“What kinda trouble?”
“I took care of it. It’s fine.”
“Cheyenne.” Ember folded her arms and shot her friend a stern look. “Remember when I told you you’re a really bad liar?”
“Okay, fine. A couple of scumbags showed up at your place, looking for a fight.” The halfling chuckled. “And I gave it to them.”
“They did what now?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure they were just trying to get me if no one else knows about you. I guess they wouldn’t have been spouting all that weird shit about eyes following me and some lady who apparently ‘found my scent.’” Cheyenne shrugged and picked at a black-painted nail.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. I have no idea what those guys were goin’ on about, but they seemed pretty sure I was someone else.” The halfling tapped her chest. “And they had these weird pendants in the shape of a bull’s head. I’ve been seeing them on a lot of messed-up magicals running around. Any idea what they mean?”
Ember sighed and brushed her hair away from her face. “No clue. Sounds like a bunch of crazy to me.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. But L’zar said it was an issue that should’ve stayed in Ambar’ogúl—”
“Wait, wait, wait! Back up. L’zar?”
Cheyenne looked up from her nails and broke into a crooked smile. “Oh, yeah. Maybe I should’ve started with that.”
“Ya think? Did you go see him?”
“This morning.”
Ember smacked her hands together and bounced a little in the hospital bed. “How is that not the first thing you tell me when you walk in the door? Come on!”
“Sorry.” Cheyenne laughed. “I know it’s not even noon, but it’s already been a weird day.”
“No shit. Tell me everything.”
The halfling took in her friend’s surprising eagerness and debated saying anything, but only for a second. At least someone cares. “It, uh, well, it definitely didn’t go the way I expected.”
Ember snorted. “What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. An apology, maybe. More of an explanation for why he just left my mom instead of some bullshit excuse.”
“Which was…”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes and did her best impression of L’zar’s low, apathetic voice. “‘Because I had to.’”
“Oh, come on.”
“I know. And that’s how the whole conversation went. I mean, it wasn’t even a real conversation, just a bunch of vague answers and him laughing at me. The worst part is, he didn’t even ask about my mom. Like, not a single thing, and then he said he didn’t want to hear about her because I was more interesting.”
Ember’s jaw dropped, and she blinked. “What a dick.”
Cheyenne shrugged. “Yeah, that’s pretty much the conclusion I came to. So, I…” Another short laugh escaped her.
“What?” Ember leaned toward her, eyes wide with curiosity.
“I said this safe word that turned on the alarm and put him under lockdown. Red lights, siren, turned the bars of his cell into a giant bug zapper for magicals.”
“Good.” The fae barked a laugh. “Bet that pissed him off.”
“No. He just laughed like the whole thing was just one big game, and he just wanted to see what I’d do.”
“Woah.” Leaning back against the propped-up bed and all the pillows behind her, Ember let out a long sigh. “You gonna go see him again?”
“No clue. I’m not sure I even wanna think about that right now. I have other things going on that feel more important.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?”
Cheyenne pressed her lips together and tried not to laugh. “Well, for starters, I’m gonna have to find the time to go back to your place and…clean up the little mess I made.”
“’Little’ mess?”
Squinting, the halfling slowly met her friend’s blue-eyed gaze. “Medium-small, maybe. Hey, I saved the TV, so there’s that.”
“Lovely.” Ember plastered on a tight smile. “Please tell me the bamboo survived.”
“I promise, no plants were harmed in the ass-kicking of the magical intruders.” Cheyenne drew a cross over her heart, and they both laughed. “Dunno if your couch survived. Maybe if you get it reupholstered…”
“Nah. I wanted a new one, anyway.”
“Cool. I’ll buy you new pillows, too.”
Ember barked out a laugh. “How did my pillows get pulled into a fight?”
“We don’t have to go into details.” With another chuckle, Cheyenne shook her head and thought about Yurik and Payton in her friend’s apartment. “But all the evidence got taken care of. Oh, and I almost forgot the most important thing.”
The fae threw her arms in the air and let them drop back into her lap with a thump. “It better not be worse than blowing up my living room with drow magic.”
“No, no. It’s way better.” Licking her lips, Cheyenne leaned toward the bed and took a deep breath. “Guess who I found on the—”
A light knock came at the door, then Dr. Andrews stepped into Ember’s hospital room and paused. “Oh. You’re back.”
“Hey, Doc.” The halfling shot him a sarcastic salute. This guy has the worst timing.
“Just coming in to check on my favorite patient in Room 317.” The doctor closed the door behind him and walked slowly toward the bed, his tablet cradled in the crook of his arm. “While you’re here, though, how’s the shoulder?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s feeling great, actually. Good work.” Nodding quickly, Cheyenne slid out of the armchair and pushed it back into place against the wall beside the window.
Ember shot her a confused look. “It’s feeling great?”
The halfling leaned in to wrap Ember in a quick hug and whispered in her friend’s ear, “L’zar. I’ll tell you about it later.” She pulled back and gave the fae’s shoulders a squeeze. “Now that you have your personal effects, I gotta get goin’. Happy reading, right?”
She shot Ember a wink, and her friend rolled her eyes. “Oh, jeez.”
“See ya later, Doc. Keep up the good work with my friend. She deserves it.” Nodding at the confused doctor, Cheyenne patted the foot of the
