“Wait, what? This happened? Why didn’t you say anything?” Sophie looked from the drawing to me, concern on her face.
“What does it show?” Kaia asked.
“Um, it was almost a month ago? I’m sorry. I meant to bring it up and then I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t capable of defending myself, and I don’t know…” I shrugged, embarrassed to be caught out like this. Had I committed a sin? Would they be angry with me?
“This was why you were asking me about how else to fight them, weren’t you?” Sophie murmured, squeezing my shoulder. “It’s fine, you know. It’s rare that anybody can hold their own against a Kelpie, Faelan. You’re not expected to know what to do.”
“Hell, one of them tossed me halfway across the loch,” Kaia offered.
“One almost drowned me,” Shona added.
“Well, shite. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want you to think I was failing you so soon into joining the Order.”
“It’s okay.” I looked down as Orla came over and squeezed my hand, looking up at me with sympathy on her face. “I get why you didn’t say anything. When you’re so used to hiding, it’s scary to open up, isn’t it?”
“Aye.” Warmth filled me. I appreciated their easy understanding and acceptance of me.
“I don’t know.” Willow bit her lower lip, worry in her eyes. “I’ve never had a vision about the past, Faelan. It’salways about the future. This felt… I don’t know. Close. Soon. It’s not great.”
“Is that a wolf or a dog?” Sophie studied the drawing.
“Wolf,” Willow and I spoke at the same time.
“That’s so strange. We haven’t had wolves here in hundreds of years,” Shona murmured.
“This calls for more champagne,” Lia said and crossed the room and opened the door. Just as she stepped through the door, the huge ghost coo leapt through the wall.
We all screamed, but none so loud as Lia, who threw her hands up and crossed her legs.
“Damn it, Clyde!” Lia shrieked, and then bounced around, her legs crossed, trying desperately hard not to laugh.
“Oh no, did he do it again?” Sophie asked.
“Do what again?”
“One time!Onetime he made me pee my pants,” Lia said, giggling. “Though I’m not going to lie… maybe just a little bit this time?”
“Ewwww.” We all laughed as Lia turned tail and ran down the hallway, cursing Clyde the entire time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Faelan
Willow hadn’t been lying when she’d said she’d make me a sexy outfit. My mouth dropped open in front of the mirror when I put it on.
“Told ya.” Willow snapped the gum in her mouth and crossed her arms, looking pleased as could be.
She’d taken me at my word and had chosen a bold purple for the dress that hugged my body like a second skin. The neck scooped lightly, but in a demure manner, and long sleeves ended just before my wrists. The skirt hit mid-calf and the back had a zipper that ran all the way from the high back to the hem. That was the sexy part, aside from it being fitted, but the suggestion that someone could unzip the dress and have it fall from my body in one motion was decidedly enticing.
“This… this is a dress. It’s gorgeous, Willow.”
“Wear your hair up, but messy like, with some tendrils coming down. Big earrings. No necklace,” Willow advised, folding the garment bag over her arm and heading toward the door of my flat. “He’s going to swallow his tongue when he sees you.”
“You think? Gosh, I just. Wow.” I patted my hands down the dress and beamed at her. “I feel like a very modern Cinderella or something.”
“And my work here is done.”
Before I could ask her what I owed her, Willow raced from my flat telling me she had her own hot date. I hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask her again about her vision, but since I was fairly certain it had already happened, it hadn’t much bothered me.
