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Jezel gave a ghostly sigh. “There’s no hope of you managing subtlety, but try your best.”

I opened my mouth to defend my stealth skills, but she’d already disappeared. It was one of the many annoying things Jezel did that irritated me. It was also a perfect example of why my staying on here as innkeeper would be a terrible idea.

9

I carried the tea tray and breakfast up the stairs. The door to her room was open. Gertruda the Barracuda sat in a chair by the window. I set the tray on the small table beside her.

“I added a headache remedy to your tea. The side effect is that you will feel the need to sleep. If you prefer, I can brew you a stimulant to ward off the worst of those effects.”

Gertruda waved her hand. “I’m fine with some extra rest. Will you explain to Peace and Robin?”

I nodded as I poured her tea. “Of course. Perhaps you will feel up to visiting later. Peace eats with me, but I serve Robin in the stable. The prince has me searching for some magic to allow him to be human for a while. Unfortunately, I’ve only been able to grant that luxury to Lord Alfred.”

Gertruda stared at me. “How were you able to transform Lord Alfred? The curse extended to both of them.”

“The inn chose to allow it. My understanding is that these inns are sentient spaces. Its ethereal caretaker informed me that the inn always sees the real guest regardless of the form they arrive in.”

I waited patiently for her panicked blinking to slow. It gave me time to control my urge to grin at her. “Has my visit made your headache worse?”

“No, I’m...” she swallowed. “I’m fine. I find this inn to be a fascinating place.”

I smiled because she was right. “When I’m not seeing it as my prison, I find it fascinating as well. Can I get you anything else, Gertruda? I’m going to try to brew a curse-breaking tea for Robin this afternoon.”

Gertruda shook her head. I made it to the door before she spoke again. “Try brewing the tea with finely ground chestnuts, a dram of horsetail powder, and two strands of his mane. Tea isn’t meant for four-footed creatures. Consumption may allow the inn’s magic to prompt a change.”

And if Robin’s changes distracted us, we might forget to worry about her true identity. I wanted to haughtily inform her that there was no chance of that happening, but I held back.

“Thank you,” I said instead, adding a slight bow. “I will try that.”

Peace sniffed the tea that I was steeping and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “The tea smells horsey. Do you think it will work to convert him back?”

Considering that the fairy queen’s spy had suggested the formula and that she was very eager not to be caught lying to the inn, I felt reasonably confident. I doubted it was a cure, but I hoped it would allow me to use the inn’s magic to transform him.

Alfred’s change back to human lasted for a few hours. Wouldn’t it be great if Robin could do that too? And maybe I could keep Gertruda feeling bad enough to skip having dinner with the two of them. I was mentally rubbing my hands in glee as I thought about how to make her sicker.

Carol always joked that I had a dark side, but it had never been clearer to me.

“Robyn claims the curse doesn't bother him, because he finds solace in my presence. Fighting off strange women was the hardest part for him.”

“Is Prince Robin handsome in his human form?”

Peace pondered my question while I transferred the tea to a portable cup I could take to the prince. It took the fairy princess a while to think it through, but then she smiled. “No, in human form Robin is handsome in a different way. Some men, as you know, are inherently beautiful—like all those in your bear’s family. As a centaur, Robin is a gorgeous hunk of maleness. All I want to do is ride him.”

I snickered because my sense of humor was worse than a twelve-year-old boy’s. “Do you want to ride him in the literal sense, or are you implying a sexual interest in the man part of him?”

“Both, because he is very careful not to jostle me too much in his centaur form. But my carnal urges are only for the human Robin. The human version is the one I like best.”

The magical alarm I’d set chimed through the kitchen. I smiled. “The tea should be potent enough now. Let’s go find out if it works. Farley’s brother is cooking dinner tonight. He’ll be delivering it here in the next hour.”

“A handsome bear that cooks would be quite the catch. Does Farley cook?”

“I don’t know,” I said with a laugh. “He has a lot of other talents. I’m good with the skills he’s shown me.”

“Farley makes you giggle,” Peace said with a grin.

“Look who’s talking. Prince Robin makes you giggle.”

“Does he?” Peace asked.