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I sniffed the air. Sure enough, the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee drifted out from the kitchen. "I think Camille's making a pot. Cream and sugar?"
"Nah. As black as ink and as thick as mud. Thanks." As he stretched his arms overhead, his T-shirt clung to the muscles that spanned his chest, framing his narrow waist. I tried not to stare but found myself mesmerized. The scent of his sweat hit my nostrils, and I quivered, not sure what to say or do next.
He squinted at me. "You look different this morning," he said.
"How so?" I asked, blushing. His gaze was almost palpable, like warm fingers tiptoeing over my skin on a cold morning.
Zach let out a low laugh. "I'm not sure. A little older. Alive and vibrant. Maybe I'm just tired, and everything seems vivid but… you just look…"
After an awkward moment, not knowing what to say or do, I forced myself to stammer out, "I'll be right back with your coffee. By the way," I added at the door, "the Northlands aren't on any map. They aren't in OW, either. They exist outside of both realms, through one of the sky portals. But that doesn't matter. We won't be going there. Smoky's invoking the Autumn Lord to come Earthside."
Leaving him to contemplate that, I headed into the kitchen.
Camille was standing near the stove, drinking her coffee. She'd dressed in a calf-length walking skirt, a plum cowl-necked sweater, and a pair of knee-high leather boots that had buckles on the side and a good tread for walking, even if the heels were three inches high. I never bothered to ask her how she could manage heels in the woods; it just seemed to come naturally to her. Meanwhile, I'd opted for my comfortable go-for-a-hike jeans, a turtleneck that was as turquoise as tropical water, and a pair of sneakers.
I leaned against the sink next to her, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to figure out what to do about Zach. There was some sort of mutual attraction between us, that much was obvious, but I had no idea where to go from there. Or if I should go there at all.
"You okay?" Camille gave me a worried look.
"Yeah, I guess. Zach's here. He asked for some coffee."
Whether it was the hesitation in my voice or whether she was just observant, Camille set down her mug and faced me, a knowing smile on her lips. "You want him, don't you?"
I shrugged. "That's just it. I don't know. I wasn't sure at first whether it was just hormones or whether I was really attracted to him. I'm still not certain, but whatever it is, the feeling is getting stronger."
Camille sighed and poured him a mug of coffee. "He take cream and sugar?" I shook my head, and she continued. "I think you inherited a lot of your emotional reactions from Mother."
"Maybe, but it's not that I feel guilty because of Chase…" I stopped, searching my feelings. What I'd said was true, to a point, but there was something else there, something that made me hesitate.
I tried again. "Zachary's sexy and a Were and he seems like a good guy. I should be attracted to him. It makes sense. But I keep thinking, am I attracted to him because I think I'm supposed to be? What I have with Chase isn't logical. Chase isn't a Supe, he's possessive even though he tries to pretend he's not, he'll age and die a long time before I will. But… there's just something about him that I've grown comfortable with."
"Maybe you're more like Father than Mother," Camille said.
Letting out a long sigh, I jumped up to sit on the counter and swung my legs back and forth. "Zachary makes me feel awkward, like I'm not in control of myself. I don't feel very confident around him. And I don't know why."
"Want a little advice?" At my nod, Camille said, "Don't sweat it. Don't force it. Right now we have more important things to worry about, and I'd say just put the whole issue on the back burner for a while. If Zach and you are meant to come together as lovers, it will happen in its own time."
I stared at the coffee. The dark liquid was steaming, and a light froth of foam coiled on top. "I guess that's all I can do." As I reached for the mug, I noticed something on a paper plate near the microwave. "What's that?"
"Something important. I was going to tell you, but we got off track. This is another reason I suggest you wait to act on your feelings for Zach."
I glanced at the paper plate. It held a sticky pile of spiderweb, the web that had been Cromwell's final stand. "What's wrong?"
"I did some scrying on this web before dawn. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went out to make sure the new wards were holding. And then I checked the back porch—which I forgot to do last night in all the excitement." She paused, looking worried.
"And?"
"And… of course I found spider energy on the web and porch. But there was something beneath it—as if there'd been two magicians here, not one. So I did some more scrying to find out who was with the spiderling."
I nodded. "What did you find? Demon energy? The Jansshi demon?"
"That's the tricky part," she said, shaking her head. "Not demon energy, Delilah, but werepuma. Cat magic."
I tried to comprehend what she was saying, and then it dawned on me. "You're kidding! Couldn't it be some residue from me or something?"
She shook her head, keeping her voice low. "No. And to make sure, I checked Cromwell's body. There was a strong vibration of cat magic on him."
"But how do you know? I buried him." She couldn't be right about this; it meant… it meant too many bad things to think about. "Maybe the werepuma was following Cromwell's killer? Maybe he tried to stop him?"
