“Maybe I should have checked out that cellar,” my dog huffed.
32
KITTY LITTER
The Lincoln sisterstook their seats. Melody remained standing.
The silence that followed was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Something went ‘crunch’ in the midst of it.
We all looked at Oscar. The demon had bitten into a biscuit.
He chewed and swallowed. “What?” he said defensively. “I skipped afternoon tea.”
Finnic leaned closer. “You got another one of those?”
Daria looked like she was considering hexing the dwarf and the demon.
“I owe this Alliance an apology,” Melody said stiffly. Her voice didn’t waver, though I could see what it was costing her to keep it steady. “I sat in that chair under false pretenses and lied about the Lincoln sisters’ whereabouts. And I obstructed the investigation into their disappearance.” She swallowed. “I know thesubjugation magic doesn’t excuse what I did. I should have fought harder. I should have found a way to?—”
Maude tapped her cane impatiently. “Oh, for heaven’s sake girl, sit down.”
Melody blinked.
“Yeah, you’re giving me a crick in the neck,” Petunia muttered not too unkindly.
Maude fixed the fae-witch with a stern look. “You were under a spell that would have broken most witches within days. The fact that you lasted weeks and still managed to drop hints to Samuel and Abby tells me everything I need to know about your character.”
Viola nodded. “We don’t blame you.”
“Not even a little,” Petunia added.
Melody’s composure crumbled. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she sank into the nearest chair.
Finnic produced a handkerchief that looked suspiciously clean for a dwarf who’d probably been drinking since noon and wordlessly passed it across the table to the witch.
Melody took it and pressed it to her face, her shoulders shaking.
Daria stared at the scene like someone who’d walked into the wrong room and couldn’t find the exit.
“This is just lovely,” the Alliance chair said in a glassy voice. “Now. About Abigail’s involvement in this matter.”
I swallowed. Someone stating my official name like that could only mean impending trouble.
Samuel lowered his brows at Daria. “We already addressed that topic.”
“I believe you’ll find the minutes show we were interrupted,” Daria countered with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
My wolf and I studied the door and were calculating how fast we could vamoose out of there when Pearl jumped on the table, padded to the center, and sat down. The cat immediately commanded everyone’s attention, including Bo’s, who stuck his head over the table like he was about to watch one of his gory true crime shows.
Victoria shot the cat an uneasy look. Samuel tensed beside me.
Pearl’s gaze found mine across the table. Her sapphire eyes held something I couldn’t read. Something that made my wolf go very still.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” Pearl said. “As most of you already suspect, Abby’s ability to resist the Thornwick witch’s magic, break the Black Chalice Rite, and undo its subjugation bindings are not standard luna traits.”
The room went deathly quiet. My pulse quickened.
