“I did. He said he would find you. Whatever that meant.”
I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. “Did he seem powerful?”
“Hard to say. Some fae can hide their power signatures.” I was one of them. My tattoos had been repaired and hid the truth of what I was, and for some reason, they seemed to affect my fae power signature as well. Not a bad thing, considering whose daughter I was, but if other fae could hide their power in a similar way as I could, Lou could be anyone.
“Do you think he’s here to harm anyone?”
I slowly shook my head. “He seems more curious than anything.” It was the truth, though curiosity in the fae and gods had caused more harm to humans than any other force in the world.
I could only hope his curiosity stayed with food and drinks and women rather than meddling in any of the other hundreds of things that could make life go sideways for us all.
Chapter
Ten
It was too damn cold for gelato, but only a fool passed up a dessert made by a siren. I tasted no magic in the confection, but sometimes sweet treats held their own innate magic, no fairy dust required.
Moira and I sat on a bench by the food truck area, bundled up in coats, hats, scarfs, our gloved hands clutching our cups.
She’d chosen the rocky road, but I’d gone for the salted caramel walnut. La Sirena Gelato sat a few feet away, the siren owned truck painted a soothing blue. Celestial themed doodles were hand painted on top of sea foam swirls, and a constantly changing menu was tacked to the side. We’d chosen mundane flavors this evening, neither of us willing to risk the sometimes-unexpected effects of some of Sirena’s magic.
“Have you seen Lou?” I asked her.
Moira stabbed her gelato with the colorful spoon she held. “Neither hide nor hair.”
“No news is good news.”
Moira slid me a glance. “Seriously? You of all people can’t believe that.”
I didn’t. I’d found over the years no news meant whatever it was would creep up and bite you hard on the ass when you least expected it.
“We can at least try to keep a positive attitude,” I said glumly.
Moira snickered. “I haven’t heard a thing. Everything seems normal.”
A shiver of unease rolled down my spine. “Good!”
My voice sounded chirpy and upbeat, but Moira knew me well enough to know I was just as nervous as she was.
“Are you ready to chat with her?” I asked after a moment of silence.
We hadn’t come here for just the gelato. Sirena was an ancient being filled to the brim with knowledge about old magic. When we’d gone up to the food truck, one of her new assistants had helped us, but the siren had pinned us to our spot with a look and held her finger up.
“Soon,” she said ominously. “Do not leave.”
We both knew better than to disregard Sirena’s instructions. She might appear to be the benevolent owner of a gelato truck, but she was ancient and could probably kick our asses with one hand tied behind her back if she set her mind to it.
Well…maybe not me anymore, but she could probably give me a run for my money.
Moira set her cup down and rubbed her hands over her jacketed arms. “She’ll come out when she’s ready. I’m half convinced she’s making us sweat on purpose.”
“Who’s sweating?” It was fucking cold out here today.
“On the inside,” Moira grumbled. “Sirena is scary as hell.”
“It keeps all the sailors under control,” a voice said from behind us.
Moira squeaked in fright.
