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“I can’t think of anyone who has teleportation magic in Fairhaven,” he said.
Good point. Teleportation required a lot of juice and experience. Phaedra wasn’t that accomplished. Neither was Sage.
“I know someone.” I dreaded summoning her, though. She would throw a hissy fit when she learned the details of what happened here.
Kane studied me. “Is this someone who knows your secret?”
I nodded. “And she’s killed to keep it, so let’s just say she’s very invested.”
“Do you only befriend killers, or is there room in your life for more docile creatures?”
“I don’t befriend anybody.”
He peered at me. “Do you truly not see yourself?”
The she-wolf stirred. It was time to get this circus on the road. “Would you mind waiting in another room while I summon her?” I’d need a minute alone with Matilda toexplain the situation. I knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t take kindly to Kane’s presence.
“I wouldn’t mind a bit of fresh air.”
I waited until he was outside to start the ritual. Several lit candles and a chalk circle later, the Night Mallt herself appeared in my living room. The Celtic spirit wore a long silk robe, curlers in her hair, and a mud mask on her face, a far cry from the fierce warrior who rode with the Wild Hunt once upon a time.
“I hope you have a very good reason for interrupting my self-care routine, cariad.”
“I do.”
She stepped outside the circle. “Where’s your cloakroom? I can’t see very well. I need to wipe this gunk off my face before I can do anything.”
I escorted her upstairs to the primary bathroom and handed her a washcloth and a towel.
“You talk while I do this.” She moistened the washcloth and wiped away the thick mask.
I updated her on the menagerie in my dining room and Kane’s involvement.
“You can send the devil demon home now that I’m here,” Matilda said. “No need to risk exposing your secret.”
The look on my face must’ve given it away, because she gaped at me in the mirror’s reflection.
“You told him?” Matilda sounded as outraged as I imagined.
“He figured it out, mostly.”
She unrolled the curlers one at a time and tossed each one in the sink with clipped movements to express her dissatisfaction. “A small town was a mistake. You should’ve stayed anonymous in London. It was safer for you there.”
“My secret is safe with him.”
She eyed me closely in the mirror. “And why is that?”Gasping, she shrank back. “You two knocked boots, didn’t you?”
“There was no knocking of boots.” I hesitated. “Only a slight rubbing together of them.”
Pivoting to face me, she clucked her tongue. “Whatever am I to do with you, enaid? Have you no sense of self-preservation?”
“I have plenty of sense. It was the goat that made me take my leave of them.” A small but necessary white lie.
“Well, let’s see if we can clean up the mess the goddess of mischief and ruin left behind, shall we?”
“Thank you. If it’s any consolation, you look amazing.”
She turned to admire herself in the mirror. “I do, don’t I? My skin is flawless.”
