Page 37 of The Water Witch (Fairwick Chronicles 2)

“You mean the way the undines lay an egg of Aelvesgold to protect their young?”

He made a face, either from pain or from squeamishness at talking about female reproductive cycles. “Not exactly. Undines only make enough Aelvesgold to protect their eggs. Once they lay their eggs they’re entirely depleted of Aelvesgold. If they don’t go back to Faerie, they’ll wither and die. No, I’m talking about a creature that makes its own Aelvesgold in this world and never needs to return to Faerie. If there was a race of creatures like that, they would rule the whole world and we wouldn’t have to worry about the door closing. I could do some research into it today and return this evening.”

We’d reached my back door. “What about Lorelei?” I asked. “We have to tell Liz and the others that she’s here in Fairwick.”

“I’ll alert your dean to the situation. You should try to get some rest. Transformations take a lot out of you.”

Before he left, he lowered his head and touched his cheek to mine, less a kiss than a nuzzle, a brief reminder of how we’d touched last night when we were deer. But instead ofleaning into it, as I had when we were deer, I flinched. He stepped back and stared at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m…”

“Exhausted,” he finished for me. “Get some sleep.” Then he was gone.

I opened the back door, chiding myself for reacting to Duncan’s touch like a…well, like astartled deer. Duncan was a nice man. He was trying to help. If I acted like that with every man who touched me, I was going to be alone for a long time in this big silent house.

Silent.

I listened for a moment until I had confirmed my first impression. The rain pounded on the roof, but there was no ping or patter of falling water within the house. Glorious silence. Bill had managed to seal the leaks—at least temporarily—with his tarps. What a prince! I might end up alone in this big old house, but at least I’d found someone to take care of it.

---