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“Wait…she’s your mother and who else’s?” I ask, because I could’ve sworn Rowan said they were cousins in the car.
“She’sourmother.” Rowan gestures between himself and Killian.
“You two arebrothers?” My brows lift with surprise.
“Where the hell did you find this woman, Caz?” Killian grumbles, clearly agitated by my question.
“In my forest,” Caz replies as he exhales, letting a chain of smoke spill through his full lips.
“Your forest?” Killian continues a frown. “What was she doing there? Spying?”
“No,” Caz says, and nothing more.
“Is she wearing Juniper’s clothes?” Rowan sits forward in his chair. “She looks like Juniper right now. That’s literally the weird shit Juniper would wear.”
“Rowan, please.” Caz rubs the center of his forehead.
Someone knocks on the door, and I look back to see a short, pale boy with a gray cap on his head, his hands folded in front of him.
“Mr. Harlow, sir,” the boy says, his head slightly bowed. “Maeve and Juniper have arrived.”
“Good. Send them back.”
Caz puts out his cigarette, placing it on an ashtray, and then clears his throat as he leans back in his chair. Moments later, a woman appears between the double doors of the office. For the first time, I see someone dressed in color. She’s wearing a red skirt with a color-block white and black blouse tucked into it. A red hat with black and white beads is on her head, and her hair is in tight pin curls beneath the hat, not a single hair out of place. Red rubies wrapped in gold dangle from her ears. Her heels click as she enters the office saying, “This’d better be important, Caz, or so help me…” The woman stops in the middle of the office, staring at me.
“Who’s this?” she asks, but by the way she looks at me and the way her jaw drops, it feels as if she knowsexactlywho I am. I feel like I should know her too, but I don’t. I’ve never seen her before.
“Maeve, this is Willow Austin,” Caz announces, “and she’s the reason I’ve called you here.”
The woman continues staring at me, her mouth slightly ajar.
“By the stunned expression on your face, I’d say you know exactly who she is,” Caz goes on.
“No—I…I mean, yes, but…how?How is this happeningagain?” Maeve finally closes her mouth, pressing her red lips together and looking from me to Caz.
“Um…I’m sorry. Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?” I ask.
I glance at Rowan, and his eyes are wide as he shrugs hard, his shoulders practically touching his ears.
“Mum, why don’t you have a seat?” Killian suggests, rising from his chair.
“Yes. I’ll do that.” Maeve walks across the room, sitting in Killian’s chair. He rubs her arm, and she gives his hand a quick, affectionate pat. She pauses on the pat, stiffening as she studies his knuckles. “What happened to your hand?”
“Had to kick a Rippie fucker out,” Killian says, pulling his hand away.
“Language, Killian!” Maeve snaps, releasing his hand and then shaking her head. “Back to the issue at hand. Caz, where did she come from?”
“She landed in my forest, Maeve.” Caz folds his fingers on the desk. “She doesn’t know how she got there, or how she ended up in my territory, but she was there. Cerberus found her. Fortunately, I got there before he could rip her to shreds.”
Oh, fuck him!I frown at Caz.
He stares back at me, one eyebrow cocked.Fucking me should be the last thing on your to-do list right now.
My jaw drops, and I start to say something, but Maeve shifts in her chair and clears her throat. She’s staring at me again. I shift uncomfortably.
“You’ll have to pardon my gawking, darling. It’s just—well, the last time I saw you, you looked different. Your hair was…not like this. It was shorter. Curlier.”
“What do you mean? My hair has always been like this,” I tell her.
