AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mananan flipped through the pages and found more sightings of possible creatures that she had spotted. Had it been the same creature or were there more that he had missed? It wasn't a pleasant thought. They seemed to be regular sightings like there was something about this particular stretch of water that attracted them.
He shut the book and went back downstairs to wait for Ella to wake up. He had too many questions bubbling about in the back of his head with only one person who could answer them.
6
Ella woke to the smell of tea and smoke. A fire was burning in the hearth, and there was a huge fae male sitting beside it.
He was drinking tea and reading a battered paperback with a half-naked man in a kilt on the front. It was a romance that Deidra had loved, and Ella hadn't had the heart to throw out. It involved a lot of pining and naked romps in wildflowers.
The big, brutal-looking fae reading smutty sex books had her smothering a laugh at the absurdity of the moment. Maybe she’d hit her head when she fainted that day.
"You're still here," she said, and Mananan looked up from his page.
"And you're not dead. I told you that you would be fine," he replied, putting the book down.
Ella sat up and rubbed her leg. No pain. She pulled the blanket back. It was back to a normal size with a pink scar where the wound had been.
"Oh my god, how is that possible?" she said, flexing her foot. There was only the slightest twinge of muscle ache.
"Taran knows his business. He said you might be a bit disorientated when you woke up. I wanted to make sure you were all right before I left you alone again," Mananan replied.
Ella covered her legs up again self-consciously. "Thank you. I feel fine. A little overwhelmed to have had three strange fae males in my house while I was wearing no pants, but you can't die from embarrassment."
Mananan grinned, and she had the mad desire to pull the blanket over her head until he went away.
"I want to hire you for your seer talents," he said, changing the subject. "Can you really find lost things? How does it work?"
"Can I pee first and get some pants on?" she asked.
Mananan raised his brows. "Oh. Of course. Do you need help?"
Ella wrapped the blanket around herself. "No. I think I can pee on my own."
Mananan got up and offered her his hand. "I want to make sure you can stand properly first. The last thing we need is you toppling over and hitting your head because you were stubborn."
Ella stared at his hand, hesitant to touch it. There was a lifetime of wariness telling her not to do it.
"I've still got mental shields up, Ella. I promise," Mananan assured her.
Ella squeezed her hands into fists before releasing them. She placed her hand in his lightly, like he would burn her. When she got nothing from him, she gripped it, and he helped her stand. She wastouchingsomeone. It made her want to shove him away and never let go at the same time.
"I'm fine," she said and took some shaky steps. No dizziness or deep muscle pain. Her leg held firm. Mananan let her go, and she hobbled to the bathroom and quickly shut the door.
"Fuuuccckkk," she whispered under her breath. The strangeness of the day was finally catching up to her. She looked like hell and decided if he really wanted her help, he would wait for her to shower.
Ella quickly washed the sweaty stickiness of her skin and hair. She didn't linger and dressed in the spare clothes that she had in the bathroom which were her jeans from that day and the button-up top of her flannel pajamas. Anything was better than the clothes she'd been wearing.
Mananan was in the kitchen making more tea. It was truly bizarre to see another person in her house, especially a man.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Yes, thanks." Ella took the cup of tea he offered her, and she stirred in some sugar. "You're still here."
"Did I say I was going somewhere?" Mananan asked, his brow lifting.
"Ah, maybe your own home?" she replied.
"I want to know if you can find something for me first," Mananan said, crossing his arms and refusing to move out of her way.
