Page 79 of Horn of Winter

Her smile flashed. “You are no mere Aodhán. You are a godling, and as such, cannot be otherwise adjusted.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“I would imagine so.” Her body uncoiled as she moved to one side. “You may go. My orb will once again lead the way.”

I nodded a goodbye and followed the bobbing green light back through the tunnels. As much as I wanted to ask about Mom and her interactions with the council, now was not the time. Once through the oily feeling door, I leaned my head against the wall and swore, long and hard. Then I grabbed my phone and rang my brother.

“We need to talk,” I said the minute he picked up. “Where are you?”

“Just about to head home.” Which in brother-speak meant he was probably another half hour away from leaving. “You want to come for dinner?”

I glanced at the time and saw with surprise it was close to seven. Liadon’s underground world definitely stretched the boundaries of time and place. “That would be great.”

“I’ll give Darby a heads-up then.” He paused. “You okay?”

“Yeah, but we’ve got a big problem. I’ll explain when I get there.”

“I shall hurry myself up then.”

As I made my way down the stairs, I called for an Uber. By the time I got down to street level, it was absolutely chucking it down, but the worst of the peak hour traffic had at least passed, so it didn’t take us long to get across to Lugh’s.

As I hastily punched in the code to open the door and then dripped inside, Darby shouted out, “Wine or tea?”

“Both!”

She laughed, but I heard the tap running as she filled the kettle. I hung up my coat, then shucked off my boots and padded into the living area. The air was rich and warm, filled with the delightful scent of roast chicken.

“God, that smells divine.” I perched on the stool and accepted the white wine she handed me. “My brother is never going to let you go if you keep this up.”

“That is, of course, my wicked plan.”

I smiled and took a sip of the wine. It was a chardonnay that was rich, buttery, and quite lovely. “How’s the week off going?”

“Great—been spending time with Talein, Rossita, and Ruairí.”

Talein was Darby’s older brother and Ruairí his son, the first-born male in their generation, meaning the family had an heir to carry the name forward and all the pressure on Darby to marry and produce said heir had dissipated, allowing her to marry whoever she chose, whenever she chose. Of course, given the fertility differences between elves and pixies, Lugh would be well into his middle years by the time Darby reached her fertile period. Not that I thought either of them actually cared. I knew for certain Darby didn’t, as she and I had discussed that very thing many times over the years. I might have gently pushed my brother toward her, but only because I was certain she’d considered all the realities.

“Is he still impressing everyone with the power of his lungs?”

“Believe me, when that boy wants to be fed, the entire encampment knows about it.” She made a mug of tea then pushed it across the counter toward me. “Oh, before I forget, Win called me. He’s got some names for you, and wants to meet for morning tea tomorrow, if you’re free.”

And was no doubt anticipating more sticky buns. “I gather he talked to Harold then?”

“No, Marjorlaine.”

My eyebrows rose. “I thought he quit because he didn’t see eye to eye with her?”

“He did, but as he noted, an ice witch running around Deva causing havoc does the guild no good at all. I also suspect hemight have put a rocket up the woman’s butt—he might have retired but he still has a lot of respect and pull within the guild.”

“Which makes it all the more shameful that he’s basically been forgotten by the guild.”

“He has a pension with them, but he’s philosophical about the lack of contact otherwise. Says it’s natural for friendships to fade with time.”

“Our fucking friendship had better not,” I growled, in mock anger.

She laughed. “Not a chance in hell. Besides, I’m going to be your sister-in-law, so there will be no escaping me.”

I lightly clicked my wine glass against hers. “Are you coming to Win’s too?”

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