“I think I’ll go check on Elbner. I haven’t fed him yet today.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
Mom gave me an extra-long hug before letting me go.
The hurt of rejection echoed inside of me as I drove to Megan’s. But so did the fear that Adira would somehow make things worse. I wasn’t simple. I knew that Mom thought I’d been close to feeding on Fenris before Raiden had interrupted. I hadn’t been, but denying it would have only made her worry more. After all, that was the whole reason Mom and Adira had arranged to have the wolf tossed to the reluctant succubus. And that was why Mom was truly angry. She’d gone along with Adira’s plan, and in Mom’s mind, it had almost worked until it backfired at the last moment.
Based on Adira’s quick portal to Raiden’s house, she understood the tenuous situation they were all in with my mom. However, I’d seen the resolution in Raiden’s gaze when he told me not to come back. He wouldn’t change his mind. Fenris was very much off-limits to me. That meant that Adira was going to scramble for a way to save herself.
People did crazy things when they were desperate. I knew that from first-hand experience.
Once I parked in my best friend’s driveway, I called her, needing comfort.
“Twice in one day? I’m honored and worried,” Megan said when she answered.
“I broke up with Fenris.”
“No!”
I jerked the phone away from her pained howl of denial.
“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I asked.
“But why?”
“Because I’m pretty sure people in Italy just heard you.”
“No, why did you break up with him?”
I sighed and looked at Megan’s perfect house, the place where she and Oanen would settle down and raise oodles of kids together. A cute, cozy future filled with love and laughter. I knew I was destined to have love and laughter in my future too, but not the same kind.
“So many reasons. It wasn’t being fair to the girls he actually has a chance of spending his life with. I was getting too comfortable around him. Too attached. And it’s obvious his dad is strongly opposed to me.”
“Those are all bullshit reasons. You were only his girlfriend for what? Six hours? That’s not enough time to get too comfortable or attached. March your butt back to Fenris, and tell him you’re sorry,” Megan said, her tone completely serious.
Oanen’s voice rose in the background.
“Stay out of it, Megan. She can make up her own mind about the furball.”
“She called me because she needed advice, and I’m giving it to her. She didn’t call you. You stay out of it.”
The phone disconnected, and I sighed. I’d lived with Oanen for four years. I knew his ways enough to guess that he’d just taken the phone from Megan. While I’d only known Megan for a few months, I could guess what her heated reaction would be. It’d take her a while to call me back.
Leaving the car, I noticed Elbner once again watching me from the door.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked.
“Megan.” I opened the door and let myself in. He trailed behind me.
“Does she know when she’s returning?”
“She didn’t say, but I think it’ll be soon.”
He made a non-committal sound, which didn’t surprise me. His next comment did, though.
“For the quality of the work I’ve done here, I require increased payment.”
“I can stop by and feed you again tonight.”
“No. Eating once a day is plenty. Gold will suffice.”
I stopped mixing the ingredients to look at the goblin.
“I’ve never heard of a goblin asking for gold.”
His color darkened, and he crossed his arms angrily. I hurried to reassure him before he plucked off one of his holey shoes.
“I’ll speak with Megan and see if she agrees to your request. I can certainly vouch that you have worked miracles with this place.”
He harrumphed and went to the table. Taking his retreat as a sign that my answer had mollified him, I hurried to finish mixing his meal and left the house.
While Megan wouldn’t know anything about goblins, never mind the payments they required, I could think of one person who would. I dug out my phone to send Mom a text. Instead of messaging her, I started to read one of the texts from Fenris that I’d been trying to avoid. They were spaced out from the time I left to about five minutes ago.
Fenris: We need to talk. Call me.
Fenris: You’re not at the cabin. Where did you go?
Fenris: Come on, chipmunk. You can’t run forever.
Fenris: I’d rather lose the girlfriend and keep the friend. Please tell me we’re still talking to each other.
I groaned and opened a new message.
Me: Do goblins ever ask for anything other than their typical meal of oats, milk, and honey?
Mom: Only when they’re up to no good. Never pay with anything but food.
Me: Thanks. Any word from Adira?
Mom: Yes. Everything is fine. Just a misunderstanding. Go find Fenris and enjoy yourselves.
I knew Mom well enough to see that she was downplaying whatever Adira said. However, I wasn’t interested enough in the outcome of Adira’s conversation with Raiden to call and pry it out of Mom, or worse, call Adira. I just wanted a place to hide away from it all.
If Ashlyn was still in Uttira… I groaned and sent another message.
Me: I know Oanen probably has your phone hostage right now. When you get it back, please send me an update on your plan for finding Ashlyn. I’m officially friendless in Uttira and have nowhere to go because your goblin throws shoes, and I’m avoiding Adira.
Megan: She’s waiting for Zayn to return her call. We’re going to visit Elizabeth, his sister, today. That means we’ll be in New York. We’ll be home soon.
I grinned, already picturing how angry Megan would be with Oanen for responding to me on her behalf. However, my humor faded as I backed out of the driveway.
With nowhere else to go, I headed for the Academy. There wasn’t much left of the day and, hopefully, it would be the last place Adira or Fenris would look for me.
The halls were quiet when I slipped inside. The mermaids in the pool dove under the water when they saw me walk past, and I hoped that meant they would stay away from me. I thought of Eras and cringed. Maybe the Academy wasn’t the best place for me. Maybe I should have gone to the Roost. No, Yem would tell Adira if I showed up there.
Decided, I went to Principles of Public Integration and slid into my seat. It was only when I met the eyes of my instructor that I wanted to smack my forehead. This wasn’t the first place Adira would look because she didn’t need to look here. Her spies would inform her if I showed up. I’d walked right into her spy network.
Torn between the urge to run and the urge to stand my ground, I managed to stay in my seat until the next bell. I was the first one into the hall, though. Not that it helped me. I’d barely taken a few steps when Adira’s portal shimmered ahead.
Rather than fight my way through the body of students flooding around me, I folded my arms and marched right up to her.
“Tread carefully, Adira. My patience for authority is limited.”
Movement around us momentarily slowed.