“Okay. Let’s go.”
She squealed and hurried to put on her jacket.
She had just as many questions on this outing as the previous one, mostly due to us going to another part of town. When I stopped in front of the shop, I warned her not to get out right away.
We both looked around.
“I don’t see anyone, but stay where you are,” Zotera said. She got out and walked around the car to open my door for me. “It’s safe.”
I had one foot out the door when a truck suddenly materialized on the road. The roar of its engine vibrated my ribs as it barreled the last three feet toward Zotera. She put out her hand like she was bracing for impact.
The moment her fingers touched the grille, the truck transformed into flowers. The rainbow of fragrant blooms rained around her as a troll, no longer seated in his truck, skidded his ass along the road until he bounced and rolled.
I remained frozen where I was and watched him come to an unmoving stop.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“Does it matter?” Zotera asked, not sounding like herself.
“It does if we want to know where he came from. Trolls don’t have the ability to suddenly appear.”
I pulled out my phone and called Megan.
“We need you at the Threadbare Trader,” I said.
Megan swore under her breath. “Just a second. I’m sorry, Oanen.” I heard clothes rustling and closed my eyes with a cringe, well aware of what I’d interrupted.
Megan appeared in a flash several seconds later, looking very disheveled.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed.
Rather than look at me, she took in the flowers and the troll lying in the center of the road.
“What happened?”
“He was in a truck that just suddenly appeared and tried to run down Zotera. It was portaled here.”
She went to the troll, picked him up by the collar, and commanded him to confess. His whispered response was too quiet for me to hear, but based on the way Megan released him, I knew it wasn’t good.
“He can’t remember,” she said. “Just like the mermaids.”
Then she gave me a hard look. “Why did you leave the house?”
“I’m sorry. I just—”
Zotera stepped in front of me. “Remember your place, daughter of Hades. It is not for you to question Ashlyn.”
“Whoa. Wait,” I said, scrambling out of the car and grabbing Zotera’s arm. “We don’t turn on friends. Ever. Okay? Megan’s only trying to keep me safe.”
Megan sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “No, Zotera’s right. I sounded like Adira, which is not something I ever want to do. Sorry.”
She glanced at the shop. “Chocolate run?”
I nodded.
“I’ll go in with you.”
Mags was really quiet when the three of us entered and I asked for chocolate. Her gaze darted from me to Megan.
