Lydia handed him the coffee. “How much trouble are you in?”
“It’s hard to say; it depends on how things play out.” He looked at her, his eyes full of things he wasn’t saying.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to ask. How much did she want to get involved? Or was it too late for that?
The toast popped and she put butter and honey on it before giving the plate to Caspian. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
He finished his mouthful of toast and took a drink of coffee before answering. As he ate he looked better, less like he was struggling to focus. “No. Shea will leave you alone now. A fairy’s word is good.”
“So what do I do?” Her yard was full of mirrors, there had been invisible fairies scampering through her house last night, and she couldn’t do anything even though she knew they were there.
“The best thing you can do is pretend that you know nothing about fairies,” Dylis said. “That way you won’t engage with them and accidentally make a deal that will undo what Caspian has done.”
“Right…” She was going to ask why bother telling her about them, but then she realized Caspian really had no other choice; she’d been ready to throw him out and call the cops. “But Shea will know that I know. Won’t he?”
Caspian finished his toast and coffee. “Let’s hope not.” He glanced out the window then back at her. “All my life I’ve had to pretend I don’t see them, that I’m no different than any other human. It’s hard and I didn’t want to place that burden on you. You have the luxury of not being able to see them or hear their voices unless they choose. It will be easier. I’m sorry.” He shook his head and looked at the floor. “Maybe it was a mistake getting involved with you.”
“No. You would’ve told me eventually, wouldn’t you?” But she already knew he’d never told his ex, not even about the psychometry.
“I have more mirrors to check out front. Shea will return them once I am done.”
“Caspian,” she waited until he turned back to face her, “would you have told me what you are if this hadn’t happened?” If he said no, could she still trust him when he was hiding such big secrets? What else could he be hiding?
“I got halfway there last night. That’s more than I’ve ever told anyone. I wanted to tell you, so you would know me, but now I feel selfish. Now you have to live with the burden of that knowledge.”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
He gave her a halfhearted smile. “I know you won’t. Who are you going to tell? Who would believe you?” He shrugged and she had an inkling of what his life was like. No one knew about his magic, no one knew he was seeing things they couldn’t. No one knew him. Not even his ex-wife.
Her heart ached for him, so alone, half in another world and half here and belonging nowhere. And yet he’d used what he had and made a good life for himself. He’d begun to let her in, and she had to live up to that.
“Can I do anything to help?” She forced a smile and tried to feel more confident than she did. The world she knew had just taken on another shadow.
Caspian shook his head.
“I’ll give her a basic education.” Dylis walked to the edge of the counter, leaving her tea behind.
“Thank you.” Then Caspian walked out of the kitchen. She heard the front door open but not close.
Lydia turned her attention to Dylis. “So, what do I need to know?”
Dylis grinned, a feral toothy smile that made her light blue eyes seem as cold as hail. Then she grew and didn’t stop until she was the height of a human. She leaned on the counter and looked Lydia in the eye. Lydia stepped back, her skin cold and plucking up in gooseflesh.
“Number one, looks can be deceiving.” Dylis picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Lydia began to feel like she was out of her depth already.
Chapter 13
Caspian came back inside after checking the mirrors out front. All he wanted to do was sit down and close his eyes for a few minutes. Images were still flickering in his mind in a confusing array of pasts, but when he walked into the kitchen he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Lydia looked pale, Dylis looked peeved. God knew what they’d discussed.
“The mirrors out back are going.” Dylis pointed out the window.
“Great.” At least he wouldn’t be accused of theft. Caspian glanced at Lydia, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’ll help you get your garden straightened out.”
She closed her eyes and took a breath before looking at him. “You have to go to work and so do I.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“You said he’d back off now.”
That was true, but that wasn’t the reason he didn’t want to leave her alone. He couldn’t drop all of this on her and then stroll out the door as if nothing had changed. He looked at the set of her lips and realized what she wasn’t saying. She wanted to be by herself to process.
Caspian nodded. “He won’t hassle you.”
“Okay then.” She pressed her lips together for a moment and looked at him as if she didn’t know what to say. “So, fairies…”
“Yeah.” He didn’t really want to talk more about his family in case Lydia changed her mind and decided it was all too much. This was all untried ice and he expected it to crack at any moment. “You know what to do if you see one?”
“Dylis gave me some rules.”
Of course she had. Dylis loved to hand out rules and tell people what to do. But what she’d taught him had saved his butt more than once. He hoped it would again. However, it still didn’t feel right to leave Lydia.
“If you have any trouble—”
“I’ll call.”
“I’ll give you a call during the day.”
She smiled. “You’re still worried.”
“Anytime fairies start making trouble I get concerned.” And Shea had already proven that no part of his life would be spared. Now that he’d made the deal, things were only going to get worse—only with the Court this time.
“We can get through this.” Her hand brushed his, then she kissed his cheek. Her touch was different from how it had been last night, more cautious.
He wanted to believe that was true. That at some point in the future Lydia wouldn’t think twice about what he was and the odd things that happened around him. “I hope so.” But right now she wanted time alone, and he did need to go to work; lingering wouldn’t help either of them. “I’ll get my things and get going.”
“I’ll call you a cab.”
“Thank you.” He left the kitchen and went up to the bedroom. Last night seemed so far away. He should have told her everything last night in the parlor. Maybe then this morning’s madness wouldn’t have been such a shock. Not that it mattered now. She knew about fairies, for better or worse.
When he came downstairs she was waiting for him. This was not good-bye, although it kind of felt that way. There was something in the air, an uncertainty. But she didn’t act like it was over.
He placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you this evening.”
“Yes you will.” Her fingers touched his jaw for just a moment before she pulled away.
She was looking at him differently; she was looking for the fairy blood. While she hadn’t rejected him outright, she was thinking it through. Carefully. What else did he expect from her?
Who would willingly involve themselves in fairy drama? He hoped Lydia would.
He glanced at her one last time, then walked down the steps and picked his way along what had once been a footpath. Already there were fewer mirrors out front.
Dylis was back to her usual tiny self. She jumped onto his bag as he walked away. “That went pretty good,
