Cha waved that off.“Surely they’ve forgotten about that.”
“Forget that you seduced the local lord’s son and brought him back to Granite with you, causing the family to lose their hold on their ancestral lands?”Dy snorted in disbelief.“Not going to happen, Cha.”
“First of all, it was not a seduction, as he met me more than halfway.Second, hewantedto leave.I was an excuse.An opportunity, not an objective.”
“Good thing, since you dumped him.”
Cha held up a finger.“The relationship parameters were clear from the beginning.It’s not my fault he wanted more.And,” she added, “he got more.Last I heard, he was in Princess Adalaja’s entourage, knocking himself out trying to keep hersatisfied.Having personally experienced how little staying power he had, I don’t give him good odds.”
Dy laughed, a hint of her former sparkle in it, though she quickly sobered.“I’ve missed you, Bandit.”
If Cha had a heart, Dy’s words would have squeezed it.She hadn’t been sure Dy gave her much thought at all.“It’s not the same without you, Goldilocks.You know that.”
Dy nodded, then launched herself at Cha, seizing her in a fierce hug.Cha had to blink back a few tears.Nothing wrong with a bit of sentimentality at a moment like this.Probably it was the thought of all that coin that had her feeling emotional.She squeezed her diminutive partner with fervor.No, nothing had been the same without Dy.Their friendship was the only relationship in Cha’s life that had ever mattered and it had hurt that Dy left her behind so easily.“Does this mean you want to hear about the gig?”she whispered in Dy’s ear.
Laughing again, Dy pulled back and tapped Cha on the nose with a finger that tingled with a mildly painful spark of magic.“Bad kitty.”
“That’s Katu.”
“You and Katakume, both.We candiscussthe gig.WithPhin.”
“And with all the rosemary bread twists I can eat,” Cha added happily.Maybe Otto was right.It seemed shecouldstill talk Dy into anything.
Nice to know she hadn’t lost her touch.
~6~
Goldilocks and the Six Kids
“Absolutely not.”Dypropped her elbows on either side of her plate and clutched her head in her hands.“Go to Moonstone?No.There is no way in all the fae realms that we can pull this off.”
“Done with that?”Cha asked, reaching for Dy’s mostly empty plate.
“I can’t eat any more.My stomach has soured at the prospect of my imminent death or mutation.”
Cha snagged the plate and stacked it on top of hers, carrying it to the sink full of soapy water.Phinny was off ensuring the kids were all in bed—and safely out of earshot—so Cha had volunteered to do dishes.One could never lay the penance on thick enough.“If you’re too used to a day job to take a little risk…”
Dy lifted her head and glared at Cha, mouth open in astonishment.“My realistic assessment of risk is all that kept us alive all those years.”
“That’s why I need you,” Cha agreed cheerfully.“To avoid imminent death or mutation, as we’ve always so ably done.”
“You two never took on a job like this one before,” Phinny said flatly as she reentered the kitchen.
“What about Devil Run?”Cha gestured wildly, soap bubbles flying.“That was a fast turnaround.And dicey as the sixth hell with those little slime demons.”
“That wasn’tthisfast, you didn’t have to cross into freaking Moonstone, and slime demons are toddlers compared to the fae,” Dy retorted.“If we’d gotten pulled over on Devil Run, they’d have slapped you on the wrist and then invited you to race in the next tourney.”
“And you’d have bribed them with some ley magic,” Phinny said fondly, running a hand over Dy’s hair, then kissing her on top of her head.She sat with a relieved sigh.“Bless you for doing the dishes, Cha.I hate you one percent less now.But you can’t do this gig.I’m invoking my veto.”
“Give me your feet, sweetheart,” Dy said, scooting back her chair and patting her lap.With a grateful smile, Phin kicked off her slippers and propped her feet on Dy’s lap.“They’re swollen,” Dy commented.
“Every part of me is swollen,” Phinny replied wryly.“I swear this one is a boy.They’re always the worst.”
“You know,” Cha said conversationally, drying the last dish, “you two could always stop having kids any time you wanted.”
“Don’t start or I’ll revoke that one percent,” Phinny warned her.
“Phin wants an even dozen,” Dy said with a smile in her voice.Putting the last dish away, Cha glanced over her shoulder to see the pair with eyes locked, goofy expressions on their faces.Love.It addled a person’s brain, clearly.
