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She shuffles away, leaning on her stick, and joins Dark, who takes her arm. I guess I’m only his second-best girl.
Charlie slings his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get the fuck outta here, bean.”
“You read my mind, Chaz.”
* * *
Even though I’mcompletely healed, the boys coddle me like I’m only a step away from death’s door.
I marinate in the attention. Who doesn’t love a little coddling? I study better when I’m coddled. Really.
Along with a substantially bigger bed, Dinger and two of the snuggler chairs show up before dinner. Even reviewing the ridiculous number of uses for Carolina larkspur until they’re burned into my brain isn’t so bad when I’m curled up with my bear and my boys.
There are even Fig Newtons.
Loyal’s challenge fades under the weight of the information I’m stuffing into my head until by the time I have tea with the Liusaidh, I’m looking back at it almost fondly in comparison to the welter of facts, chants, and sigils I’m trying to memorize.
The Liusaidh, for her part, doesn’t pry. She serves us proper tea and crispy little cakes that are both savory and sweet in the white and golden tower she lives in. All the rooms are round and somehow all the windows have views out into the meadows of Faery, even though that’s physically impossible since we came in from the mortal realm.
She explains the very distant way that she and Darwin are related, taking a meandering path through many of the fae houses. I expect Darwin to get twitchy with boredom. Surely he’s heard this many times before. But after we leave he tells me that’s the first time he’s ever been one-on-one with the Liusaidh. She appears at formal functions with his grandfather but otherwise keeps to herself in her tower.
I’ll admit that makes me like her more.
I go back for tea the next day and the next. The Liusaidh teaches me more about fae history and the Thistlemist nobility with each visit. I take Charlie and then Gabe with me. She lets Gabe kiss her on the cheek when we leave, which doesn’t surprise me. Little old ladies, even slightly terrifying ancient fae ladies, love Gabe.
She sends us off with a small bag of what she calls her “study tea.” She guarantees it will help us remember anything we read while we drink it. Mostly, it just makes me sleep well, which I appreciate because as our finals get closer, I’m spending more time staring up into the darkness above our bed, going over chants until I repeat them in my dreams.
We head back to Bevington on the morning of the fifth day. The twins and Struan went back to their respective schools yesterday, so the party that comes to see us off is small: Dark, Callan, Kathleen, and Darwin’s old nurse, Eibhlin. I haven’t seen Tyr since the day of the duel. Or her cousin. I can’t say I’ve missed them, either.
But for the duel, it's been, dare I say, a pleasant visit.
Chapter58
Blow, Bugle, Blow
The Mr. Black is waiting for us when I Earth-Walk us back into our kitchen.
“You’re on lockdown,” he says.
“What?” I goggle at him. “Also, nice to see you. We’ve been fine, thanks for asking, except that Loyal challenged me to a duel. Which I won—”
“Now’s not the time, Teddy,” Lords grates. “Hector Gravka disappeared before either the crows or the white cloaks could question him. He’s vain and vengeful. I consider it highly likely he’ll come after you. You only leave this building accompanied by me or another crow.” He lifts his chin toward the dining table, which is covered with papers and an open laptop. “I’ve moved my base of operations here until Gravka’s apprehended.”
The four of us groan.
Lords moves from where he was standing at our kitchen island with a cup of steaming tea—made himself right at home, didn’t he?—over to the dining table and picks up a sheet of paper.
“This is the exam schedule I’ve been given for you four. Please check it so I can cover you all coming and going.”
We cluster around the paper. Darwin and I have Necromancy together today at eleven, and Charlie and Darwin have Pyromancy together tomorrow morning, but other than that, we’re all going our separate ways until Early History of Magic on Friday.
“Good luck, mate,” I say, handing the paper back to Lords. Tomorrow afternoon, he’s going to need all hands to cover us since we’ll be in four different parts of the campus. “Also, how did you get in here? We re-warded it after Darwin’s father showed up unannounced.”
Lords gives me an arch glance. “I left a fixed point the last time I was here. No, I’m not telling you where it is. No, I’m not removing it. No, you don’t get to keep me out.”
I hold up my hands. “I wasn’t going to suggest any of that. I just wanted to know how you got around our wards.” I turn my head to look at Darwin. “Could your father have left a fixed point while he was here?”
Darwin pales until he’s green. “I hope not. I didn’t notice him doing magic while he was here.”
