Kieran seemed to sag with… relief?
He must’ve noticed Calvin’s confusion, because he gave a small smile. “It’s just that I know a sprite that lives in these parts, but it lives farther up the mountain than that. And it would never curse anyone!”
This town just gets weirder and weirder,thought Calvin… but really, he was mostly just relieved. Not only did Kieran believe him, but he had an explanation.
“But what did she mean by wanting a tribute? And why did she want me to solve a riddle?” he said musingly.
“That, I’m not sure,” Kieran said. “Sieval – well, that’s my sprite friend, and honestly,thatis probably a tale for another time – has never mentioned anything about riddles, or wanting tributes. Tell you what – I’ll chat with Natasha tonight, and we’ll see if we can find anything out. Maybe we can ask Sieval tomorrow if it knows what this other sprite might want. Assuming itwasa sprite, and I haven’t gotten ahead of myself. We can catch up again tomorrow afternoon, if you like?”
“That would be great,” said Calvin. “I’m supposed to be meeting my mate at the diner at ten, but I have no idea where that is. If you could point me in the right direction, I’d really appreciate it.”
“No problem – I’ll leave a town map for you under the B&B doormat,” Kieran said, as they started walking again. “I would offer to drive you there, but if your curse is as bad as you say, then I might ask you to keep away from my car for now, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course,” Calvin said with a smile.
“Wait – you said your mate is here?” Kieran said suddenly, and Calvin could tell that the curiosity was burning at him.
Ah.In the midst of his excitement at discovering he might have met someone who could actually help him with this curse problem, it had just slipped out – usually, he would have wantedDiana to be the first one to know what she was to him. But he couldn’t take the words back now. And perhaps Kieran might even have some advice for him.
“Yeah, I met her for the first time a few hours ago, and promptly broke her A/C,” Calvin grimaced.
Kieran winced sympathetically. “Ouch. That’s rough.”
“Yeah. But she took it surprisingly well. She was the one who invited me out for breakfast.”
Kieran raised an eyebrow. “That’s definitely better than I would’ve expected. She must really like you.”
Calvin’s heart did a happy little flutter. “I hope so.”
“Is she anyone I might know?”
“Probably. I think so.” He considered for a moment. “But I might keep that to myself for now, if that’s okay. It’ll make it easier for me to slink away in disgrace if I mess it up.”
Kieran grinned. “Understood. But I’m sure it’ll work out.”
“Here’s hoping.”
They emerged into a large clearing surrounded by enormous oak trees, the soft glow of the Milky Way tracing its eternal path overhead. A couple of tents were already set up, but there was plenty of room for Calvin to stake out a quiet corner of the area for himself.
“Showers and toilets are over there,” Kieran said, pointing. “Set up wherever you like.”
Calvin nodded. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For all of your help.”
“Think nothing of it,” Kieran said.
Calvin waved goodbye, then got started on setting up his tent. He really wanted nothing more than to have a shower and go to sleep… but he had a feeling that sleep was going to be the last thing on his mind.
My mate,he thought, and smiled helplessly.I’ll see her again tomorrow.
Really, morning couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 6
“Baconandice creamandcaramelized bananas on your pancakes?”
Diana pretended to ponder on the question, scratching her chin and looking up at the ceiling.
Out the corner of her eye, she noticed that Ash was practically vibrating with the effort it took not to start begging, his eyes wide.
