“How?”
“You know that we were all at the pub that night,” Komal says. “Isis went to the bar to buy a round and Danny tried it on with her. He grabbed her arm.”
“Big mistake, because I’m psychic,” Isis says proudly. “All I have to do is touch someone and I’ll see a vision of their future. Danny grabbed my arm and I was inside his head, lying on my back in the alley, with the killer looming over me. They were in shadow, so I couldn’t see them, but as they sank their fangs into my neck, I distinctly saw your vamp and his Thrall driving off in that ridiculous car.”
I sink down into the beanbag, a weight lifted from me.Alaric’s not the killer.
But I still have so many questions, so many fears. “If you saw his death, why didn’t you stop it?”
Dora and Isis exchange a look.
“Because psychic visions don’t come with a German train timetable,” Dora says quietly. “Isis can’t tell when the vision will come to pass. For all we knew, Danny could have been murdered ten years from now.”
“Besides, no one is crying over his death, are they?” Isis adds.
“You didn’t leave Black Crag after the police showed up to question Alaric. Look into your heart and I think you know the answer,” Mina says. “The vampire I fought was an evil vampire, the most evil vampire of them all. But he was evil because people believed vampires were evil. Alaric isn’t evil, is he?”
I pause. “No.” I think of Alaric diving into the cistern to rescue me, buying me dinner at the pub, and pretending to be my fiancé to get back at Patrick and Claire. “But I don’t know about his mother. Or hisbetrothed.”
“Backtrack a little.” Mina leans forward in herseat. “Hisbetrothed?”
Celeste and Maisie arrive then. Celeste’s arms are loaded with platters and ice cream containers filled with delicious-smelling treats. “We had a slow day in the shop, and I’m doing lots of baking in advance of going to visit Mum, so I have cheese scones, lemon meringue tarts, chocolate fondants and cherry flan. There’s nothing with peanut butter, Winnie. Better eat up before Beth arrives— Oh, hi Quoth.”
“Hello.” Quoth waves with one hand, his other gripping the Emily Henry so hard that his knuckles have gone white.
“So, I take it Winnie knows, then?” Maisie grins at me.
“I know.”
“Can I leave now?” Quoth asks. “Or at least go and put some trousers on?”
“Oh, sorry! I got distracted by the vampires and murders.” Mina kisses his cheek. “Of course, you can go. I think Winnie accepts the supernatural now.”
“I’m pleased. Goodnight, Winnie. I hope that next time I see you, I’ll be wearing clothes.” Quoth flashes me a bright, beautiful smile, then turns back into a bird and returns to his bust.
Mina picks Emily Henry off the floor and Celeste piles treats on a plate for me while I explain everything that’s been happening at the castle, from Alaric pretending to be my fiancé and our steamy kisses at the pub, to his mother arriving with Perdita, and how he’s roped me into beinghisfake-fiancée, to the text message I got from Faye about the incredible opportunity of making a Clutter Queens TV show, and then, finally, discovering he’s a vampire and fleeing from the castle.
“So … what do you think?” I ask when I’m finished. “Do I go home to London and take the biggest opportunity of my career, or do I stay here and?—”
“—fake-date the vampire.”
I whip my head around. Arabella stands in the doorway, elegant hand on her hip, her frosty blue eyes studying me in an unnerving way that makes me feel as naked as Quoth had been earlier. She overheard the whole conversation.
“You should stay,” Arabellasays. “Youwantto stay.”
“But he’s avampire! Why do you all seem so relaxed about this?”
“Because vampires are hot?” Komal raises an eyebrow.
“Arabella’s right.” Isis tosses a book over her shoulder. “Alaric hasn’t hurt you in all these weeks – quite the opposite! Forget this week’s book club read. You should stay and fake-date the vampire lord, and his mother can take that harpy Perdita back to whatever vampire court she came from. You’re literally living in a paranormal romance novel.”
“Do youwantto go back to London?” Dora asks, cutting straight to the heart of things the way she always does.
That’s a good question. I suppose when you find out that your employer is a vampire, you should make like an angry goose and get the flock out of town.
“It’s what Ishoulddo,” I say. “My mum needs my help, and this TV show is a huge deal. I may not be happy with where Faye’s taking the business, but I believe the Winnie Wins System can help people. This would be my chance to show the world, but I can’t do that without Faye.”
“That’s not true,” Maisie says. “From everything you’ve told us, you’ve been running the business on your own for years.”
