"Connor's my guest," I said through gritted teeth.
"Coworker," Connor interrupted.
Inara's expression held betrayal as her gaze flitted between Connor and me. "Say you didn't. You're not that dumb."
I scratched my neck, not answering.
As if sensing the danger had passed, Connor moved into my living room, taking a seat on the edge of my couch and leaving me to handle my roommates.
"Aileen? Seriously!"
I knew this would be their reaction. It was why I'd hesitated to invite Connor into my apartment in the first place.
For some reason, that I still didn't know, the two had adopted me, taking my safety even more seriously than I did. They'd helped me out of a dangerous situation more than once.
Inara landed on the counter and paced in a circle. "I thought you knew better than this."
Evidently not.
I spread my hands. "What can I say, he's proven himself useful."
Inara's eyes narrowed on me, suspicion moving through her expression. "Something would have had to happen for him to prove that."
"About that," I started. The two of them would find out eventually since I'd planned to use them and their contacts to help in my research.
"What happened?" For someone so small, Inara could be awfully intimidating at times.
"Aileen was attacked by a Fae." The answer came from Connor where he sat on the couch, looking around him with entirely too much interest for my comfort.
"What Fae?" Inara demanded.
"We were hoping you could tell us," I said.
A streak of purple and blue sailed by me. Seconds later, Lowen landed on the coffee table, the bow and arrow nowhere to be seen.
"What did they look like?" Lowen asked.
"I can't be sure. His umbrella hid his face," I said, thinking through events. "But he had some type of tentacles or something under there."
"They tried to drag Aileen through a fairy door," Connor volunteered.
I gave him a sharp glance. He was awfully chatty all of a sudden.
"There aren't many people who can create one of those." Lowen shared a look with Inara.
That's what I figured. Magic on that scale had to be rare and spoke of a power I didn't want to tangle with.
"Any idea where the door went?" Inara asked, some of her earlier hostility tabled for now.
Connor shook his head. "I did not recognize the taste of the magic."
"Neither did I," I inserted.
All three of them ignored me, but that wasn't too surprising since I was the one who had the least experience with Fae magic.
"This is concerning," Inara said.
"That's why I was hoping you could ask Niall or Cadell for their take on things," I said.
