Her…man? Damn it. She was thinking of him on boyfriend terms and she still wasn't sure he one hundred percent felt the same for her. There was every chance, should the curse issue not sort out, that he'd drop her like burnt toast. He'd only known her for a few days, after all.
Daphne sighed and patted Sage's hand, then her head shot up, her expression fierce. "When Dionysus came here for the syrinx, only I could hide it. You know why?"
Sage shook her head and dropped her hand to her side as Daphne faced her fully.
"Dionysus was a satyr like the rest of them. He couldn't see me unless I wanted him to."
She stared at Daphne for a moment, confused, then recalled how Melancton had looked right through her when she arrived at the inn until she spoke to him directly, making herself known to him. "The Boeotians won't be able to see me."
Daphne shook her head. "No, but as soon as you show up and help him, and they see him talking to thin air, they'll figure it out." She pointed at one of the remaining plants. "Which is why making sure you can go invisible on demand is important. Should you be tricked or forced into showing yourself, this is your only natural defense. Even though it sucks. I hated having to hide to help. Hated it."
Sage hoped she could be helpful in more ways than hiding. And could understand that, for Daphne, she'd had no choice. Sage wasn't going up against a god. How scary could a few other satyrs be?
Uh, they broke Jacen's ribs, dummy. Adonis and Ariston might be dead, but sure…not scary at all. She really hated her inner voice of reason. She groaned. "Fine. But only because you asked so sweetly."
With a snort, Daphne took a seat on the couch and crossed her legs. "Okay… Disappear."
Her life had become so wonderfully bizarre. Sage would be enjoying it more if she weren't so anxious that something might have happened to Adonis and his brother. As it was, her worry made it hard for her to concentrate on what she was doing, and as she took what she thought was a defensive stance, she feared it might look like she was about to empty her bladder.
Pan came into the back room and took in the sight of her standing between two potted plants, with her hands outstretched to touch the leaves and straining far more than she was proud of, and raised one of his eyebrows. Determined to wipe that expression off his face, she concentrated on the leaves of the small fern to her right. She wasn't entirely sure she'd vanished until Pan's second eyebrow lifted in surprise and he clapped.
"Bravo. Looks like Daphne's a good teacher."
She bristled, but the pride on Daphne's face kept Sage's tongue in check. While she had disappeared before, she had done it in distress and not on purpose. Daphne didn't deserve to listen to her gripe because Pan was the one doing the talking. She dropped her hands away from the plants, and Pan met her gaze again.
She didn't give him time to say anything. "I'm going to look for Adonis, and none of you are going to stop me."
"I had the feeling that you would say that."
Sage had already opened her mouth to argue. She snapped it shut. Then she said, "Good, so I won't have to explain why."
He shook his head.
"You really aren't going to try to convince me I shouldn't go?"
Pan stared from her to Daphne then back to her. "I'm not stupid enough to argue with a woman in love with a satyr. It never goes well. Also, the Boeotians can't see you."
It burned her biscuits that he'd remembered that before she had. She kept forgetting about that fact. "And if they could see me?"
He waved a hand toward the plants. "You can hide."
She wouldn't be hiding. She'd throat-punch some punk-ass satyrs though. "You don't know me well enough to assume that's all I can do."
"I don't know you well enough to assume anything, but I also think you have a very poor opinion of me." He chuckled as if not being likable was amusing and nodded toward the front door. "You haven't done anything more than scowl at me since I got here. Your disdain was so tangible that, before saying a word, you were visible to me."
"You know why." She waved to Daphne, picking up a black draped cardigan London had let her borrow and putting it on as they headed out into the lobby. Melancton stood out there with another satyr she hadn't met yet named Zale. Neither were in glamour, but dressed like they were heading to some kind of rock concert in leather jackets and dark jeans; however, that concert clearly doubled as a Renaissance Faire due to swords and daggers strapped all over them. She blinked.
Ah, of course. It was Halloween night. Somehow, she kept forgetting with all the unusual stuff happening around it. They had the perfect excuse to go out with hooves and swords without causing a stir.
Pan stopped beside her and crossed his arms. "If your best friend's twin tried to trick a woman into thinking he was someone else, wouldn't you be mad and say things without thinking of the consequences of those words?"
She'd be furious, and she'd mean every word she said to them. Sage glanced away and refused to meet his eye. No point in confirming he'd made a damned good point. Zale was squinting at Pan and then the area where she stood. That's right…he couldn't see her
