She shrugged. “None taken.”
“It’s like a mermaid, right?” I looked to Merric for validation and watched his smile widen.
Yuna turned to me. “Only in the vaguest sense of the word,” she informed me coolly.
“Okay, so what’s the big deal?”
“What do you eat, Yuna?” Cian asked patiently, smoothing his hands over the checkered tablecloth.
“Fish.“ Yuna fixed him with her teal gaze. “I don’t eat the drowned.”
“The drowned?”
“They’re trying very hard to make me admit to why my kind aren’t very well liked by other water folk or land folk,” Yuna put her menu down and faced me. “If you don’t know, then you can’t really decide if you’re all right with it.” Her gaze slid sideways, like she was unsure for the first time, but then flashed back to mine.
“A cecaelia is a water shifter. We have the lower bodies of an octopus. And we’re very well known for drowning or strangling our lovers, among other unsavory things.”
“Oh. Okay, well that seems counterproductive.” I blinked in surprise. “Why do you drown your lovers?”
“Because it pleases us to do so.” She didn’t seem upset about the prospect.
“Well.” I glanced down at my menu, then back to her. “You’ve saved my life twice. Do you have any intention of drowning me?”
She smirked. “No. Why drown you, when it’s seemingly much more difficult to keep you alive? That sounds like more fun.”
Merric snorted.
“So you won’t drown me?”
“I doubt it.”
“And you won’t strangle me?”
“I may, if you irritate me. But not to death; you’ll be fine.”
I considered her words. “What about them?” I gestured at the others. “Will you strangle or drown them?”
She scowled, like it was the most grotesque suggestion she’d ever heard. “They’re men,” she said forcefully.
I couldn’t help my grin. “As long as you don’t kill me, I don’t want you to leave.”.
“What about you?” she looked at Cian. “Are you going to chase me off your witch?”
Cian shrugged. “She can make her own decisions. And she isn’t my property; she can be with who she wants, no matter how….” He looked slowly, and very pointedly, at Merric. “Questionable.”
The waitress appeared at our table, all smiles and southern charm. She rambled off about their specials, and with a jolt I realized I hadn’t even looked at the menu.
I’d been a bit distracted. I read over the page-long menu, surprised that it was mostly food I’d never had. This place really did take being smack in the middle of New Orleans very seriously.
Akiva nudged my arm and I looked up at the expectant waitress. “Can I have the creole pasta?” I asked politely. “And cherry lemonade?” The waitress nodded as she took my order. Yuna ordered some fancy seafood dish, while Merric outdid her with an even fancier oyster concoction.
She left, though returned a second later with two baskets of bread.
“So how was Paris after all of the nobles wanted to behead you?” Cian asked, grabbing a roll from the basket. “I’d thought you might not make it out.”
Merric laughed. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. Humans are so stupid, Cian. No offense to your parents.” It was such an unnecessary insult that I snorted, taking my own roll and slathering it in butter.
Cian grinned, not at all upset. “Really? I always thought you held witches in your lowest regard. So what is it about George that so inspired you to offer her assistance?”
“I tracked him down,” I said, shredding the bread. “I told you I was looking for kitsune, remember?”
“To be clear.” Merric laid his head on his hand, smiling. “I’d like to explain to you, George, how your scry went on my end.”
Great. More insults.
“You sent out that power begging for a fox to help you. First,“ He lifted his free hand, pointer finger extended. “You found Nicolette Blaque. She sensed you immediately and pushed you away. Then,“ he lifted his middle finger. “You found Adam. He’s eight and had no idea what you were doing. So, I pulled it off of him and let you find me instead.” His ring finger popped up and his grin brightened. “Then, after you lied to me about calling, you tried again. I was in a hurry, so I didn’t want to manually pull your little magic off of any of the others you might find, fun as it was. So I dampened your spells, clouded your cousin’s divining, and here we are. I’m not sure how much credit you get for finding me, George.”
“Really?” Yuna grinned her own sharp-toothed smile. “Because I see it differently. George put out a call for kitsune, was looking for one powerful enough to help, and you just couldn’t help but get involved. So she absolutely netted herself the perfect fox.” Her brows rose. “Unless I’m misunderstanding?”
I was taken aback at her words. “Wow. That’s the nicest thing any of you have said about my powers.”
Cian scowled. “That’s not true,” he said, trading a glance with Indra. “I’ve said plenty of good things–“
“No you haven’t,” I promised. “You normally say ‘no, that’s a bad idea. Don’t do it.’ Or ‘No, don’t go looking for a fox. You won’t do it right.’” I gestured at Merric, who sipped his water. “I’m pretty sure I did something right?”
“If he feels like helping when we need him,” the vampire reasoned.
“He promised he would.”
Now Cian turned to look at Merric, surprised. “You did?”
Merric nodded fervently. “Absolutely. George calls me for help with your little malcontents and I show up, no questions asked, to break any illusion you need.” He was smiling sweetly again. It didn’t bode well for me.
Cian’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?” Indra asked. “What do you get out of it? Money?”
I was slowly beginning to see where this was going and wanted to change directions.
“It’s fine,” I said nervously. “He said he’d help, so he’ll help. We have bigger problems…“
“I’d never ask George for money.” Merric’s tone was innocent and shocked. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“What did you offer
