I stepped out of the dining room.
“She’s in your office,” Kinsley said quietly.
We left Sarah in the dining room, glaring daggers at our backs.
Evie, the Lady of Emberwood, stood at the window, examining my sorry collection of plants.
“My apologies. They’ve seen better days. I’m afraid I don’t have the green thumb your mate claims.”
Evie looked over her shoulder and smiled, then wiggled her fingers. “Would you mind?”
I gestured for her to go ahead. “By all means. I’m sure they’ll appreciate any boost you may offer them.”
Cool magic smelling of sweet flowers washed over the room. Kinsley stared at Evie far more intensely than I’d ever seen him look at anyone. I gave him a raised-eyebrow look and cleared my throat.
Kinsley blinked a few times, grimaced, then turned and exited the office, shutting the door behind him.
I’d seen more than one male giving Evie that look. How Rowan didn’t kill ninety percent of the men who came across his wife still surprised me.
When she was finished, Evie stood and smiled. “There you go.” She stroked one of the leaves on a vining plant advertised as easy care (lies), and I’d be damned if the plant didn’t stretch toward her.
“Please,” I said, gesturing to a chair. “Make yourself at home. Would you like anything to drink?”
Evie shook her head and smiled. “No, thank you. I won’t be here long.” She settled herself into a chair and watched me intensely.
If a shifter had done that to me, I would have put them in their place. Quickly. But Evie wasn’t a shifter. Not quite. She was something far worse.
“See something interesting?” I asked mildly.
She made a humming noise in the back of her throat. “Just trying to see what Moira finds so interesting about you.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “I’m afraid I agree with you these days.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Yes, well, she’s the reason I’m here.”
I leaned forward, a horrible feeling tugging in my gut. “Is she alright?”
A feminine scent trickled through the air. Evie sighed. “We have company just outside the door. I’d prefer to speak to you in private if you don’t mind.”
Sarah. I held up a finger. “A moment, please.”
I sent Kinsley a text and waited. Less than a minute later, a feminine shriek tore through the air, but the presence was gone not long after.
Sympathy flashed over Evie’s face, but she made no comment.
“Please. Go on.”
“When you last saw Moira, how did she look?”
Beautiful. Pale. Tired. “Is this relevant?”
“Very.”
“She had low energy and was cold. But she was coherent, and she’d made dinner and a few batches of cookies.”
Evie nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you ask her if she needed anything?”
“Of course I did.”
