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We stared at my mother, trussed up like a pig and wrapped in glowing silver ropes, lying on the main Keep house’s lawn. A bubble of magic encased her in silence. She couldn’t hear a single thing we were saying, though she glared at us with hatred so hot she would melt our skin if she could.

“Not yet. I thought we could grill her on how to break the spell on that corpse keeping the other corpse alive.”

Soren stood on the other side of me. We’d arrived mere seconds ago, after Ari had conveniently shown up and given us a ride. The bitch left as soon as Donn had appeared and didn’t show back up until I called out for her.

I pretended not to notice that she had fresh nail polish on her fingers because I might have to punch her in her stunning face, and that was a bad way to keep a friendship.

Even if she had left us to our own devices.

Ari had been firmly demoted to drinking buddy friend.

“You made out with him?” Soren blurted.

Evie blinked, her head snapping my way. “Um. What?”

I pinched the space between my eyebrows. “It’s a very long story.”

“Wait. It wasn’t my dad? You made out with someone else?” Her eyes glittered with amusement. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

Soren’s snort was one for the record books. “It most certainly was not your fucking father,” he snarled.

“Soren,” I murmured.

“Oh, Soren, you don’t have to come with me to face certain death,” he mimicked in a prissy voice. “It’s going to be soooo dangerous. And treacherous. And all the ousses.” The Lord fanned himself. “But only until a handsome ice prince comes along and says all kinds of pretty things and unlocks my true fate!”

Evie put her hand over her mouth, but she couldn’t quite hide the sound of her snicker. Her eyes danced with laughter. “An ice prince?”

“Not an ice prince,” I clarified, shooting a glare at Soren. “Not even ice related. He just looked like it.”

“Ooooh. What color hair did he have? Tell me it’s silver,” she said with a swoon. “I will die if you say it’s silver.”

“Both of you are dead to me,” Soren muttered.

“It was silver.”

Evie made a squeaking noise. “Seriously?” she cried. “Gods! I’ve never seen a silver-haired male fae. Man. I can’t believe I missed it.”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure he’s fae. I—I don’t know what the hell he is.”

“A pretty, pretty prince,” Soren said.

Evie burst into laughter.

Rowan came out of the main house and sauntered over, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. I’d never in my life seen a more relaxed man. He took everything in stride.

I mean, you kinda had to when you had Evie for a wife, but even now, with a dangerous woman lying hog-tied in his yard, a glowing corpse several yards away, and a woman who’d just discovered she had extra super-secret squirrel special powers, Rowan seemed completely nonchalant.

He had what he always wanted, I supposed. Why let anything else bother him?

His eyes warmed as he took Evie in, and my friend beamed back at him.

She pointed at my mother. “Ding, dong, this witch is about to be dead.”

I laughed. Seemed a shame. That was my mother lying there. All I ever wanted was for her to love me, but I’d learned a long time ago some people weren’t capable of love.

Those types of people were born different. They had no capacity for empathy or self-reflection, or anything to make them productive members of society. Those types of people took until everything around them was barren.

Then they moved on to the next place, ready to strip it bare, too.