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I shrugged and then laughed. “I’ve learned more about Conn since he hooked up with Mulan than I ever knew about him before that happened. In twenty years, I never saw him faint once. But I’ve also never seen him as happy as he is with her. We’re both having lives we never expected.”

“I was just curious. Perhaps I will ask him about it one day.”

But that day would not be today because Conn was now stuck in regeneration. I smiled at the disappointment in the guardian’s voice as we headed back.

Chapter Eighteen

Things got busy in the main house in the late afternoon.

An assortment of demons rolled the cage containing the frozen statue of the female fairy to the middle of the foyer.

I’d supervised Hart building a portal just outside the front door. When Ezra arrived, I asked that his cage be set up facing my assassin’s cage.

While I waited for all of it to be done, I went to talk to Ben and Felicity. “How long can ya hold back his beast with only yer magick?”

“A couple of hours,” she said.

I nodded. “Hopefully, that will be all we need.”

I turned to Ben and held out my hand. He slipped off the charm Felicity made to control his shifting and passed it over.

“Will it be okay if I wear it?” I asked.

“It will feel like nothing but a stone on you,” Felicity said.

I put it on and slipped it under the sweater I wore over a camisole. “He should be here shortly. I want to be ready to glare at him.”

Both Ben and his wife smirked at me. I’d included both of them in my meeting with Murray. The secretive fairy had been more secretive than I even imagined. Given how much he likedto drink, maybe I could pour drinks down him until his tongue loosened enough to speak freely.

I turned and reluctantly made my way to the door.

The male voice in my head cleared his throat.What are you wearing? It’s very powerful. Is it yours?

No. It’s something I borrowed so I could pretend it was ya.Keep yer sticky power-grabbing fingers off of it.It belongs to Ben, and he needs it. I borrowed it to trick the fairies into thinking it’s the stone ya’re in.

I also intended to put the energy holding the female fairy inside it, which I hoped it could hold.

I could drain all that nephilim power into me, but Goddess only knew what would happen. After nearly dying twice, I didn’t want to risk a third time. Better to put it in something made to hold power.

I got to the doorway just in time to see ten guards carrying Ezra’s cage on their shoulders like it was the Ark of the Covenant. They even used wooden poles and rings, which I felt sure were warded.

The sullen fairy sat inside the cage, smirking at what was happening. I don’t know what was running through Ezra’s mind, but I knew I wouldn’t like it.

But that was all right. He wouldn’t like what I had to say, either.

“Hello. Welcome back to my home,” I said, sounding as polite as possible.

“What are ya planning for me, Aran?”

I raised one eyebrow. “I might be planning to set ya free, providing ya swear a blood oath to stop trying to harm me or my people. What did ya think I was doing?”

“No idea. I never understood the workings of yer strange mind. I doubt any illumination will be happening today, either.”

“When ya’re ready, bring him inside and set him facing the other cage,” I said to the guards. I noticed the portal was still open and pointed it out to Hart. “Is someone else coming through?”

“Your friend, Murray... and he insisted on bringing a guest,” Hart said. “Jessing says we should have sold tickets.”

I chuckled at their teasing. Murray’s attendance surprised me. He hadn’t been very forthcoming when we spoke. Arguing with Ezra in front of Murray didn’t hold any appeal for me. Everything I was doing was for the greater good. And if I got lucky, it would prove a point.