I wasn’t ready to say that part out loud.
Finally, he let out a slow breath.“You’re going to wear a hole in that rug.”
I halted, looked at him.“Sorry,” I muttered.
“That demon—Garrat—he tried to bind you to him again,” he said after a long moment.
“Yes.”My mouth went dry at the thought.“He wanted me to believe his lies.That I’m all alone.And that punch of loneliness was so deep, so raw… I wanted to believe him.”
Owen placed his mug on the table and then gave me his full attention, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Piper,” he said, my name quiet in his voice.“You aren’t alone in this.You have me.”
My heart squeezed.
“I know,” I whispered.“And I’m glad.”
“I won’t let you face this by yourself.”
He always knew the right things to say, to make me feel safe.
We looked at each other in the silence, but I didn’t want to sit with those feelings too long.Otherwise, I would start to want something more with the man standing with me.And I wasn’t quite ready.
“He looked at the grimoire like it belonged to him.Like he could pull on it,” I said, changing the subject.
Owen’s eyes sharpened as he picked up his mug again.“But the book answered you.”
Guilt punched through my ribs.“I didn’t mean to—”
“I know,” he said, softer.“But intent doesn’t matter if the veil heard it.”
“Why?”I asked.
“I’ll tell you why.”
Tani appeared out of thin air beside the hearth in all her full-size glory.
“Ow—!”Owen jerked, sloshing coffee over his hand.
My hand flew to my chest.“Tani!Give a girl some warning.”
The fairy queen winced.“Sorry.You want the explanation or not?”
“Yes,” I said flatly.
“Please,” Owen added, setting the mug aside.
Tani hesitated, glancing between us.Whatever humor she usually carried was gone.When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter.Heavier.
“This is complicated.”
“Try,” I said tightly.I’d never heard Tani sound like this—no slang, no sass.Just a queen speaking truth that weighed on her.
“There’s a veil between realms,” Tani began.“Between yours and mine.Between all of them.Human world.Faery.Wonderland.”She drew in a breath.“That veil has been thinning.”
“How?”Owen asked, instantly alert.
“I don’t know,” Tani admitted.“A few months ago, I felt it shift.Tear.Every spell I cast to stabilize it only made things worse.”
