“Did you get your answers?” Fiore asked.
“As much as I am going to tonight—along with a hundred more questions.”
Fiore clicked their tongue. “Good.” The dragon strode to the front of the car. “Then I expect I will not have to see you for some time.”
“Fiore,” Avery called after them. “Why have you done all this?”
Gold eyes leveled on Avery, appraising the sincerity of her question. “Becausesheasked.” The soft reply came simply, matter-of-fact. The sun rises, a new day begins. The lightning strikes, the thunder follows. Esteri asks, Fiore answers. These were all equal cause and effect to the dragon, and thus no further explanation was called for. “Which reminds me…” They reached into their pocket and produced something about the size of their hand before tossing it to Avery. “I’m afraid it doesn’t come with sprinkles.”
Avery caught it and was surprised to recognize it as a phone similar to the one Saga had used to let her talk to Reza.
“I took the liberty ofnotputting myself into your contacts. Do not seek to alter that, it was not an oversight.”
Avery turned the phone over in her hands and saw a piece of paper had been taped to the back with a series of eleven numbers. “Is this a combination to something?”
“It’s your number,” Fiore said flatly.
“I do not understand,” Avery admitted.
“My time is too valuable to act as your tech support. Have your little friend explain it to you.”
“My little…” Saga. Avery’s eyes widened in realization and she looked up in time to see Fiore opening the door to the driver’s seat.
“Esteri and I have no secrets, Hemlock,” Fiore said, getting in. “It’s embarrassing you don’t know that by now.” The car door shut, and they drove away.
39The most powerful fey. Known by many names, but in Celtic mythology they were referred to as “Aos Sí,” the “daoine síth,” or the “sidhe.” In other cultures, they might have been merely known as gods.
40In Indonesian mythology, babi ngepet were believed to be responsible for magically carrying away gold and valuables from the villages. Known in Java and Bali, it was said the practicing of black magic transformed the caster into a boar-like demon, though upon being questioned, both a babi ngepet and a boar would scoff that they do not see the resemblance.
41Fetch (Celtic folklore): A supernatural apparition or double of a living person. Similar to the German doppelgänger. Some humans believed that to see a fetch of your own image was an omen of your death.
To the fey, they were a powerful and useful creation to take the place of and mimic a human stolen from the mortal realm. It should be understood, however, that a mimic, no matter how well crafted, is always inferior to an original, only able to parrot information rather than craft their own ideas, which makes them terrible conversationalists. It is, however, since the invention of the sycophant, far more difficult to identify a fetch in the wild.
Chapter 14
Saga
The apartment felt empty. It was meant to be empty; she’d only lived there on her own, but that morning it felt lonely. It was not her grandmother’s house; it hadneverbeen a place she lived, merely a building she’d owned, yet there was an undeniable absence when Saga stepped inside. She had Riddle tucked carefully in one arm and precariously gripped a number of his accoutrements in the other. Her aim had been to settle him into a new living arrangement. It was something to do, something useful, but as she stepped over the threshold, her purpose waned.
Saoirse had helped her make this a home. She’d used her eye for detail to direct Saga in placing the furniture and finding the perfect spot for the altars—even walked her through cooking a meal in her kitchen to locate where it made sense to put plates and utensils. Her grandmother had left her mark here, like she did with everything else, and now that she was gone, all she’d touched seemed aware it would never be touched again.
Riddle nuzzled into her neck, a reassuring purr vibrating through his entire body. It would be okay. It was hard now, but it would be okay.
Saga kissed the top of his head and crouched enough to let him down.
With an excited trill, he immediately went about exploring.
