“Well,” my mother said with forced gaiety, “at least Lucifer's off the hook.”
Verin lifted his head to look at my mother. “Unless Scylla had more than one partner.”
Into the shocked silence that followed his statement came the chiming of my contact charm. Verin's eyes narrowed as I eased out of his embrace. I stared down at the charm in trepidation.
“Are you going to answer that?” Mom asked pointedly.
My charm hadn't rung since I'd first arrived in the Azure Court... which, come to think of it, hadn't been that long ago. Had it only been two days? My life had changed so drastically since then; it seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Ellie?” My dad prompted.
I grit my teeth, picked up the charm, and slid it into my ear. “Hello?”
“What theflying monkey fuckare you doing?” Cerberus shouted in my ear.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I'll just take this in my room,” I said dryly.
Verin went with me. I didn't think anything of it when he followed me into my old bedroom. Of course, he should join me. Why wouldn't he? I had nothing to hide from him. I closed the door on my parents' amused expressions and went to sit on the bed. It hung from the rafters on thick ropes so when I sat, it swayed. Verin sat beside me and took my hand.
“El? You there, or what?” Cerberus growled.
“I'm here. I was just going into another room for some privacy. I'm visiting my parents.”
“Good, maybe they can talk some sense into you.”
“Cerberus, you're my best friend and I need you to be on my side.”
He went silent.
“I've just had to listen to my parents lecture me about falling in love and then learn that a Water Witch, perhaps even Vivian, is out to kill me. Also, Lucifer may or may not be involved. So could you, please, not give me shit?”
“What the fuck has been going on?” Cerberus snarled. “A Water Witch and Lucifer?”
“Scylla tried to kill me in revenge for helping Triteia escape her. She disguised herself with a potion crafted by a Water Witch and infiltrated Verin's court a few days before I arrived. So, not only was Scylla in cahoots with a powerful witch, but that witch very possibly used sight to pinpoint where I'd be.”
“Wait.What?”
“Scylla tried to kill me. She's working with a Water Witch,” I simplified it. “She was also able to evade my spellsong once, possibly twice.”
“Possibly twice?”
“I'm not sure. I switched to using all of my magic and killed her.”
“You killed her?” Cer huffed in relief. “At least there's that.”
“But there's still the witch to find and deal with. On top of that, I've suddenly developed an ability to block the RS, which could be because someone interfered with Vivian's spell.”
“Is this where you think Luke is involved?”
“Lucifer has blocked the RS before.”
“So has Darc, right? That doesn't mean it's either of them this time. It could simply be your goddess magic getting stronger.”
“I know that; this is pure speculation.”
“Then maybe leave Lucifer out of it until you're sure, El,” Cerberus said gruffly. “He's been through a lot with you. Give the guy a fucking break.”
