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Soren chuckled. “I like this one. Keep her.”

“We aren’t in biting territory anymore. At least not right now. Maybe later.” I shook my head.

“Trouble in paradise?” Soren teased.

“You could drain the wolf, and no one would be upset,” Ari drawled.

“I’m not draining anyone.” I scooted away from them and peeked out from behind the edge of the waterfall.

“The rain is starting to let up. Mind giving us a ride since you know where we’re going?”

“I can, but I don’t know how far you’ll get. Your mom is sequestered in there pretty good. There’s a ward on the house. She’ll know the second you step onto the stairs.”

The element of surprise was gone. “What about the grounds?”

“The yard seems safe enough. It’s the house you need to worry about. I spent a few hours there and she didn’t pop her head out even once.”

“How powerful is the ward?”

“I can break it.” Ari wasn’t bragging. She was the daughter of a metalworking god, one who rivaled Cernunnos in power level. I’d seen her do a few things, but Ari usually tried to keep the peace and didn’t go around flinging magic unless completely necessary.

“But if I do, you have to take her out immediately. If she has a ward, she’s hiding something in there.”

Whatever surprises my mother had, I knew they weren’t happy ones.

“Maybe we could handle it the mundane way,” Soren suggested. “Call the cabin’s owner and drop an anonymous hint about a temporary meth lab.”

“There’s no road access,” Ari said. “The owner knows he’s renting to someone who can either fly or teleport in.”

Ari frowned. “Neither power a witch should have.” The fae blew out a breath. “I like answers, Moira. There are far too many questions for my taste. I know I said I’d help you, and I will, but my ability to interfere is limited.”

Just like Cernunnos’s.

“I understand.” That wasn’t exactly what she said a few days ago, but now that she knew I wasn’t what I claimed to be and neither was my mother, shit had just gotten real. Ari and I weren’t besties. We weren’t at the point where we’d die for one another.

I had to respect that.

“Thanks for your help this far.”

Ari’s gaze lingered on me. “I can hear the disappointment in your voice.”

“Not at all. Cernunnos said much the same to me. I don’t expect anyone to solve my problems. I can handle this myself.”

Ari jerked her thumb at Soren. “At least this hulking brute is fast and strong. If things go too wrong, he can throw you over a shoulder caveman-style and run you out.”

Soren’s smile had too many teeth.

Ari returned his scary smile. “And he’s oath-bound to defend you with his life.”

“Something I hope to correct later,” I said, giving Soren a long look.

The wolf leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, his face shuttering into blankness.

Ari fished around in the bag she carried and pulled out something wrapped in brown paper. “Thought you might be hungry,” she said as she tossed it over.

I caught it and brought it up to my nose. “Beef.”

Soren cracked an eye open.