“Cheyenne, I don’t want to hear another apology from you tonight. You handled a messy situation beautifully, and I’m prepared to put all the decisions about this issue into your hands so you can continue to do so.”
The halfling froze, staring sidelong at her mother. All the decisions. She’s scared. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I know. I’m still very interested to hear what else you can tell me about that eyesore cutting down the center of my view.” Bianca gave her daughter a tight, bitter smile and took another sip of her latest drink, whatever it was.
“Sure.” Cheyenne glanced at Ember, who now held a glass of red wine and had already downed half of it. “That’s not the only one. I don’t know how many there are. Hundreds, maybe thousands all over the world. Most of them are regulated.”
“By that organization.”
“Yeah. For the most part. Those things aren’t supposed to be popping up out of nowhere, though. That’s new. Pretty much like an earthquake or a tornado or any other natural disaster.”
“It’s quite unnatural, in all honesty. But I understand. What is it?”
Oh, she’s really gonna hate this. “It’s a portal.”
Bianca Summerlin blinked twice, lowered her glass to her lap, and looked over her daughter’s head to stare at something down the south hallway. “I’m listening.”
“To the other side.”
“I’m familiar with science fiction, Cheyenne. That would be how a portal works.” The halfling’s mother swallowed, her nostrils flaring as if saying a word related to any kind of magic put a rotten taste in her mouth.
“A different world, Mom.”
“That’s—”
“His world.”
“Quite enough, thank you.” Bianca downed the rest of her drink and stood. “I’ll be in my study. Do let me know when your friends arrive. I don’t enjoy being caught off-guard at any time in my own home, but twice in one night would be more than I could handle.”
With that, the woman turned and headed past the dining table and the bar toward her study on the other side of the house. Cheyenne and Eleanor exchanged glances, then the housekeeper neatly fluffed and replaced the pillow she’d squashed and stood as well. “If you need anything, sweetheart—”
“I’ll know who to find. Thanks.”
With a tight smile, Eleanor set a firm, gentle hand on the halfling’s shoulder, gave it a little pat, and headed down the south hall closest to the circle of armchairs and the sofa. A door opened and clicked softly shut somewhere, and Cheyenne turned toward Ember.
“You okay?”
“Uh-huh.” The fae buried her face in the large wineglass, gulped, and nodded. “This is amazing.”
“Yeah, she’s got a pretty impressive collection.”
“And I’m drinking it.” Ember chuckled. “You know, I think I like it better when you go through all the crazy stuff and come tell me about it later.”
“Oh, it’s much more entertaining for you that way, huh?”
“Entertaining, period.” Turning her head slowly, the fae girl met her friend’s gaze with a frown of concern. “You make it sound like some awesome adventure with some assholes along the way. I had no idea there was all this other scary crap.”
Cheyenne smirked. “Are you talking about the giant scorpion that almost squeezed me to death or the weird way I have to tiptoe around my mom about the whole thing?”
Ember chuckled softly and shook her head. “All of the above. I had no idea, and I still can’t figure out how you manage to make jokes right after something like that.”
“Meh. It’s much easier to get caught up in all the dark and terrible deadly shit. I guess I just like a challenge.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Yep. We’ve been over that too.” With a tiny smile, Cheyenne took another sip of her bourbon and set it down on the glass coffee table. “We still have, like, an hour before anyone shows up. You want a tour?”
Ember’s eyes widened. “A what?”
“A tour, Em. Of Chez Summerlin. Trust me, all this looks like a lot right now, but what you’ve seen so far isn’t even half of it.”
“I am not letting you and Eleanor drag me up that giant staircase.”
With a snort, Cheyenne stood from the sofa and walked around the wheelchair. “Not a problem. Want me to take the wheel?”
“Please don’t let me drink and drive.”
“Ha.” Cheyenne grabbed the handles and spun the fae around to push her down the south hall toward the other side of the house. “So, Bianca’s study is on the other side, obviously. That’s pretty much the only room over there, and I don’t get to go in there very much. We’ll skip that part.”
“Yeah, I bet it’s bland and boring as hell, anyway.”
They both laughed.
“Okay. Giant half-bath for guests.” Cheyenne opened the first door on their left.
“Jesus, that’s bigger than my closet.”
“Yep.” The halfling shut the door again and continued. “I can’t believe I just showed you a bathroom.”
“Hey, it’s an important thing to know.”
“All right. There’s a giant mudroom and coat closet down by the door. Also bigger than your closet. And over here…” The halfling gestured to the swinging double doors with round windows up top used by high-end restaurant kitchens. “Eleanor’s not just an amazing chef, all right? She does a whole bunch of other stuff I don’t even pretend to know about, but this is pretty much her domain. Besides her room, obviously.”
Cheyenne turned and pulled her friend backward through the swinging doors.
“She lives here?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that?”
“I can barely remember my name right now, halfling. Don’t make me take a pop quiz.”
Laughing softly, Cheyenne spun her friend around again. “Behold. My childhood kitchen.”
“My brain’s gonna explode.”
“If it hasn’t by now, Em, I think you’re good.” They moved through the industrial kitchen toward the very back. “I’m pretty sure my mom had this modeled after one of her favorite chef’s restaurants. I can’t remember the guy’s name.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’m into a lotta different things, but food’s just food, honestly. You eat it, it’s gone, not that big a deal.”
“You’re gonna get struck by lightning for saying that in
