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The now six-foot-tall Dylan shook his head. “Am I as big as my human form?”

“I would say so,” I said, smiling as I lifted my glass and saluted him. “I got a headache remedy in my cocktail. Yers looks way more fun.”

Dylan sighed. “No one gets to keep any secrets around you, do they?”

I chuckled. “No, but embarrassment isn’t fatal. If ya pick up a random thought from me tonight, please blame it on the drink. I’ll be getting that problem fixed soon. Henry knows a guy.”

We chatted until dinner came marching into the room. Four white-gloved people carried large plates with shiny domed covers keeping the food warm.

I snorted at them. It was like a scene from a movie.

After they set our dinners in front of us and hustled out, we looked at each other instead of the plates. Fighting not to giggle at our mutual discomfort, I cleared my throat. “Do ya think we all got the same thing? We’ll lift the covers on a count of three. One. Two. Three!”

As I shouted the last number, we each lifted our domed cover to find a thick juicy burger sitting proudly beside a giant mound of sweet potato fries. I suspected the far darrig’s was a meatless version since he’d confessed to not being a carnivore.

It was too bad Henry and Gale weren’t present to enjoy our shock over the common food served with such a flourish.

Despite how big the house was, they must have heard us laughing in the kitchen.

I hoped they were pleased with our reaction because we certainly were pleased with them.

Chapter Seventeen

Gale sought me out after dinner to see if I wanted to take a walk. I’d mentioned in passing that I needed to find a secluded spot for my witching. Normally, I would have asked Conn to help me choose a space, but I didn’t want to keep him from enjoying his Wu Shaman’s improved mood.

Missing the stupid guardian tonight more than I wanted to admit, I jumped at the chance for some company. The sun would be setting shortly so I asked her to wait until I switched my shoes.

We stopped along the way and let the demon wolves out of the paddock. They trotted beside us as we strolled. I noticed Conn had laid one fierce level of protection down on the border of the property. Not even a squirrel skittered across his ward on our non-existent path.

Gale had brought the demon wolves hamburger treats from the kitchen and they had loved her for it. The drink had helped, but I was too tired to try to read their minds. But it wasn’t hard to read the lack of stress in the happy way they explored.

Watching the demon wolves run back and forth proved I wasn’t in my right mind. Seeing them so relaxed made me happy to have gotten all this ground for them to run free on. The illusion of freedom was all I could offer them at the moment. Those two young women were still locked in their demon wolf forms and I had no idea when or how that might change.

Realizing I’d been quiet for quite a while, I turned to my companion. “Now that I’m not so intimidated by what to do with the house, this property reminds me of living on my Grandmother’s O’Malley’s farm. Like this place, it had loads of room to roam when ya felt like it.”

“Did you make good memories there?” Gale asked politely.

I shrugged a little. “The worst memory I have is of having to hide Conn from my husband. When Jack was around, Conn stayed in dog form. He slept on the end of Fiona’s bed at night like her pet. After she turned three, she asked me why Conn never changed into his true self around her. She loved her father but also knew his moods by them. She never once told him about Conn shifting into human or demon.”

“Children always seem to simply know the truth, don’t they?”

“About their parents—yes, they do. Right now, Fiona is struggling to find her magick. Her father tried his best to convince her she had none.”

“That wasn’t very fatherly of him.”

“No, and Jack was wrong. Her magick is not like mine but no one’s is. I’m one in a long line of The Dagda’s chosen descendants but I didn’t know it until my grandmother died and Conn came to me. I was the same age Fiona is now. After Conn revealed himself to me, my parents had no choice except to tell me they’d hidden the truth from me. I had just married Jack and was carrying Fiona at the time. That was a very interesting year. I became a wife, a mother, and a warrior witch—all within a few months.”

Gale chuckled softly at my story. “All women have a year they never forget. What did you think of Conn during your early years together?”

“Right from the beginning, I thought he was great. He was there for me when Jack wasn’t. I appreciate that more now than I did back then. He could have let me suffer for my decisions, but he didn’t. No matter how crazy my life got, he never ignored me. That’s not to say Conn never got mad at me because he did.”

I could see Gale’s concern in the dark. “What did he do when he was mad?”

“Nothing terrible, but he knew how to annoy me. Conn turned himself into a horse once. I had to groom him and clean up after him. He stayed in that form for months but would never let me ride him. Jack wouldn’t shut up about getting rid of the contrary horse who refused to be ridden. Shifting into an animal form is how Conn broods. He refuses to turn back so I have to take care of him.”

“Your ex-husband sounds like he was a lot of work.”

“Oh, he was,” I said, agreeing with her. “The only peace I had with Jack Derringer was when he was away for work. I don’t know why I didn’t see how unhealthy my relationship with him was when I was living it.”