Elena burst out laughing. “No, she’d never lower herself to eating that. Trust me, if Cheddar wants food, she'll find it.”
“That makes it easy,” Danzig said. “What is Cheddar?”
Elena shrugged. “If she wants you to know, she'll tell you. Otherwise, all I can say is that she's an orange cat.”
Even though I could feel amusement from Danzig, he still grumbled about brujas and their secrets. Marduk was probably planning what kind of food he could keep on hand in case the feline showed up.
I pushed the bag I'd brought with me across the table. “This is for you.”
Elena's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she accepted the bag. “Oh, what's this?”
“A gift,” I said. “Open it.”
She tugged out the crepe paper and pulled out the perfectly polished and round onyx the size of a large man's fist. “Oh, Bec, it's beautiful!”
She got up and hugged me much harder than I thought she could. It seemed Elena was like me, small and strong.
Returning to her seat, she held up the smooth stone and admired it. “How did you know I needed another onyx?”
“I asked Mason about what kind of gift you'd like,” I said. “He said you recently cracked yours and needed a new one.”
“I can't believe you found one this size with no impurities,” she murmured, finally bringing her hand down. She rested the back of her hand on the table and kept the onyx cradled in her palm.
“I've ordered two more,” I said. “Mason told me that you crack the onyx while scrying so I'm going to make sure you always have enough to do any magic you want to.”
“You're a sweetheart,” she murmured. “I know now that it cracked because Victor was waiting to be created and that was too much for any onyx to deal with. I'd been trying to figure out why I’d felt such heaviness, but now I know. Hopefully I won't crack another one any time soon.”
“Still, it's always good to have backup,” I said.
“How is Victor doing?” she asked.
“Good,” Danzig said. “He spends most of his time with Mom, but he doesn't sleep. Mom worked out a nightly schedule with the Lobo Gris so Victor is never alone. He's learning fast.”
“I worry for him,” Elena murmured.
I felt a little insulted on behalf of Amara and Lobo Gris. “He's being well cared for!”
“It's not that I'm worried he'll be taken advantage of,” Elena said. “It's that this world is complicated. Understanding nuance is going to be a struggle for him. I hope he doesn't get hurt by his own ignorance.”
“It's something Mom worries about too,” Marduk said. “She doesn't want to, but she's going to take him traveling and show him the dark side of this world.”
Elena looked sad. “I hate that it's necessary.”
This was news to me. “She is?”
“When she called this morning, she mentioned it,” Danzig explained. “You were distracted by coffee.”
I nodded. We'd gotten in the habit of having a conversation with Amara every morning. I remembered hearing her say something about starting next month but missed what she was starting. Apparently, it was exposing Victor to the evils of the world.
“Have the authorities questioned you about Gale or Lars?” Elena asked.
I shook my head. “Leif and Lars's family think they’ve been kidnapped and have a reward for information. I see posts every once in a while. I hate that I can't tell them.”
“I'd be devastated if my child went missing,” Elena said. “We can't let this keep going.”
“What can we do?” Danzig asked.
“I could create an assurance spell,” Elena said. “They'd simply know their children were gone and then they'd be able to mourn and move on.”
