Page 30 of The Goblin in the Sink Drain
“Now that I’ve found you, whether you mate into the family or not, I will always be there for you in whatever capacity you need me to be.” She set my hand down so I could continue eating. “And, whether or not Rían is part of the deal, whether or not you join the clan, you’re always welcome among Walshes.”
“I would like time to get my head on straight before I make any big decisions, but thanks. Again. You’ve shown Sloane and me nothing but kindness, and I won’t forget that.”
The door swung open, revealing a grumpy Rían who wrinkled his nose at Fayne.
“Don’t give me that look.” She placed a hand on her hip. “It was an emergency.”
His brows slammed down, and he folded his arms across his chest.
“What’s going on?” I lost my appetite at their silent standoff. “What’s wrong?”
“I rode on his back naked and have tainted him for life.”
Oh.Oh. I guess this showdown meant they hadn’t spoken since then.
“I have claws. Four of them.” He made a hooking gesture with his hand. “I could have carried you.”
“He took an hour-long shower once you and Sloane were stabilized,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “He acts like I didn’t wipe his ass the first few years of his life. The things I saw. The things Ismelled. But sure, I tarnished him with my?—”
“No.”Rían waved his arms in the air. “Stop right there, Gran.”
The palpable love between them made my own heart echo with a vast emptiness I wasn’t sure I would ever fill. It was one thing to feel alone. It was another to be alone. No pack. No dad. Not that she had a real choice at the time, but even Sloane was a Walsh.
“Oh.” Fayne’s eyes danced with wicked delight. “I’mGrannow, huh?”
Their banter hurt the tender spot in my chest, this glimpse into the life I could have had, but my eagerness to scoop up the offer reminded me of how the house in Brentwood had been used to trap me. This was my chance. I could cut ties and just go. See the world. Be my own person. Have my own life. Unless I fledged, I ought to be safe enough traveling alone.
But was I so desperate to escape the trap that had ensnared me the first time, that suffocating sense of duty to the Sartoris, that I would gnaw off my foot to free myself rather than become a Walsh?
Noticing how I had shrunk inside myself, Fayne said, “Rían, I need you to do one of two things.”
“Oh?” His attention drifted to me too. “What are my options?”
“Leave and have plausible deniability or stay and get an earful from your nagging cousin.”
“Since I’ll get the latter anyway, I’ll choose the former.” He lifted his brows. “What are we doing?”
“Good question.” I pushed the tray away. “Whatarewe doing?”
“We’re going to infiltrate the Nelson pride and find your friends, Ana. Then we’re going to rescue them and put the fear of God into the pride so they don’t get any ideas about trying this again.” Fayne radiated a feral intensity. “As long as you’re not squeamish about magic, I think you and I stand a better chance of getting in, getting out, and getting gone before we’re detected.”
A twitch tugged the skin under Rían’s right eye, but he didn’t speak out against her plan.
“What kind of magic?” Excitement urged me to lean forward. “I’ve used witch charms, but that’s it.”
Had Burdock used one on Sloane and me? I wished I had thought to ask him. Painkillers and sedatives burned off fast thanks to shifter metabolism, but whatever his methods, they worked like magic. Hmm. Which, in a world where dragons existed, it very well might be his gift the way size was Rían’s power.
A hum in her throat, she studied me. “How do you feel about dachshunds?”
Unsure where she was heading with this, I kept my answer vague. “They’re cute?”
“They’re also excellent hunters and diggers.” She rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be fun.”
“Fayne—” Rían began, but she tutted him into silence.
“You’ve seen my Chinese crested form. I can do the same for you, and a dachshund is just the ticket.”
“I thought you had to be able to shift,” I said slowly, trying to remember what she had told me about how her transformative magic worked on her and on Liam.
