Page 64 of Crown of the Fae King

His sudden laugh cut me off. He patted my hand and winked, then picked up his utensils again. “No need to alter yer memory,” he said. “What I showed ye was…illusion. I vowed I would tell no one where I’ve tucked Ivy and my boys, and I havenae. The only truth to what ye saw were their sleeping faces. All else was smoke and mirrors. If someone were to read yer mind—and in our world, that tends to happen from time to time—they would see that memory and believe it. I do apologize, though, for placing a red herring in yer head, but I am grateful ye thought to protect them. Ye’re a good lass.”

I was relieved he wouldn’t need to poke around my memories and possibly stumble on Hank’s secret, but I was bothered by his lie, even though he had a perfectly good reason for it. I thought of his warning to believe his sisters no more than I would believe a fairy and figured the same applied to him. And as I headed for my room, I wondered…

Can anyone be trusted?

27

Pet Rock Tricks

With the Muir brothers in Oxford, Lorraine and Loretta decided to move back to their own home in Edinburgh. I called them every evening to give them an update, then bored them with the minutia of our everyday life in the house. They always liked to hear what Kitch and Persi were up to and how they were managing to stay away from each other. I let Wickham know that, as far as I could tell, the sisters seemed content to stay away.

Since none of us were left at Edinburgh Headquarters, Headquarters was relocated to Oxford along with the Youngs. The two couples thought it was a fair trade-off to take care of a bigger house but without the cooking responsibilities. After their first meal from Alwyn, they were even happier about it.

Two sous chefs were added to our company, though they came in the morning and left after dinner. Alwyn lived on site, bringing our total to fifteen. There were now 2 MacKenzies, 4 Youngs, 2 designers, myself, Kitchens, 1 chef, and 4 witches--Wickham, Persi, and the Irishmen—living in the mansion. Since seven out of the fifteen were staff, we hadn’t increased our hunting pack, just consolidated it once again.

Wickham said he was working on it.

Dr. McAvoy finally pinned me down long enough to use his little x-ray machine on my arm. I could tell he’d prepared a spiel about removing my cast too soon, but instead of delivering it, he shook his head and pointed to the little screen about the size of a large iPad. “How did ye heal yer bones so quickly? Was it Wickham? Did he do this?”

“I…I honestly don’t know.”

The man smiled. “Maybe he’s helping Urban as well.”

I doubted it. I had the feeling Wickham wouldn’t have done anything to me without discussing it first. If he wouldn’t touch my memories without permission…

I found him in the war room and asked him straight out.

“Heal yer bones?” He shook his head, but he was intrigued. “And I cannae imagine any among us could have done it. No healers on the premises. Though I dinnae recall ye complaining about the pain after those first days.”

“Maybe I just have a high threshold.”

“Never suffered much as a child?”

“I think I was pretty normal.”

“Odd, then, that this would happen now.”

“Yeah. Odd. I’m trying to remember the last time my arm really hurt. Maybe that night Hank started hissing. I was surprised he hadn’t complained before that. After all, I did leave him before I got on that bus, and I’d been back for days.”

“Perhaps ye couldnae hear him through the pain and drugs.” He frowned and tapped his lips. “Persi never laid her hands on ye then? I met a witch, once, who’d been gifted with a powerful wish.”

“No. Nothing like that.”

“What about Hank?”

I laughed. “I can honestly say he’s never touched me. But I do remember the morning after we dug him up, I felt awesome when I brought him down to breakfast. I had him tucked in my cast while the rest of you were waiting to see him…” I leaned against a table to keep my legs under me. “I had him tucked inside my cast…all that night.”

Wickham and I stared at each other, stunned for a minute. Then a lightbulb went on in my brain and I ran for the door.

“Lennon?”

I shouted over my shoulder. “Hank! And Urban!”

Wickham stoodoutside the MacKenzie’s bedroom door and stopped me from going in. “Lass,” he said, “I dinnae think we should get Everly’s hopes up. If I distract her, do ye suppose ye could slip Hank inside his bandages?”

“Good idea.”

Everly allowed me to sit with her sleeping husband while she went to the kitchen for a bite to eat. Wickham went along to cheer her up, then waited for me in the hallway once they returned. “Any difference?”

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