The woman looks genuinely upset.
“He’s okay, Mrs. Neilfellow,” Ryder assures her. “We’ll figure out how to change him back again.”
“Rowan.” A soft sob escapes her as she crosses the room, looking like she wants to pick Rowan up. Her face scrunches, and her eyes become moist. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
I glance at Ryder, confused…because Rowan’s aunt sounds weirdlyguilty.
The elf meets my eyes, raising his brows, noticing as well.
Mrs. Neilfellow turns to Ryder. “You can change him back? You can do that?”
“Yeah, sure. Ansel did it once. I’m sure he can do it again. But right now, we’re looking for an amulet that allows him to communicate with us while he’s in owl form.”
“An amulet?” She swallows, dabbing her eyes. “What kind of amulet?”
“It was small. The stone was brown like a tiger’s eye,” I say. “Elven-crafted.”
She winces. “Did it have a broken silver chain?”
“It was silver, and it might have snapped when we changed him back. So maybe.”
She turns to Rowan, looking like she’s going to start crying again. “I saw it in your room, and I sent it to my jeweler in Boston to have the chain replaced.”
Oh my word.
“So, it’s inMassachusetts?” Ryder asks, sounding like he’s trapping in a groan.
“I’ll have Brandon take me down today,” she says earnestly. “I’ll get it myself and bring it back.”
I have no clue who Brandon is, and I don’t care. “How far away is Boston?”
“Only about three hours,” Anna answers.
“I’ll return with it by this evening,” Mrs. Neilfellow promises.
“In the meantime, we’ll see if we can change him back.” Ryder stands. Carefully, he asks Rowan’s aunt, “There’s not anything you know that might help us…is there?”
Her expression goes carefully blank. “No. Nothing. Why?”
“No reason…” Ryder turns to me. “Let’s go see Ansel.”
Anna follows us outside. Once we’re alone, Ryder says to her, “Your mother is hiding something.”
“I noticed that as well.” She glances back into the house, worried.
“Why don’t you see if you can get it out of her?”
“I’ll do my best, but you know how she is.” She studies Rowan, who’s returned to his spot atop the deer. “Keep me posted, all right?”
“Sure thing,” Ryder says. “I’ll have Marshall call with updates.”
Unamused, she narrows her eyes at the elf. “Good luck with that.”
He shoots her a roguish grin. “Bye, Anna.”
Rowan flies ahead of us as we make the fifteen-minute walk back to town, finding a tree far ahead and waiting for us to reach it before he flies to another.
It’s barely drizzling, just spitting rain. The weather is a clear picture of the dam I’ve built for my emotions. It’s holding for now, but it’s starting to leak.
