Page 53

“Where is he?” Ross asks, indignant. “If you don’t find him this instant, I’ll make sure the Duchess hears all about your incompetence!”

I move around the stables to make sure he’s not speaking to Cordelia in such a manner. I won’t stand for any man raising his voice at her.

He’s standing out front, his ruddy complexion lit by the lantern the groom is holding. The older man looks as though he just stumbled down from the loft where he keeps his bed.

I sling an arm over Ross’s shoulder, giving Cordelia her distraction. Wherever she is. “What’s going on out here?”

“The kelpie has gotten loose.” He struggles to compose himself and eyes the groom accusingly. “I’m sure someone has gotten the idea to make a few coins off of the beast.”

“It wasn’t me,” he says, sweat beading along the band of his nightcap. “I swear I wouldn’t mess with such a creature. I don’t know anyone who would.”

“He has a point,” I tell Ross.

From my periphery, I see a figure moving in the shadows of the sparse woods. Two eyes glow red in the darkness before they’re drawn in deeper.

Oh gods, Cordelia.

I spin Ross toward the main path so he won’t notice her hiding in the trees with the damn kelpie.

“It won’t do you any good to argue with this man. Accidents happen, but I’m sure we can track the beast down together.” I wave to the groom. “Sir, could you fetch a horse for my friend?”

“Don’t you need one too?” Ross asks.

“I’m a better tracker on foot.” I point to the path leading to the market square. “You take the village and look for wet hoof prints. There aren’t many places to hide a kelpie down there. He can’t have gotten that far yet.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ll take the woods.”

“Thank you, Professor,” he says as the groom leads his mare from the stable.

“It’s not a problem at all.” I wish him good luck and take off into the woods.

Pushing through a hedge of low shrubs, I find Cordelia sitting near a pile of dead leaves. They rustle behind her, and two red lights glow through.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Please tell me that’s not a kelpie.”

“Oh, him?” She throws her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s not a kelpie. He’s just a baby.”

That’s the creature Ross was so proud of himself for capturing? He must’ve lured the little wretch away from his family.

The kelpie foal chuffs a sneeze, sending an explosion of leaves bursting around his black muzzle. His forelock falls over his eye as he lowers his head.

“He’d be sort of adorable if he wasn’t a flesh-eating creature,” I comment.

Cordelia slips her hand into the bust of her dress and pulls out a chunk of meat, tossing it into the leaves. “He can’t help that.”

“So what’s your plan?” I know she has one. She always does.

“I’m going to lead him back to a lake where he belongs.” She turns her nose up, seeming to remember she’s mad at me. “Thank you for the distraction, but I can do this myself.”

“Alright, then. I’ll just leave you alone in the woods, in the middle of the night, in a place where supernatural creatures like to hide.”

“Thank you.”

I hold onto a tree trunk and try to find the moon, but the sky is a dark grey canvas past the twisted branches. “Nice try, but I don’t think so.”

“What does it matter to you?” she asks. “You’re not magically obligated to be here. It’s not like my father can punish you if something happens to me.”