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“Whatever did you do to that man?” asked Cade when he was gone.
“It doesn’t matter, and neither does he,” Eucilla said in answer and walked into the room. Her gaze swept over me, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You are all right?”
“Yes, fine, no doubt thanks to Cade,” I said. But I was tired again and slumped on the settee.
Derrick moved to sit beside me, his mouth quirking up into a small, almost shy smile. Handsome as he was, I could see the worry in his face, the insecurity underlying the way he leaned back into the cushions and crossed his arms. The memories I had touched in him swirled to the surface, and I fought to push them away.
How much had Montgomery stolen from him?
Would he be the same man now that pieces of him were gone? There was history he would never remember, people and places that had been eaten straight out of his mind. There was no telling what damage had been wrought, not on the surface. And Maker knew I hadn’t a clue how to fix it. Or even if it could be fixed at all.
I smiled back at him, equally shy, and a little ache settled in my heart.
“Well, you did make me work for it this time.” Cade was saying as he moved to lean against the doorframe and crossed his arms. “Though I will say, when I told you to stall for time, that wasn’t an invitation for you to take Derrick’s place.”
Derrick grunted his agreement.
“In any case, as your attending Healer, I have some warnings to give,” Cade said with a frown. “Recovery is going to be weeks, not days. Your heart was put under a great deal of strain. Your magic too. Doing simple things like making tea are going to make you feel weak, but that’s normal. I promise. You’re going to be all right.”
Confused, I glanced at Eucilla. “I thought his fingers had to be attached to my skull for him to eat me. The way he did with Derrick and Delilah.”
“For an easy transition, yes,” Eucilla supplied. “The sluaghna would need his claws in your scalp, digging into your brain. But they have been known to do a quick and dirty consumption of a soul, which is what he tried to do with you.”
“In that case, all he needs is to be touching you,” Derrick said. “Which he was.”
Shivering, I pulled my blanket closer. So, I had nearly taken Derrick’s place. I would have been like Delilah, hollowed out and dead with that creature living inside my husk.
“What happened with Delilah? Well, Mariana, I suppose.”
“She put up a fight, but we have her locked in the deepest cells of Fairy. Interrogations are ongoing.” Eucilla said, folding her hands in her lap.
“And we’re still rooting out all of Delilah’s supporters,” Cade mentioned. “Anyone who had a hand in that warlock trafficking ring is being uncovered. Soon, this whole operation will see the inside of a cell. Thanks to you.”
I shook my head, meaning to refute that sentiment. This team had already been hard at work trying to put an end to the warlock trafficking here, it didn’t seem right to take an equal share of the praise when I hadn’t wanted to be here in the first place. Though it was hard to deny the surge of pleasure that washed through me when Derrick echoed the sentiment.
Traumatic as it was, it felt good to have been a small part of this victory.
“Yes, thanks to you,” Eucilla said, crossing her ankles under her chair in an oddly ladylike move. “And to show that gratitude, I have assigned Derrick to escort you home. He will aid you during the weeks of your recovery and help reinforce the wards in your home.”
A chill went down my spine as I realized what she meant. “Bess and Martin?”
“Are wanted criminals,” Eucilla said with a gentle nod. “Though it is my duty to inform you that they have fled Boston.”
“We went to apprehend them for questioning shortly after discovering your lack of education,” Cade mentioned. “As far as the Bright go, it was a large red flag.”
“They fled?” I asked, too startled by the information to hold it in. And then I blushed. “Of course they fled.”
“I’m not sure how much of the file you were able to read before the sluaghna came after you, but I will be certain you have a copy brought to you,” Eucilla said. “I know it won’t be easy to stomach, but I hope you recognize a helping hand when it’s reaching for you.”
I smirked and eyed Derrick. “It may have found me in an unorthodox manner, but yes, I do.”
“We’re only sorry it took this long to find you,” Cade said. “If Derrick hadn’t picked your name from the phone book, we might never have known about the Birchwood’s activities.”
The Birchwoods. Not Grayson.
They were criminals, there was no escaping that fact anymore, but the idea that they could abandon me so easily pricked deep. What more could they possibly be hiding?
Eucilla’s assessing gaze settled on my face. I tried to straighten, to appear stronger than I felt, but that weakness Cade warned me about was evident. My eyes were grainy and heavy, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the settee and sleep again. She must have read the exhaustion on my face because she made a little humming sound in the back of her throat and dipped her chin in gentle acknowledgement.
