Bianca sat back in the cream armchair and lifted her chin. “I admire a woman who knows when to say no, despite her saying no to me.”
Ember shot Eleanor a worried glance, and Bianca’s housekeeper waved her off, whispering, “She’s joking. Mostly. You’re fine.”
Cheyenne headed toward the breakfast cart Eleanor had rolled into the breakfast room every morning for as long as she could remember. The woman had laid out her usual spread: buttered toast with a variety of jams in tiny jars, hardboiled eggs, an assortment of fruit, and a French press, now empty, next to a matching set for cream and sugar. The Bloody Mary tray, of course, sat on a side table beside the cart. The halfling reached for a slice of toast.
“I would very much like to hear how your class schedule has changed, Cheyenne,” Bianca muttered after another sip of her morning cocktail. “Seeing as that is news to me.”
Spreading strawberry jam on her toast, the halfling glanced quickly at her mom, who only stared through the curving wall of windows. “My professors decided all our time was better spent if I taught undergraduate classes instead.”
Eleanor choked on her drink and pressed her napkin to her lips. Bianca shot her a quick glance, the corners of her mouth twitching into a tiny smile. “Do you think it’s time better spent?”
Cheyenne shrugged and took a huge, crunchy bite of toast. “It alleviated a lot of scheduling issues.”
Bianca leaned forward in her chair and turned to look at her daughter for the first time this morning. The halfling hunched over, keeping the crumbs in her mouth, and pulled a napkin from the tray. She didn’t speak again until she’d swallowed her food. “Sorry.”
Her mom leaned back in her chair, satisfied with Cheyenne’s return to proper etiquette. “As long as it works for you. That’s what matters.”
“I always thought you should’ve been teaching those classes anyway,” Eleanor added, twirling her straw in her Blood Mary.
“I could teach my own graduate classes.” Cheyenne caught Ember’s amused glance and forced herself to look out the window to keep from laughing. “Right now, I’m teaching stuff I learned halfway through high school, but it’ll get me my degree, so I was fine with making the change.”
“Not happy with it?” Bianca took another sip of her drink.
“Not quite, but it’s better than nothing. At least I get to choose what I teach. That was part of the deal—a fairly loose lesson plan.”
“I’m glad it’s working for you.” Nodding, Bianca returned the majority of her attention to the view.
Cheyenne didn’t miss the slight flare of her mom’s nostrils as the woman’s gaze once again fell to the huge scar of jagged black stone jutting toward the house from the tree line. The halfling looked across the acres of well-manicured lawn Bianca called her backyard and studied the FRoE agents who’d camped out there overnight. She is not happy about that, but her irritation is way better than leaving her exposed to whatever else might come out of that new portal.
She couldn’t help but try to make light of it. “How’s the morning entertainment?”
Bianca rolled her eyes. “Not entertaining in the slightest, Cheyenne. You know how I feel about this entire arrangement.”
“I do.” The halfling took another bite of toast.
“I also am perfectly aware of the necessity.” Bianca tilted her head and rested it gently against the back of the armchair. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“The morning doesn’t quite start off the same way with such a different view,” Eleanor added. She glanced at Cheyenne and raised her eyebrows.
That’s code for Mom woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Can’t blame her.
The halfling scanned the breakfast cart for coffee cups, and Eleanor seemed to read her mind in an instant. “Oh, Cheyenne. Let me pull another cup out of the cabinet for you.”
“I can get it.”
“No, no. It’s not every day we get to see your smiling face first thing in the morning.” When the housekeeper saw Cheyenne’s deadpan expression, she snorted. “See? Lovely. And I might as well make myself useful when our routine’s been interrupted as it has been. Pull up a chair, sweetheart. I’ll get you some coffee.”
“It’s dangerous for me to argue with you this morning, isn’t it?”
Bianca choked back a small laugh as Eleanor pushed out of the armchair. “Your mother seems to think that’s funny, but I’ll tell you right now that you’re absolutely right. We all have a job to do.” Eleanor turned toward the back of the breakfast room and shrieked.
“Eleanor!” Bianca nearly spilled her cocktail in surprise. “What in the world?”
The housekeeper stared with wide eyes at the dark circle of light appearing midair just inside the double doors. Cheyenne whirled to see the conjured portal opening even wider, then Corian stepped through into Bianca Summerlin’s house.
The halfling’s mother leaped to her feet, her tall bloody Mary glass clenched tightly in one hand, which she extended out to the side as if to keep the suddenly-appearing nightstalker away from her drink. “What is that?”
Shit.
Cheyenne leaped forward, giving Eleanor’s shoulders a brief, gentle squeeze as she passed the woman. “I got it, Mom. It’s fine.”
“Wait.” Corian stared with glowing silver eyes at Bianca Summerlin, the tufted points of his ears twitching in confusion.
“Out.” Cheyenne pointed into the second-floor hallway as she stormed toward him.
The nightstalker blinked rapidly and shook his head before finding the presence of mind to cast an illusion spell. The feline features of his face flashed briefly before shifting into those of a human man with blond hair and a slight flush creeping up the sides of his neck.
“Cheyenne,” Bianca warned, not moving as she stared at Corian, the cat-man who’d just appeared out of thin air in her breakfast room.
“I’ll take care of it. Be right back.” The halfling shoved Corian backward out of the room, spinning him before pushing him farther into the hall.
He kept trying to steal glances over his shoulder at
