Page 70 of Witch Unexpected
“Daggers like mine,” she said. “Tempered iron.”
I noted that the hilts on these were metal, but the hilts on hers were wrapped in leather.
Wren, who’d been hanging off my shoulder, made a hissing sound.
“What?” I reached out to soothe him with the hand gripping the holster strap.
He shrieked and leaped off me.
“Careful!” Bramble said. “Iron burns fae. It’s why the blades work so well. The slau is a fae construct, and so are the banshees.”
Crap. I slipped the holster around my waist, liking the way it sat as if it belonged there.
Wren whimpered, and I crouched and held out my hand. “It’s okay, Wren. I won’t let them touch you. Hop on.”
He hesitated but then obliged, clinging to my back as I rose.
I turned to Bramble. “So, does this mean fae are working for The Order?”
“More like The Order is making them work for them.” She shrugged. “I don’t know much about what happens in the fae realm, but from what I hear, the place has gone to shit. The Order is probably taking advantage of that.”
The clatter of cutlery registered, and the smell of roast chicken drifted out to tickle my nostrils. Wren’s tummy growled.
Bramble chuckled. “Let’s get you fueled up.”
“Yeah, I need to speak to Sloane about patrol too.”
But the big girls' table at the back of the room was empty. No sign of The Elites.
“They’ll show up,” Bramble said.
We grabbed a table, and ghostly hands served us roast chicken, potatoes, and steaming seasoned vegetables. We ate in silence. Well, Bramble and I did. Wren made loud, appreciative sounds with each mouthful that had several witches cooing and ahhing.
The mogwai was total cuteness overload, and he didn’t even know it.
My thoughts drifted to Elijah. “Have you heard from Elijah?”
Bramble looked up from her food. “He’ll be back when he’s ready.”
When he’s ready? “Does he know about the banshee attack?”
“Yeah, I filled him in.”
She’d spoken to him and he knew, but he hadn’t reached out to me or left a message? Disappointment was a weight on my chest. Fuck it, why was I getting upset? He could do what he wanted. He didn’t owe me anything, except…Iwantedhim here.
“You okay?” Bramble watched me with a speculative gaze.
I shrugged. “I’m fine.”
“Do you want me to get a message to E?”
And look needy? Hell no. “Nah. He knows where I am if he wants me.”
She opened her mouth to speak just as ghostly hands began to clear away our plates. She sat back and pressed her lips together, watching me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
