Page 35

His eyes lowered, not quite meeting my gaze. “We shall discuss that once your current crisis is out of the way.”

I didn’t like it, but he was probably right. One thing at a time. I had a feeling whatever he had to say, it was going to turn into a whole big conversation.

I opened the door, not sure what to expect. The first thing I noticed was that it

was eerily quiet. The second—the apartment was amess. The furniture was all out of place, and papers and small tchotchkes were strewn about.

The sofa was halfway across the room, Seraphina sitting on it, arms crossed and a glare locked on her face. She wore jeans and a white linen button up, her long hair skimming her tall frame.

As Gabriel stepped inside behind me, I glanced at Braxton in the kitchen with Ringo on his shoulder. Braxton had kept his hands busy with coffee, sandwich makings, a pile of freshly peeled fruit, and a bunch of shelled peanuts. He had clearly been busying himself away from the nymph for quite some time.

He gave me aget her the hell out of herelook, nodding toward the living room.

Sorry, I mouthed, then walked past him.

Only Seraphina’s eyes moved as they lifted to my face. I jumped when she finally spoke. “Explain to me how a simple delivery ended in my sister almost dying.”

“How do you know about that?” I asked

Her nostrils flared. She held up one hand, letting it turn into tree bark. “I speak to the trees, Eva.”

Ah, I had forgotten about that. I slowly approached the sofa to sit down. “Well if that’s the case, then you also know we found her already near death.”

“This must have something to do with your devil. I should never have allowed him along.”

I lifted a brow, but she wouldn’t have known what happened after we left the park where the trees couldn’t see us. “Actually, without him she probably wouldn’thave made it. He helped me find an antidote for her poison.”

Her expression softened. “Poison?”

I guessed the trees hadn’t seen what happened there either. “Yes, someone poisoned her, we think before she left home.”

“And you sent her back there?”

I winced. “Short of kidnapping her, we couldn’t really keep her away.”

I jumped as Seraphina lurched forward, but it was only to bury her face in her hands, the skin now smooth and brown once more. “They won’t believe her. She’ll be locked away for going out without their permission, and whoever tried to hurt her will be able to do it again.” She took a ragged breath and shook her head. “This was all so stupid. All for her favorite cookies.”

“Cookies?”

“Yes, the packages you deliver. They are her favorite cookies.”

I glanced toward my room where I had left the package, intending on returning it to her when I had the chance. “What’s so dangerous about cookies?”

She moved her hands enough to slide a glare my way from between her fingers. “The danger is not the cookies, it is the contact between us. If my family knew, she would also be disowned.”

“So why risk it?” I asked.

Her fingers slid back over her face. “Because we are sisters. It was too painful to sever all contact. Now I see that it should have been so.”

Braxton had come into the living room, Ringo still on his shoulder.

Ringo looked at me, then to Gabriel leaning against the wall, then down at Seraphina. “Can we get her back?”

Seraphina jumped, her hands smacking down onto her lap. She stared at Ringo, her jaw hanging open. “It speaks?”

“He’s not an it,” I said. “But yes, he speaks. He was there last night and he could have told you everything had you simply come in calmly enough to ask.”

She looked around my trashed apartment, then shrugged apologetically. “I always check with the trees near the lake after the delivery. When they told me my sister was hurt, and a devil carried her away…” Her eyes slid to me again. “My emotions got the better of me. I apologize.”