Page 28 of Let Slip the Dogs of War

“I can—”

“No. I mean, yeah, if push comes to shove, sure. But no. It’s not worth what it might do to you.”

“I’ll protect you, too.”

He lifts his head. “I don’t doubt that. Really.”

Some of the tension in my chest eases. Grant sighs and shoves his hands into his pockets. “Right. He’s taking too long. I’m gonna go see what I can find out about my magic at least. You coming?”

“In a little bit.” I still can’t be in that room with him. Just a few more minutes.

Grant eyes me, but whatever he reads on my face settles him again. “Yeah, okay. Make sure you shout or something if anything spooky happens, okay?”

He walks off with a wave, and I glare at his retreating back. “That’s not cool!”

Grant laughs, and I shake my head, wearing my own faint smile. I can’t believe he’s lifted my mood so quickly. It’s not just about space from Lark now. I need time alone to think and make a plan. They’re all right. Ophelia is resourceful. She’s powerful, too, and her knowledge of bond magic and healing is far more extensive than most witches can boast. I trust she’ll be alive and well when we find her.

So three things. Find her. Get her. Bring her back.

I wander in the direction of the cottage as I think. Finding her is going to be the most difficult if Lark doesn’t get his power back. He surely can’t come with us to the fae court if he doesn’t have enough magic, and we’ll be vulnerable, too. Well, I will. Grant’s taken on at least one high fae before and he came out of that relatively unscathed.

But Lark seems to think Ophelia will be there, so that’s where we’ll go. I won’t be able to hide my magic, so I need to figure out a way not to stand out too much.

I dig my phone out of my pocket, annoyed that I didn’t grab anything before I ran out of the flat this morning. Yesterday morning? Who knows. Regardless, a notebook might have been more helpful, as well as clothes and food. Water. I sigh and turn my phone on.

For a while, I lose myself to the almost meditative feeling that always overcomes me when there’s a puzzle to solve and tap out a list of questions. Can Grant sense Ophelia’s magic? If he can, can he pick it out if there are more powerful fae around her? Is there any way I can help enhance his magic, maybe, or focus it into a specific spell?

I’m so lost to it that the sound takes me by surprise. My feet have carried me to the vegetable patch, and the general hum of magic from the plants is something I’ve started to get used to over the past few hours.

But here—I look up from my screen and squint, listening. Maybe I just heard, I don’t know, a bat or something? Something rustles.

Something near my feet.

I glance down. I’m standing next to a cabbage patch. Oh, okay, so maybe there’s a mouse or something rummaging around, looking for—

One of the cabbages rustles. It’s far bigger than I’d expect, round and almost swollen, dark green leaves curled in protectively. Magic reaches for me.

“Please don’t disturb my vegetables,” the witch says, and I yelp, almost tripping over my own feet as I back away from the cabbages.

“I—Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“You need not fret so much,” she says and smiles. She’s beautiful in the way all the fae I’ve ever seen are, even without their glamours. The shawl around her shoulders shimmers in the low light from the cottage.

“I think it’s just the right amount, really.”

She looks amused, at least, even if I’m bothering her vegetables and contradicting her. “Fae are often not as clever as they think. Particularly high fae. Hubris catches up to them in the end.”

“Is that why you treat Lark like that?”

“He is still mulling things over.”

That’s not an answer. I’ve not spent as much time around our new fae pack members as I could have, though it’s not like most of them are living in the building with us. Still, I know that’s a giveaway. Not answering when they want to lie.

“Your friend is resourceful, like you said,” she continues. “I am certain you will find her.”

I push my phone into my pocket. “Yeah, it’s getting her out of here that might prove tricky.”

“You will do your best to find a way.”