“I’ll walk you back to the house to get your things,” Kinsley said.
I nodded and let him lead me out of Ethan’s house. The Second stopped to speak briefly to the two wolves guarding the door.
“No one else is to come in or go out, unless it’s Ethan or Henrietta. Do you understand?”
Both wolves nodded. “Everything okay?”
Kinsley let out a heavy exhale. “No. I’ll be back shortly to speak to everyone. Whatever you see, you are not to speak a word of it. Do you understand?”
The wolves glanced at each other, identical expressions of worry on their youthful faces.
“Of course,” they said in unison.
“Good.” Kinsley jerked his head toward me. “Moira?”
I fell into step beside him.
Kinsley said nothing until we were out of earshot. “I can’t imagine how you feel. This is…” His voice trailed off. “In a million years, I never thought we’d be here.”
I let out a wet laugh. “Me neither. My mother has been the bane of my existence, but I never thought she’d do something like this.” A sardonic chuckle escaped. “Though I should have, I suppose. She’s done nothing good in her life. Why wouldn’t she resurrect the dead?”
Kinsley rubbed his chin, the scrape of five o’clock shadow against his palm comforting in an odd way. Ethan never shaved every day and used to do the same thing. My heart ached.
“Can she take Sarah away again?”
“Probably. There will be a link between her and the person who raised her. If it wasn’t my mother, Sarah is most certainly linked to the original spellcaster.”
“If he loses her all over again, he might not come back from it.”
I always thought I was a good person. I’d been a good friend and a generous lover. I was kind to my friends and those I considered family. Five percent of my salary went to charity every year. I planted trees and recycled.
But when Sarah had walked through that door a little while ago, I had to stop myself from killing her again. Even now, I kept thinking about small ways I could get rid of her and keep Ethan to myself.
I knew he had feelings for me. Or used to, now that Mom had erased everything he knew about our history. His feelings were not strong enough for him to overcome his feelings for Sarah.
Maybe this was my karma to bear.
A hot tear slid down my nose. I dashed it away with the back of my hand while Kinsley pretended not to see it.
We stopped at the door to the cottage. I fished through my purse for the keys.
“We all knew he built this for you,” Kinsley said. “He’s going to wonder why your scent is all over it.”
“Just tell him I stayed the night here while he was out to help with a gardening project Evie wanted done.” I frowned. “He was forming a friendship with Rowan. Hopefully Mom didn’t erase that, too.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Kinsley said. He handed me his cell. “Plug your number in, if you don’t mind.”
I hesitated. “Are you sure?”
Kinsley snorted. “I’m not sure about anything anymore. A dead woman walked back into our lives like nothing had changed and my Lord has no memory of her death. So, no, Moira. I’m not sure about this or him or anything at all.”
I took his cell and added my number. “Fair enough.”
He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Do I need to escort you off the premises?”
“I brought a potion. Give me twenty minutes to pack, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
Kinsley blew out a breath. “I’ll need to witness your departure.”
