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Daithi turned away from us. “It is, as you said, a long story. And complicated. I will know more when you have divulged what you witnessed.”
My stomach embarrassed me, growling loudly as though Clawdia the cat now resided in my belly.
Charlie grinned. “Maybe we should feed you before we talk.” I hugged my midriff with my shaking hands and nodded meekly. “Full English? You liked it as a cat.”
“That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
I then realized I was talking to Charlie. I was saying words to the man I had been stalking since I became a familiar. “Charlie,” I said for absolutely no reason other than I could. The downside to that was that everyone else could hear me, too.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I shook my head.
He narrowed his eyes. “Do you remember—?”
I laughed. “Being a cat? Yes, Charlie. I remember it all.” I couldn’t wait to tell him everything that had been going through my mind, ask him questions, and get to know him as a person.
But for that, I’ll have to stay human. Can I do that? Don’t I want to be a cat again?
He blushed, something I had never seen before, and ran a nervous hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
I coughed out a little laugh. I turned to Zaide, who hadn’t taken his eyes off me. “Can you help me get up? I don’t know how steady I’ll be on my feet.”
“Of course. Charlie, do you have something to give Clawdia to cover herself?” I hadn’t realized until that moment that I wore a tangled sheet that barely covered me. I tucked it more securely around myself, and Zaide did the same with his sheet.
“Sure. Two seconds,” Charlie said and rummaged around in the chest of drawers behind him.
I looked up at the big purple eyes. He stood gracefully, reminding me of a roman warrior with the white sheet around his waist and the scars covering his golden skin. He reached down and gripped my elbows, pulling me to my feet with ease.
Chills ran up my arms at his touch. There was something both exciting and calming about it. It was addictive. I wondered if he felt the same, because he stared for a long moment when I reached my full height on wobbly legs.
“Here you go,” Charlie said cheerfully, passing me a pair of drawstring jogging bottoms and a t-shirt. “Zaide, you can change in the bathroom.”
I thanked him. Daithi turned on his heel and left swiftly, and Charlie seemed to have to tug Zaide out with him.
I dropped my sheet, sat on the edge of the bed, and quickly grabbed the bottoms to pull my legs into. The top was more difficult since I had used my energy on the bottoms, but after a quick battle that made my arms ache I got it on.
I stumbled out of the room, pointedly ignoring the mirror.
* * *
I dove into my breakfast,making groans and moans as the flavors danced in my mouth and memories swirled in my head. Overwhelmed with sensation, a tear escaped my eye even as I continued shoveling food into my mouth as though I hadn’t eaten in the past two years.
The stares of the men sitting at the table unsettled me, but I didn’t acknowledge them as my cutlery clattered and scrapped against my plate.
Zaide opened his mouth to say something, but Daithi glared and interrupted, “Savida first.” Zaide’s lips tightened, but he nodded, and Daithi turned to me. “What happened to Savida last evening? How did he end up in the shed on your property with his fire missing?”
Daithi waited until I was three quarters of the way through my breakfast to begin the inquisition. I couldn’t blame him since he was clearly anxious, and I tried to push down my irritation at being interrupted. I swallowed. “Winnie and Mary took it.”
“What?” Charlie gasped.
Zaide asked, “Who is Mary?”
“How? Humans can’t do such things.” Daithi’s calm facade was cracking, and his anger showed through.
Intimidated, I replied with a nervous tremble in my voice, “They are witches. They have the same lifetime as humans, but more power. Mary is Winnie’s girlfriend. I am Winnie’s familiar.”
“Witches. Next door. Fuck me.” Charlie scrubbed his face and pressed his palms into his eyes.
