“Then he will come looking for you.”
“No, I don't think so. I sent him back to Fire this morning.”
“You did what?”
“I sent him away. King Arach was getting in the way of the investigation.” I looked up at him. “It's a good thing too. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have met you.”
“You're in chains,” he said.
“Been there, done that.”
He chuckled. “I mean, this isn't a social visit.”
“It didn't start as one, no. But I think it shall end as one.”
The Kelpie snorted, and it turned into a whinny. “You are a confident person.”
“And you are a good person.”
His eyes skittered away. “You don't know that.”
“You wait until everyone reaches safety before you sink a village,” I said.
The Kelpie looked over at me sharply.
“You give them some warning tremors,” I went on. “You make sure that no one is injured, even though they are Earth Fey and being submerged wouldn't kill them.”
“My mission does not include killing.”
“Then your queen knows you well.”
“You're suggesting she would command someone else to kill?”
I sighed. “You want to think well of her, but you're not a stupid man. You know what she's like.”
His lips pressed together.
“You're a Kelpie who only eats fish,” I said. “That's practically a vegetarian as far as Kelpies go.”
“Vegetarian?”
“Someone who only eats fruits and vegetables.”
The Kelpie made a face at that.
I grinned at his grimace. “They used to consider fish acceptable on the vegetarian diet, but now it's stricter. There are vegans and . . .” I trailed off as he frowned at me. Realizing my mistake, I cleared my throat and said, “The Fire Kingdom must seem a strange place to you.”
“You're saying there are Fire Fey who only eat fruit and vegetables?”
“Yes.”
Who knows? There might be.
“That is odd.” He watched me as I returned to eating and left me in peace to finish the fish. But as soon as I tossed the bones aside, he asked, “Who are you?”
“No one,” I said.
He grimaced. “If you think we can form a friendship without names, you are incorrect.”
