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I chuckled dryly at the lecture. “Yes, Professor Rasmus. I know what a jinn is. I’ve even dealt directly with a djinn before. In the beginning, I kept thinking that yer kind were fallen angels. Yer intervention on our planet seemed so much like the stories I’d heard about them. Now I see that was a pretty good guess. Not that ya ever confirmed it before today.”

“Well, there is a connection, but sharing so much of our past is both painful and not condoned. I meant to tell you what I’d discovered about Fiona’s mentor after you were healed, but focusing on Ben’s situation made me forget. It was the symbol Dylan recalled seeing on Fiona’s arm that set me on my path of discovery.”

Dylan winced at being named as a contributor. I had to work hard not to laugh at his pained expression. “I thought you saw it on her too, Aran. If I’d known you hadn’t, I would have said something.”

“Yeah, I know ya would have.” I wadded up the paper and held it back out to Rasmus. When he extended his hand, I dropped it in his palm. “Do something with this for me. The longer I hold onto it, the more likely I am to use a cease-and-desist spell and set it on fire. That would definitely make things worse for my daughter.”

Rasmus curled his fingers around the piece of paper in his palm. When he opened his hand again, the paper was completely gone. “Her angel is known as the master of enchantments. He is also the being who taught me magick. If I had been here to meet him when he brought Fiona, I would have known who he was and told you about this then.”

As so often happened, I blinked at the guardian’s effortless use of magick. Zara could control people with her thoughts, but that was different. Rasmus could create something out of nothing, command the elements, and seemed able to perform more magick than I held in my entire witch arsenal.

And, as usual, he used nothing more than his thoughts to direct it.

Confirming the connection of the guardians to the fallen angels felt like a complicated puzzle finally getting solved. The guardians—those once known as the watchers—kept themselves detached from their former leaders. If Father Peter lived long enough, I would take him to lunch again and tell him what I’d learned. He’d share it with his church, but I doubted anyone would believe him. Humans didn’t like it when creatures of myths turned out to be real beings.

But for sure, I was never telling Ma who the angel was. Bridget O’Malley would not take kindly to losing her illusions about the beings she considered above reproach. I hoped Fiona never told her either. In her sixties, Ma had lost enough illusions. I was rapidly approaching a time in my life where I didn’t want to hear the truth if it caused me more grief.

But I said none of that to the magickal being I’d fallen in love with. “Ya always surprise me, Rasmus.”

“That sincerely is the witch pot calling the guardian kettle black. And now I finally understand that strange saying. The context is rarely present when you use it.”

He was teasing me, and I laughed at his fake irritation. I didn’t know who was more surprised by my laughter—me or Rasmus.

Then I realized we’d had an entire conversation that had excluded all the others listening to us.

“Sorry,” I said, glancing guiltily at them. “I believe I just found out why people say ignorance is bliss. Rasmus and I are both learning the truth about clichés today.”

Conn was the only one who laughed at my joke. His sense of humor was a big reason why I loved him like a brother. My demon was the best companion a daughter of The Dagda could have hoped for.

I smiled at him. “Do you have time to talk privately with me?”

“Sure,” Conn said.

“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you on the porch of yer house.”

“Perfect. It’s my turn to change and wash the bed sheets. Maybe Mulan might grow impatient enough to do them herself if I’m occupied with you.”

Mulan chanted something and reached out to touch Conn’s ear. A spark leaped from her finger into his earlobe. He yelped and laughed at the same time. Those two loved to torture each other.

Conn looked ready to make use of his dirty bedsheets once more before they got washed.

I turned away from watching them and rose with a sigh as I looked around the room. “The blue house will become the guest house for Ben and his wife if they come. If that happens, we’ll meet in the stables. At least there aren’t any horses in there yet.”

“Are we getting horses?” Dylan asked.

“Not if I can help it,” I said. “But I can’t promise ya Conn won’t morph into one. He’s fond of taking that form.”

Conn neighed like a horse as he followed Mulan out. Dylan chuckled at the noise he made and smiled at the couple.

“Dylan,” Zara began. “Can I ask you something about your animal talents? I was on my way to visit the demon wolves. It’s feeding time, and I like to help with that. I’m trying to get them to like me. Would you like to come along?”

“They like you,” Dylan said bluntly. “They just don’t trust you.”

I ducked my head to hide my grin but raised it again to watch their exchange play out. A frowning Zara followed Dylan out of the room, lecturing about why she was right.

“Well, it’s not like I can changethatopinion yet. I don’t remember transforming them, yet they recall it too well. They’ll have to find a way to work with me.”

“I have some suggestions on how you can win them over,” Dylan said as they walked out together.