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We both rose and followed Loudon out of the room. The elf maid, I noted, was nowhere to be seen, and her presence no longer echoed through the wood song. Loudon bid us both a pleasant goodbye, then closed and locked the door before we were even off the patio.

“What do you make of all that?” Eljin said as he started the SUV and headed down the driveway.

“That text he received changed his whole manner. I’d love to know what it said.”

“It was some kind of warning, though I couldn’t see enough of the screen to know exactly what it said. But he was definitely warier after it came in.”

I shifted in the seat to look at him. “Was he lying about the scroll?”

“As far as I could tell, no, although I’m not certain whether that applies to its state or it being at the restorers.” He grimaced. “There are times I seriously wish my talent was a direct form of telepathy rather than a means of reading emotions, dreams, and the past.”

“What about when he was speaking about Mom? Did you pick up anything there?”

“He genuinely cared for her, but he wasn’t telling the truth about her reason for last seeing him.”

“I thought the same.”

He glanced at me. “Was your mom really murdered?”

I nodded. “Lugh didn’t tell you?”

“No, although I was aware she’d died.” He paused. “Was she truly murdered on a hunt?”

I raised my eyebrows. “You couldn’t read the truth?”

“My ability to read you is often sketchy and requires concentration. Loudon was watching us too closely by the end, and I dared not risk tasting the truth of your statement.”

“What do you think he was hiding?”

“That I don’t know, but I suspect we need to find out.”

“How? There’s no way we could break into that place—there’s multiple layers of magical and physical protections.”

“I agree, but let’s keep it simple first off and follow him to wherever his appointment is.”

“He knows what our car looks like.”

“He knows we drive a small silver SUV, but they’re a dime a dozen on the roads these days. If we keep far enough back, he likely won’t even notice us.”

“Maybe.”

My doubt shone through my reply, and he placed a hand on my knee, squeezing lightly. “If he does see us, well, nothing lost. We can just go find your witch or better yet, start seduction proceedings.”

But not as soon as you would like... I wrinkled my nose, tempted to tell him about the maid’s message. I had no idea why she didn’t want him with me, but if she had information about Mom and why she’d gone to Loudon’s, then I had no choice but to obey her wishes.

“You have a one-track mind.” The amusement in my reply sounded slightly forced, but thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m a man—it comes with the territory when there’s a sexy woman in close proximity.”

I laughed again and, as we came out onto the street, pointed to an empty parking space between two cars several properties down. “If we stop there, we can see which way he goes and then discreetly pull out.”

“Discreetly pulling out is not a favorite thing of mine,” he murmured.

I rolled my eyes in response. He laughed and added, “Okay, no more sexual innuendo for the time being.”

“Good, because it’s not like we can deal with rising passion right now.”

“Oh, my dear woman, that comment points to a surprising lack of imagination.”