“But you’ll dish up your plate first,” Gideon insisted. He pushed his hand through his dark brown hair like the idea of me not eating bothered him.
I rolled my eyes. “I can take care of myself.”
“Just let him do his thing, dear,” Hazel said without pausing her loops and knots. “It’s the alpha in him. He can’t help himself.”
Gideon scowled at the spider lady and looked ready to refute her words.
“We all know it’s true.” Sandy shrugged. “And then after we eat that, we’ll all have more cake. The magic in it is divine.”
“It’s exactly what we need to find my Winston’s killer.” Tulip’s eyes took on a glassy sheen, looking even more watery than normal.
“Yes, dear.” Hazel patted Tulip’s knee with one of her creepy spider legs. “And then Elwood will be released, and we can all go back to our regular misfits’ meetings as usual.”
Chapter Ten
Misfits! Deploy!
Gideon
I’d intended to be at Elwood’s before the misfits arrived. Declan was new to magic, but the others wouldn’t know that, and since he was Elwood’s grandson, they’d assume he was used to seeing women with spider legs, mischievous sprites with pointy ears, and shadow imps who lived under the refrigerator. He wasn’t, though—it was all new to him—and while he’d taken the news pretty well so far, that crew could push anyone over the edge.
Unfortunately, I’d gone a little overboard on the whole food thing, so by the time Alvin had everything prepared, most of the group was already there. Declan seemed to be managing well. He kept taking wary glances at Hazel’s legs, but other than that, he seemed fine.
I watched as he dished himself up a small portion of the shepherd’s pie and a little of the salad. It wasn’t much, but he was a witch, not a wolf, so what did I know about how much theyneeded to eat to maintain good health? Maybe that was enough. Although it seemed to me that Elwood ate much more than that.
“Here, Gideon.” Sandy pushed a piece of cake my way. “Try a piece of this cake. It’s magically delicious.” He giggled. “Literally, I mean—you can taste the magic.”
“You really can,” Tulip added. “I was really sad when I came in, but as soon as I ate the cake, I felt much better.”
Sandy nodded. “Yep, same here. I hide it well, but I was feeling stressed from working so many shifts at so many different shops this week, and one bite and poof, all that went away. I feel fabulous. Like I said, magic.”
“Where did this come from?” I eyed the cake suspiciously. Rue was a fabulous baker, but she’d promised no enchantments in her food. No one wanted to accidentally find themselves in a binding contract with the Fae for simply eating at her café.
“Declan made it!” Sandy exclaimed. “And it’s fabulous.”
I glanced over at Declan, who looked pleased by the praise.
“You made this?” I asked.
“I did. I tend to stress-bake. It’s a thing.”
I nodded and picked up the plate. I ran it under my nose, inhaling the amazing scent. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mace… no, not mace… nutmeg, and yes, magic. The most delicious magic I had ever smelled.
Declan watched me as I took a bite and let out a little moan. “This may be the best cake I’ve ever eaten, Declan. Are you a baker by trade?”
He let out a wry chuckle. “I wish. I’m in advertising… social media, remember? Like we talked about at the meeting last night.”
“Well, you missed your calling.”
“Yeah, well, tell my dad that. He’s the one who insisted I study business, not baking.” He shook his head as if he wasclearing his thoughts. “But that’s not why you’re all here, is it? You came for your misfits’ meeting.”
“And to figure out who killed my Winston.” Tulip crossed her arms over her chest.
“Well, it wasn’t my grandfather. I know that.”
“None of us believes it was Elwood.” Az reached for a piece of the cake. “But he’ll be thrilled to know you’re using your magic.”
Declan tilted his head to one side and studied Azar. “Hold on. If everyone here is… not human, what are you?”
