Conall snorted. “You don’t have enough of them panting after you at home?”
“What can I say? I like the attention.”
I knew for a fact that was a lie. Based on the man’s next words, he knew it too.
“We’ll see if you still feel that way Tuesday night. The only females we came across were three druids a few miles back.”
“Thanks.”
Silence descended, and I struggled to keep my eyes closed. Curiosity won out, and I peeked through one eye only to squeal and stumble backward when I saw Fenris’s grinning face inches from mine.
“What is wrong with you?” I smacked his arm and looked around for the other wolf.
“He already left, and I was wondering how long you’d keep your eyes closed.”
“So you got in my face?”
“It was pretty funny.”
I shook my head at him, slightly amused but unwilling to admit it. The last thing Fenris needed was encouragement.
“Are you ready to find your druids?”
“More than ready.” Blood pumping from the scare, I managed to walk on my own for quite a distance before Fenris caught me shivering again. I didn’t protest when he picked me up, but I was careful to keep my hands and eyes to myself.
“I smell smoke,” he said softly. “They aren’t far off now.”
“I can make it the rest of the way on my own.”
He snorted.
“And how are you going to find your way back? Just accept that I’m here for the whole thing.”
I wrinkled my nose, wondering how long it would take him to figure out the druids and I were responsible for Ashlyn’s disappearance after I told them she was missing. Probably seconds.
The girls weren’t camped in some nice clearing or anything. They had a tiny, one-man tent set up in a space between two large oak trees. Anne popped up from her spot by the fire as soon as she spotted me.
“I’m going to kill Tegan,” she said, the anger in her eyes glittering more than her makeup.
“You didn’t give me much of a choice.” I wiggled in Fenris’s hold, and he set me down. “You could have just texted me.”
“We were busy.” Annoyance laced Meg’s expression and tone. “We—”
“Need her,” Lauv said, looking at the other two. “I’m cold and tired, and she’s the answer. We’re ready to call in that favor, Eliana. We want you to seduce a dryad.”
“Favor? I don’t owe you anything. My mom is still in Uttira, and Ashlyn is missing.”
All three frowned.
“It should have worked,” Anne said.
“Maybe if we’d kept to the spell, it would have,” Meg said. While Meg and Anne glared at each other, Lauv stood and brushed off her butt.
“We’ll cast it again. This time, we’ll get it right.”
“No, you won’t. And you’re not listening. Ashlyn is missing. She disappeared, and the last time I saw her was in the bathroom. You need to find her. Now.”
The three of them shared glances and, almost as one, looked at Fenris then me.
