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“And a bit of a walk home,” I added as I cast my sights down the long road.
I yelped as Ben scooped me into his arms. A sly grin lay on his lips as his twinkling eyes smiled down at me. “I have a better idea.”
Ben dashed into a nearby alley and as he ran his wings opened up behind him. He leapt into the air and flapped hard, and soon we had crested the tops of the buildings. I looped my arms around his neck and enjoyed the view.
“I must admit my curse does grant me this privilege,” Ben mused as we sailed across the sky.
I looked down at his arms that dipped beneath me. “And are you stronger than normal?”
He nodded. “Yes, and my speed is greater, though not as great as even that of people such as Palla.”
That name conjured up images of the skillful female assassin, and I couldn’t help but shudder. “That’s okay. You’d be sneaking up on me all the time. That is, more than you already do.”
He chuckled. “You’re previous life must have been quite tranquil that you let your guard down so often.”
I shrugged. “It was pretty normal. Get up, go to work, come back, and fall asleep on the couch watching some television.”
“Television?”
“It’s like theater, only smaller,” I told him before a thought came to me. “Almost like the cards those kids were playing. What was the name of it? Puck?”
A pensive expression settled on Ben’s face. “Yes. That is another mystery we have on our hands.”
I snorted. “I think I could do with that couch comfort.”
A mischievous grin slipped onto his lips. “I do have such a couch in my room. You won’t be disturbed there.”
My eyes twinkled as I leaned back to study him. “Not at all?”
He gave me a coy look. “Well, perhaps some disturbance, but not all interruptions are distasteful.”
I stifled a yawn and tilted my head back to enjoy the view of the stars that twinkled above us. “Tempting, but I’ll have to think about it.”
We reached the area of Ben’s home in a few minutes, but he landed us a couple of blocks down in the tree-covered rear garden of a neighbor’s house. My pained feet got me the rest of the way, and I was glad to see the front door of the house. Ben and I slipped inside, and we found Tully waiting in the hall like some servant made of stone.
“Do you ever get any sleep?” I asked Tully as I peeled off my coat.
He cast an accusatory look at Ben as he took our coats. The master smiled and clapped a hand on Tully’s shoulder. “Father always mentioned how you loathed mornings. Now we hardly see them more than three times a week.”
Tully’s expression showed he was less than thrilled with the change in schedule, but the silent servant instead nodded in the direction of the study. That reminded me that we had a guest to attend to.
Ben nodded at his old friend. “Yes, we have quite a few things to tell him-”
That would have to wait as a knock came from the front door. We all stiffened, and Ben’s eyes darted to Tully. The servant inclined his head and moved over to the door where he opened the portal just slightly.
A nervous voice spoke up. “I-is Count Castle home?”
My ears perked up. “Lew?”
“Miss Millie!” Lew shouted back.
“Let him in,” Ben commanded his servant.
Tully stepped aside and opened the door wide. He needed to because Lew wasn’t alone. A girl and a boy about his age followed him as he rushed inside. The pair were a little more apprehensive and kept close to the door even as Tully shut it behind them.
Lew hurried up to us and pointed at his companions. “I brought them, Millie. The others.”
I blinked at him. “The other what?”
