Page 5 of Wicked Deeds

“Can the lesser Fae lie?” The Fae themselves could not, but I didn’t know if the same applied to the creatures who lived in the realm with them.

Gráinne nodded. “Sadly, yes.”

Not helpful. This whole conversation was useless if the nixling could lie. “How did she get through the door if no one sent her?”

The nixling’s tails coiled for a moment before settling back at its feet.

Gráinne was frowning. “She says she followed someone through. And no, she didn’t say who.”

“Could she do that?”

“They are skilled at hiding,” Gráinne admitted. “They are excellent hunters; their magic makes them hard to notice. And some of them can get around wards. So it’s possible. But ‘follow someone through’ doesn’t necessarily mean she was sneaking out. It could mean someone led her out deliberately.”

“And I’m guessing she’s not going to tell us which one she means.”

“No.”

“So, what happens now?”

“I will take her back with me and we will take it from there.”

“I’d like to know why she came here.”

“So would I.”

I jumped half out of my skin. Damon.Crap. So much for dealing with this before he woke up. The man was too damned stealthy. I blew out a breath, trying to ignore the pulse pounding in my ears, and turned to face him, pasting on a ‘everything’s fine’ smile. “Hey,” I said, somewhat lamely.

One brow lifted. He wore dark gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt, his short dark hair somewhat rumpled from sleep. But there was no trace of sleepiness in his narrow-eyed glare.

Damn it.

“What’s going on?” He directed the question at Gráinne.

“Maggie called me,” Gráinne said, nodding at the nixling. “You have a visitor she wanted me to deal with.”

“So I see.” His gaze slanted back to me, the expression in his brilliant blue eyes annoyed. “You didn’t think to wake me up?”

“You needed to sleep.”

“You need to not take on Fae creatures by yourself,” he retorted.

“I didn’t,” I protested. “I called Callum. He sent Gráinne. And nothing bad has happened.”

“Other than that.” He nodded at the nixling. “It shouldn’t be here, should it?”

“No. And I will be removing it shortly,” Gráinne said cheerfully. Her lack of concern didn’t seem to improve Damon’s mood.

His gaze returned to me. “Good. Which brings me to the question of why it’s here.”

“We don’t know,” I admitted. “The nixling isn’t talking. Gráinne will take it back to the realm and Cerridwen will see what she can find out.” I tried to match Gráinne’s cheerful, nothing to worry about tone.

He lifted one dark eyebrow at me again and then turned to Gráinne. “Do you need a car to take you back to the Rose Garden?”

“Yes, that would be useful.” Gráinne pounced, grabbing the nixling before it could try to get away. It didn’t struggle, but instead just lay in her arms like an overgrown housecat, only the twitch of its tails suggesting it might be annoyed. Though even annoyed, apparently it knew better than to take on one of the s’ealg oiche.

Damon glanced up at the nearest security cam. “Madge? We need a car out front.”

It wouldn’t take long. Sure enough, by the time Gráinne had carried the nixling around to the front of the house, the gates were swinging open to admit Boyd driving Damon’s usual sleekly expensive but unremarkable town car. Damon opened the door as soon as the car came to a stop and Gráinne climbed inside with one last instruction to me to check the wards, just in case.

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