Page 74 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘Right,’ she says, ‘I like to start my day off with a nap. If I were you, I wouldn’t try to portal out until later, and don’t go outside either, even if you don’t see anyone. The rats at the bottom of the garden spy on me, and they keep getting into my shed, but I have conjures keeping them out of the house proper.’

She reaches up and pats Iron on the shoulder. ‘I’m glad you got your magick, boy.’

‘It was the Mountain,’ he mutters. ‘It made me stronger.’

Gigi barks a loud laugh.

‘The Mountain,’ she hoots. ‘The Mountain didn’t unlock your magick, you young fool. Your pretty succubus did.’ She claps her hands and cackles again. ‘Really, Jeremy, some of the utter rubbish you come out with … I could write a comedy hit!’

She pulls him down and kisses his cheek with a smile. ‘But, regardless of its origins, keep its strength under wraps, or they’ll take you, half-demon or not,’ she warns quietly.

She frowns. ‘Make sure you eat the soup, Terri.’

‘I’m Iron.’

‘Oh, yes, Iron,’ she amends. ‘I must go to bed.’

She turns to me and kisses me on the cheek as well.

‘I’m glad he found you, dear,’ she says and then goes upstairs slowly, beginning to mutter to herself.

Iron shakes his head. ‘Well, that was a lot.’

I nod. ‘Do you think she’s right?’

He regards me with an expression I can’t read. ‘If anyone would know, it would be her. She’s one of the most powerful magick users I know, and after all those revelations, I think she’s probably a lot stronger than she lets on.’

I follow him into the kitchen.

‘It’s only seven a.m., so we’ve got some time to kill. Do you want some food or something?’

I shake my head. ‘Have you heard from the others?’

‘No, but I don’t expect to. We have a rendezvous plan for stuff like this. We won’t meet up until tonight.’

‘Is there somewhere I could take a nap?’ I ask. ‘The past few hours have been ...’

‘Yeah, sure.’

Iron takes me out of the kitchen and back through the house. There’s a small door under the stairs that I hadn’t really noticed, but he opens it, and I give him a look.

‘What? This is my bedroom, or it was.’

‘In the cupboard under the stairs,’ I say, wondering if he understands the reference.

He ducks his head and goes inside without a word. I follow, wondering if we’ll both fit. But when I get through the door, I find a large room with a huge bed and a well-furnished bathroom.

‘Thiswas your childhood bedroom?’ I say in incredulity. ‘Your nanna really went to town with the remodeling after you left, huh?’

He laughs. ‘It was smaller when I was a kid, but this is the kind of room that modifies itself as your needs change. It’s pretty popular in fae houses.’

‘Oh,’ I say, sitting down hard on the bed and wondering why I’ve never seen one before. Tamadrielle had nothing like this in his home.

I watch him as he looks around the room.

‘I’m sorry for the things I said,’ I blurt. ‘I didn’t mean them.’

‘I know you didn’t. But actually, it made me call my mom, so, in a kind of indirect way, I’m in contact with my family again because of you.’