“Nope!” I was feeling petty. I broke into a jog, hurrying for the door, and he dashed over and beat me to it, sweeping it open with an exaggerated flourish of his hand.
Any other time that would have made me laugh.
Fionnulla was there, fussing with some hanging plants with a faint scowl, but when she saw me, she flashed me a smile. Customers waved at me cheerfully as if I belonged there now. As if I was one of them, no longer an object of curiosity.
If only.
“Welcome,” Juniper called out. “Melisande told me you were coming. We set out a meeting room in the back for you, Daphne.”
Killian glanced at me. “Don’t go anywhere else,” he said to me. He lowered his voice. “There are a lot of bad actors who’d want to get their claws on you. Please don’t forget that.”
“Not likely.”
Juniper walked over to me and put her hand on my arm with a sympathetic smile. She was obviously picking up on the tension. “Why don’t you go back and speak with Melisande? Killian, would you like some tea?”
He scowled. “No, thanks. I’ll wait outside the door.”
Juniper led me down the hall, around a corner, and into the meeting room, where Melisande waited for me.
“Sit down, Daphne,” Melisande greeted me. “It’s nice to meet you face to face.”
Her voice was soft, light. Everything about her had this ethereal quality to her. Her hair, her face, had a faint glow to them.
I obeyed her orders and took a seat across from her.
“Hello, Melisande.”
Without another word, she reached out and seized my hands in hers and closed her eyes. Moments drifted by, and the air buzzed with magic. Then she opened her eyes and shook her head, looking confused.
“I thought your magic would be clear by now. All I can do is tell you what it’s not.”
“Well, I guess that’s…something? What am I not?”
“It’s not green magic. It’s not pyromancy. It’s not elemental. It’s not healing, and it’s not telekinesis, nor heightened empathy or telepathy.”
“And that’s it?” I said in dismay.
Melisande nodded. “I know it’s not the answer you want. We’ll get there, I swear. Give it a few more weeks and I’ll try again.” She dropped my hands. “In the meantime, how are things going with the pack? I sense some tension. You have every legal right to come stay with us, you know.”
I sighed. “I appreciate the offer. I’ll…I’ll think about it.” I was angry at Killian, but I didn’t feel right going to stay with a group of virtual strangers. I stood up abruptly, pushing my chair back. “Thank you for trying. I hope to see you again soon. I’d better head out.” I guess at least I had a fun magical restaurant show waiting for me, although I was hardly in the mood to enjoy it.
When I left the room, Killian was waiting for me. He was so big, so imposing, so focused…on me. As if I actually mattered to him.
I didn’t want to get sucked back in and lower my defenses again.
I suspected that not moon biting me was much harder on him than he’d admit it. And how long could he go on like this? Being near me was actually harmful to him.
So I didn’t smile at him. I just shook my head. “I’m going to use the restroom,” I said to him.
Without waiting for an answer, I made my way to the ladies’ room and shut the door behind me.
After I’d used the toilet and was standing there washing my hands, the door opened—not the door where Killian was waiting, but a back door. It was Fionnulla.
“You want to go home,” she said to me. “I can tell.”
I shrugged unhappily. “I don’t know what I want.”
“You do, though.” She sighed. “I like you a lot. I hoped we could be friends, I could really use someone who had my back, but if I’m being your friend, I shouldn’t help keep you prisoner here. And there’s more. Your mother’s really freaking out.”
