“Feel free to do whatever you think is best, Maya. I have faith in you.” His gaze lingered on me, hopeful and expectant.
“I need to grab a few things from home and then I’ll be back.”
“Should I wait for you?”
“No thanks. I work better without an audience. I can use the skeleton key to let myself in.”
He didn’t bother to hide his disappointment. “If you’re sure.”
“Very.”
How could I tell him the truth—that he was the type of person who healed others, and I was the type who hurt them? He organized funerals for loved ones, and I orchestrated death sentences. It didn’t matter how many years had passed. I couldn’t change who I’d been, what I’d done. I would be that same woman until the day I died. I could try to atone, sure, but I wasn’t the earth washed clean by the rain. There would always be remnants of my former self that I couldn’t scrub away.
“You know, Maya, it might not be as risky as you think to let someone in. You might even enjoy it.”
The druid had no idea how wrong he was. “My life is manageable exactly as it is now, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have magical than manageable?”
I offered a sad smile. “Maybe in the next life,” I said.
But certainly not in this one.
Chapter
Six
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, rushing into the hair salon, both frazzled and frizzy. “I got waylaid by a security issue.”
“Nothing serious, I hope,” Camille said.
“No, nothing to worry about.” In truth, setting the ward around the perimeter of Ronald’s bedroom had taken longer than I anticipated, mainly because Neighbors kept interrupting me when it came time to work on the exterior wall. I had to pretend I was checking a crack in the stucco instead of warding the outside of the building to protect against shadow magic.
“Here. Let’s get this on you, honey,” Camille drawled, as she fastened a smock around my neck. “Wouldn’t want to get your clothes damp. I imagine you’re going straight back to work after this.”
“Unfortunately.”
“We sure do keep you busy, don’t we? Come sit,” she said, patting the chair at the oversized sink.
I made myself as comfortable as possible as I nestled my neck in the curve of the sink. They could put a man on the moon, but they couldn’t find a more comfortable way to wash hair.
“Anything I need to know about your hair?” She scrutinized my head. “I won’t drown any snakes in the sink, will I?”
“No, they don’t work like that.”
“Phew. I’ll be honest, I was a little worried they might get mad at getting wet and bite me.”
“I’d have to release them first.”
She lifted a clump of my hair. “Are they hiding underneath?”
“No. Think of them as magical. They appear when summoned.”
“What if you were in danger and couldn’t summon them? Would they come to your defense without you calling on them?”
I turned my head to look at her. “They’re not going to think you’re drowning me, if that’s your concern.”
Camille offered a relieved smile. “Okay, good.” She started to lather my hair. “You must be real lonely without Judd.”
