Page 53 of Made

“That long, huh? Just a second.” I held the phone to my chest and said to Keir, “I guess Thunder came to life, broke out of The Hallows, broke down Diarmuid’s castle door, and is now standing in their bedroom.”

Without missing a beat, he said, “Right. Why is she calling you?” Keir asked.

A perfectly reasonable question. I put the phone back to my ear. “Why are you calling me?”

At that, Evie let go of a string of curses, all of which I don’t know how to interpret, then said, “First, to sayI TOLD YOUI saw it move. And, second, BECAUSE HE’SYOURHOBBY HORSE!”

“Well, first, if he’s walking around, alive, he’s not a hobby horse. Second, if he’s managed to find his way to your bedroom, he must think he’syours.” I almost gasped. “Or. Rhiannon’s?”

I heard Evie tell Diarmuid, “Mom says the horse thinks he belongs to Rhiannon.”

“I didn’t say that exactly.”

“So, you don’t have any direct knowledge about why he’s here.”

“I do not. And I can only deal with one crisis at a time. Right now, the theft of Esme trumps Thunder galivanting through faerie. As bizarre as that is.”

“Okay. I get it. Diarmuid says he will help.”

“He’d better. You don’t need a horse in your bedroom.”

“No. Not help with the horse. With Esme’s rescue.”

“Heard that before.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” My only excuse was that the strain of events was making me snippy.

“OH SHIT!”Evie yelled in my ear.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Thunder just took a truck-sized dump on my bedroom rug! And it stinks to high heaven! Like he’s been saving up for along, longtime!”

“That can’t be healthy for the baby.”

“Gods, it reeks!”

“I get it. It smells bad. Why is that a problem for you? It’s not like you personally have to clean it up. Just wiggle your nose or whatever you do, make the pile vanish, and leave behind the smell of jasmine in a late summer breeze. And fix the front door while you’re at it. We don’t want strange things wandering through.”

“What could possibly be stranger than a horse statue in a shop display window coming to life, making its way cross-dimension, and battering down our door so it can leave a giant, steaming pile…” She paused. “You’re right. It must have something to do with Rhiannon. This is about your competition with Maeve, isn’t it? She gave my baby a dragon. So, you gave her a big white stallion with an attitude that stinks!”

“Evie. I’m not in competition with Maeve partly because that would just be silly of me. And I did not giveThunder away. I had no idea he was magical. Neither did Dolan! Obviously!”

Keir was looking at me like he was making a mental note that I’m not one of those women who shine in adverse circumstances. My impulse was to think of a plausible defense, but nothing came to mind. Oh well. I’d work on repairing my reputation as a mature adult of sound mind when all had been sorted.

“But really,” I said. “I need to deal with this other thing. And you need some rest.”

“Right. Later.”

A second later, Diarmuid arrived just as Jarvis was overseeing two carts being wheeled in with every manner of additive to complement hot beverages. He did that chin jerk thing to Keir and said, “Oh! Coffee! Yes, please.”

“Diarmuid. Did you get the issue with Thunder sorted?” I asked, not liking the idea of him leaving Evie, in her weakened condition, with the kind of mess I imagined.

“Oh, aye. I couldn’t get the cursed animal into the stable. Thinks he’s too good to associate with the royal horses, much less the Wild Hunt horses, which are the finest in all faerie. Whenever Evie tried to pop him into a nice, heated stall with oats and barley, he’d strike down the doors and give the staff a fine chase through the castle until he’d again found his way to our chambers. Uncanny behavior that. We had little choice but to let him stay for now. Evie gave him a fine talk about house manners, though. Can no’ say if he understood her, but he gave every appearance of payin’ attention. She was alarmed when he insisted on gettin’ close enough to Rhiannon to give her a good sniff. Damndest thing. He nodded his head over and over like he was sayin’ he approved. Evie says your workin’ theory might have merit. The horse may think hebelongs to the baby.” The king chuckled. “Or the other way ‘round.”

“Well, if Rhiannon wants him, she can keep him,” I mused. “And, if you ask me, even with the lack of housetraining, he makes a better gift than that blasted dragon.”

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