Page 59 of Crown of Tides and Fury

“Lennon.”

I stopped but didn’t look back.

“Kitch and I will join you in twenty.”

“Join her where?” Ivy stood at the buffet table and glanced between me and her husband. “Going somewhere?”

I turned then, happy to watch the man squirm while he explained his plan to his wife. His mouth opened, but nothing came out, and I smirked.

Kitch came to his rescue. “We’re goin’ through her room, her clothes and such, to find out how Griffon Carew is trackin’ her.”

Ivy nodded slowly. “I see. Her clothesand such.” She looked at me again, noticed my blush, then shook her head. “You’ll have to forgive my husband. For a man who can travel through time, he doesn’t look very far ahead sometimes. When all is said and done, you’re going to feel violated enough without the full body search.” To him, she said, “Everly, Persi, and I will handle this.”

“You dinnae ken what to look for—”

“You can tell us.”

“Human eyes cannae see some things—"

“Persi might.”

Persi straightened and nodded.

Ivy winked at me. “We’ll come after breakfast.”

* * *

I stoodin the doorway of my decadent bedroom and realized Ivy knew what she was talking about. Having half a dozen people rifling through every inch of my belongings took me back to that day in March, when Wickham and I had discovered someone had tossed my apartment. Only this time, I watched it happen.

Everly's idea was to empty my closet and search each piece before it was put back. I was allowed to search my underwear, but Kitch had a little scanner he used on my jewelry and everything in my bathroom cabinets. We hoped to find some tracking device, or devices, long before they needed to search my...person. But while I stood there, watching in some strange sort of limbo while my friends trashed my room, I slowly realized the truth.

Even if they found some device, they would still need to search my body. Even if Griffon had tracked me as Kitch had, that day I ran away from the Edinburgh house, there had to be something on me, personally, that told the Fae exactly where I was, out there by the fence.

They’d checked my shoes--I'd kicked off my shoes fifty yards back.

They’d checked my outfit--I hadn't had those clothes at Tarbet Ness, when he'd found us on the coast and stolen Fallon from us.

The jewelry I'd been wearing proved innate, harmless. There was nothing left by me.

A mere hour later, the room had been combed, scanned, and returned to a semblance of its original order, and the six of them turned to face me.

Urban and Everly, Wickham and Ivy, Kitch and Persi.

Ivy clapped her hands. "All right. Everyone out. No need for an audience." When Wickham dragged his feet, trying to come up with a strong argument to stay, she gave him a shove. "If I can't find anything, Persi can try."

And if Persi failed? Obviously, someone else would try. Would I have to be humiliated six times?

For once, I had some anger for my flying professor.

Kitch looked back at me from the hallway and teased, "I feel as if the winner should get somethin'."

"No matter what, sweetheart," I said, and lifted my middle finger high. "You've earned this."

Ivy closed the door. "All right. Clothes first. Hopefully, we can find something right away, and be done."

I stripped, put on a thin robe, and felt through my underwear while she searched my pajama pants and t-shirt. Nothing.

“Okay. Face down on the bed. Take off the robe.”

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