“Where the Three live,” Master Niallan answered elusively.
“Very helpful,” I grumbled.
The druid ruler released my hand and pocketed the Original druid amulet. His palms landed on my shoulders, and he turned me away from the ocean to face inland. A small, white wooden house was perched directly on the sand before us—literally on the sand—and a white-picket fence surrounded it, the wooden slats stuck down into the sand.
I stared. “They must have one hell of a flooding problem. I hope they have insurance.”
“The water doesn’t breach the fence, your majesty.” Master Niallan shoved me forward, none too gently. “Move. I hate this place. I don’t want to be here any longer than we have to be.”
We walked forward in the quiet. I noticed something I hadn’t before. There was no noise—absolutely none. The ocean behind us was silent. Our footsteps didn’t make a sound. No birds called in the distance.
I shivered as we passed through the gate of the fence. There was no creak when we latched it behind us. “I understand what you mean.”
Master Niallan rubbed at his eyes again. Quiet.
The druid knocked on the front door.
His knuckles on the wood were soundless.
But he knocked again when no one answered.
The door opened—just an inch. A brown eye peeked through the crack. The woman asked, “What do you want, Master Niallan?”
His lush lips thinned. “Queen Gwynnore and I would like to come in. I have a favor to ask.”
The brown eye widened. “Are you positive?”
“Yes.”
The door flung open in a hurry.
The druid with the pretty brown eyes smiled—it was wicked as hell. “Well, come on in!”
Master Niallan and I stepped inside.
She slammed the door behind us. Shutting us in.
The druid woman waved her hand to her right. “Take a seat. I’ll gather up my sisters and make us some tea.”
The druid ruler and I strolled into a living room straight out of a beach house magazine. The blue and white color scheme turned my stomach, but I sat on the love seat with anchor designs. Master Niallan sat next to me and kicked his feet up on the white, wood planked coffee table.
I cleared my throat and glanced at each piece of god-awful decoration. I mumbled softly, “Do they surf? Or just eat the surfers and steal their surfboards to decorate their home?” There were at least twenty boards hanging on the walls.
Master Niallan coughed hard. He threw a glance in my direction, also speaking quietly, “Behave while we’re here. You won’t like their bad side.”
I didn’t doubt that.
I placed my hands on my lap and crossed my ankles. I would behave and not jeopardize his Challenge. That was the right choice. I stayed silent—in the fucking silence—and waited.
The brown-eyed druid and her two sisters eventually bustled into their living room. All were dressed now as if they were headed for a ball, their gowns ancient but dazzling even so. The druid who answered the door stared at Master Niallan’s feet on their coffee table while she stood next to it with tea set in her hands.
He snorted and dropped his feet to the ground.
She bent over and blew out a hard breath, blowing the dirt he’d left there off the pristine wood. The druid woman set the tea there and served us each a steaming beverage in perfect china.
I pretended to sip it. I wasn’t drinking anything from these insane bitches. I’d have to pour it over the back of the loveseat when they weren’t watching.
The Three took their individual seats across from us, fluffing out their gowns around their legs for a flawless appearance. They finally looked up at us—five minutes later—once they were settled.
