Bhandi snorted, brushing bits of black stone and grass off her black fatigues. “So, what now?”
“Well,” Lumil sniffed and looked at the floor of the veranda protruding from the back of the house. “I mean, it’s not like we have a reason to stay here.”
Chapter Sixty-Six
After settling Bianca in the master bedroom’s king-sized bed and covering her with a throw blanket she couldn’t remember being used in any capacity other than decoration, Cheyenne pulled together the French doors to her mom’s room, leaving them open a crack just in case.
“Hey, Em.”
“Yeah.” Ember waited at the top of the staircase, her eyelids drooping.
“Wanna pinch me?”
The fae snorted. “Tempting, but I’m not sure I have enough in me for that.”
Cheyenne stepped toward the staircase and cast one more glance at Bianca’s room before heading down the steps to the foyer. “None of this makes sense.”
“The part where you just tucked Bianca Summerlin into bed? Or the part where the FRoE’s now working with L’zar Verdys and his rebels? Or the part where your aunt accidentally cursed your mom too because your dad cares about someone other than himself?”
“How about the part where you flew out of the house and healed the blight with fae magic? We can add that to the list too.”
Ember chuckled wryly. “Not like that. I didn’t fly.”
“Oh, I get it. Falling with style, huh?”
“Very funny. Levitation spell. Or hovering spell. Whatever. You know what? Corian didn’t tell me what it’s called when he taught me that one, but I figured I’d take a page out of your book and use it to keep myself from eating shit.”
“I’d love to know what page of my book you’re referring to.”
Ember gave the halfling an exasperated look and raised an eyebrow. “Cheyenne Summerlin, drow halfling, overthrowing the O’gúl Crown and incapable of not jumping off every balcony she sees.”
“Oh.” Cheyenne laughed as they turned left at the bottom of the stairs toward the sitting area. “It’s not like I see a balcony and go, ‘Hey, I hope somebody needs me to clean up a shitty magical mess for them, ‘cause I’d really love to jump off this thing right now.’”
“Yeah, I know. Wasn’t something I analyzed before I did it either. So, now that there’s no portal…”
“I guess the immediate danger’s not so immediate anymore. Except for my mom.” Cheyenne headed for the loveseat. “L’zar said something about finding what we needed to take to Ba’rael. You know, my terms and everything. And that it’s here on Earth.”
“Oh. That’s odd.”
“I know, right?”
“Shouldn’t you be out there threatening him or something if he doesn’t go get it right now?”
“I need a minute, Em. We almost stepped into seriously deep shit out there. Don’t get me wrong. I’m super grateful.”
“Please. Like I ever thought you weren’t.”
“I just want like five minutes before we head somewhere else, thinking we’re wrapping up one thing and finding a dozen other things we have to deal with first.”
“Sure.” Ember nodded. “No problem. Want me to leave you alone?”
“Not really.” Cheyenne snorted. “Only if you want to.”
As soon as she sank into the loveseat’s cushions, a crash of metal and a startled shriek came from the kitchen. The halfling and the fae looked at each other, then Cheyenne was on her feet again and racing toward the swinging door. Both girls barreled into the industrial-grade kitchen and found Eleanor bent over a pile of pots on the floor.
Cheyenne stepped hesitantly forward. “Everything okay in here?”
“Oh!” Eleanor jumped and straightened, slapping one hand down on the stainless-steel counter to steady herself and the other over her heart. “Cheyenne, I swear, one of these days, you’re going to sneak up on me and make me keel right over.”
“I didn’t sneak.” The halfling turned to the swinging kitchen door and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, I guess. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s fine.” Catching her breath, Eleanor stooped again with a groan, picked up two pots, and set them gingerly on the counter, grimacing. “I’m sorry too.”
“For what?”
“For sleeping so late, sweetheart. I’m usually up way earlier. You know that. It’s this pounding headache. I’ll have breakfast ready as soon as I can. I’m a bit slow.”
Cheyenne swallowed a laugh. “Is that a euphemism for a hangover?”
Eleanor put a hand on her hip and turned slowly to shoot the halfling a warning look. “Most likely. It’s the headache that woke me up. Still waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in.”
Ember opened her mouth with a sharp breath and glanced behind her at the kitchen door, slowly settling into stillness again. “You just woke up?”
“Yes.”
“From a headache?”
Eleanor frowned. “You know, I’m quite familiar with being hungover, girls, and as far as I can tell, I’m still perfectly coherent.”
“You are, Eleanor. Hungover and coherent.” Cheyenne shrugged. “You missed the entire showdown out back.”
“Really?” Eleanor glanced at the kitchen door too, though the round window only looked out on the sweeping central staircase. “Was it loud?”
“Might be what made your headache worse. Mine too, actually.”
“Well, do enlighten me.”
* * *
When Cheyenne finished recounting everything the housekeeper had slept through without knowing, she eyed the half-dozen eggs Eleanor had cracked into the skillet two minutes ago. “And you forgot to turn on the burner.”
“No, I didn’t…oh.” Eleanor chuckled and then winced at the jolt it brought to her head before turning on the stove with a click and a whoosh of igniting gas. “I need to pay attention.”
“Happens to the best of us.” Cheyenne and Ember exchanged knowing glances. “You heard everything I told you, though, right?”
“Of course I did. My hearing’s not the problem, sweetheart. I think I have a better appreciation for your sensitivity to loud noises right now.”
“We might have to head out again pretty soon. One more time-sensitive thing, I guess.”
“Oh. So you don’t want breakfast, then?”
Cheyenne eyed the frying eggs. “I definitely do. Just let me see how long we’ll be sticking around, and I’ll let you know, okay?”
“Sure.” Eleanor grabbed a spatula and poked the
