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“Are you truly over her betrayal?”

“We didn’t know each other then, so technically she wasn’t betraying me. The betrayal began when she asked me to protect her from Ethan and his mother without first confessing what she had done. We’ve since worked all that out. I’m over it.”

“Yes, so you’ve said,” Jezel said flatly, throwing the phrase in my face.

“And that body bump she had with Ethan wasn’t actually about sex. It was about power, political decisions, and protecting a fairy crystal. Additionally, the man is not particularly skilled in bed. I was leaving him anyway, and she provided me with yet another good reason to do so.”

Jezel grunted in disbelief. “What would you do if she lured your bear into her bed?”

“If she ever tried to do that, I’d beat her with the iron poker sitting by the fireplace in the parlor. Farley is off limits. What has that got to do with anything?” When Jezel snorted, I grinned. “Peace would never do that, but even if she did try, Farley would never take her up on it. He and I belong to each other for now. When he’s near me, I’m completely unaffected by Prince Robin’s curse.”

“Watching you play the people in this place is like experiencing my time with my seaman all over again. I worry that something will go wrong and that your heart will get broken.”

I covered my mouth to hide my smirk while I considered what to say. Oh, for the right words to use that wouldn’t make Jezel conclude I wasn’t a skank as well. The ancient witch had a bad enough opinion about Peace.

“There have been many men in my life, and none have been the right one. There are more frogs than princes in the world, Jezel. Modern women know that. The odds of finding a good male are not that great.”

“They have never been great. Few women get that lucky.” Jezel sighed and crossed her arms. She floated in place instead of pacing now. “If you’re not afraid to get hurt, I will try not to live out my fears through you.”

“Or you can go find another widowed spinster to run this place instead of me,” I said.

“No other innkeeper before you has ever had to face an entire army. You never felt a moment of fear. I would have known if you had. You waved the wand in the air and sent their weapons into storage. I didn’t have to even put in an appearance to strike fear in them. I don’t know whether to consider you stupidly foolish or incredibly brave.”

I chuckled. “Let’s go with me being brave about the fairy army and foolish about the fairy queen. If I bring her here, do we have enough power to restrain her if she gets mad? I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in a fairy prison.”

Jezel sighed. “There’s a special cage in storage. I had to use it on a dragon-mage once. He was very randy and wouldn’t leave me or the other female guests alone. One night in it convinced him to stop his devilry. I feared you might need to place Prince Robin in it.”

I choked back a laugh. “The dragon mage’s name wouldn’t happen to be Zenos, would it?”

Jezel’s eyes widened. “Dear Goddesss, are you saying that cad still lives?”

I chuckled. “He claims to be immortal. However, the good news is that he’s now mated and his womanizing days are behind him. I never dated him, but my mother did. It was before she and my father got together.”

Her ghostly features wavered with her appalled expression. “Good Goddess...”

“Yes, I had a similar reaction when she told me. I’ve even met him, though not through my mother. Zenos was Carol’s magic mentor.”

Jezel scrubbed her ghostly face with both of her ghostly hands. I wondered if she truly felt her own touch or if she was just recalling how she had once reacted to such shocking news. “Are you okay?”

She lowered her hands and stood stiffly to face me. “I don’t know how I am. Hearing he lives makes me wish I had gone into the light instead of attaching my eternal spirit to this inn.”

I smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t go into the light, Jezel. The inn wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

I made a “V” with my fingers and placed it over my nose. “Witch’s honor. I know it to be the truth.”

Jezel studied me for a few moments, and then sighed again. “So back to the cage... I think you should place it in the darkest room downstairs. Fairies require light to be at their best. The dreary dark might discourage her from fighting back.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Her nod was brief. “When are you planning to do this?”

I rose from my seat and drew in a breath. “As soon as I finish my counseling session with Peace.”

“Counseling?” Jezel asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m taking the wand with me so you can eavesdrop.”