
I sighed. "I don't like it, but I understand why you have to do it. But I have one condition - we go talk to her together."
Owen opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.
"No, I don't trust her, especially not with you. You saw her when she was attacking Cooper. How happy it made her to hurt him. You don't know that Salina won't turn on you too, especially given what you're asking her to do."
He shook his head. "She won't hurt me. Trust me. I know Salina better than anyone."
I wanted to point out how wrong he was. How he hadn't known what Salina was capable of when they were younger and that she'd likely only gotten crueler and more vicious over the years. But once again I held my tongue. Owen had stood by me plenty of times when I'd gone into dangerous situations, and he'd always let me do what I thought needed to be done. I had to do the same for him now. Besides, this way, I'd be there to protect him - and stop her for good.
"Okay," he finally said. "We'll go see her together."
Owen got down on his knees in front of my chair. He reached over and grabbed my hands, his fingers warm and rough against my own. Then he turned my palms up and slowly, gently, traced over my spider rune scars with his thumbs. He kissed first one palm and then the other, and I shivered at the feel of his lips on my skin.
"Thank you for understanding," he said. "For giving me this chance. It means more to me than you know."
Emotion clogged my throat, and I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Owen, burying my face in his neck and breathing in his rich scent. I knew I had to let my lover speak his piece to Salina, but I also knew how things would play out - with me and Salina fighting to the death.
I only hoped I'd be the one standing in the end, and that Owen could forgive me for killing his first love.
Chapter 26
Eventually, Owen and I broke apart. I opened the door, and we went out into the kitchen.
A butcher-block table with several stools stood in the middle of the room, while appliances done in soft pastel shades ringed the walls. Fat, puffy clouds - Jo-Jo's rune and the symbol for her Air magic - covered almost everything in the kitchen, from the oven mitts piled next to the stove to a set of plates stacked in the sink to the fresco that stretched across the ceiling. Jo-Jo and Eva sat at the table drinking pineapple juice, while Finn was over at the counter, brewing himself a fresh pot of chicory coffee.
"Where are the others?" I asked.
"Bria had to get to the police station," Jo-Jo replied. "She said she'd call and check in with you later. Phillip left too. Said he had some things to do on that riverboat of his. Cooper went with him to keep him company - although he's going to call me later on today."
I arched an eyebrow. "Do I sense a little romance in the air?"
"I just want to make sure that he's all healed up properly," Jo-Jo said, blushing again. "Besides, he's a true Southern gentleman. It's hard to find one of those these days."
I knew that Jo-Jo wouldn't have let Cooper leave if she hadn't completely healed him already, but I didn't tease her anymore. Instead, I nodded and headed over to the cabinets. My fight with Salina and worry over Owen had taken a lot out of me, and I was in the mood for some comfort food. So I grabbed all the fixings for a classic Southern breakfast - biscuits and gravy.
Flour, fresh buttermilk, and just a pinch of sugar and salt went into my biscuit dough, while I put a cast-iron pan into the oven to heat the shortening I'd coated it with. Once the shortening was melted, I cut the biscuit dough into rounds, coated both sides with the liquefied shortening, arranged them in the pan, and then slid the whole thing into the oven to bake. I also fried up some salty country ham, using the grease and drippings that were left in the pan, along with some evaporated milk and a generous dash of black pepper, to make my gravy.