—”
“They should
“But if they’re not, if I see this woman again…do I trust her?”
“She’s a human, right?”
Laurel nodded.
“Then no, we don’t trust her.”
Laurel gaped at him. “Because she’s human? What’s that supposed to say about David? Or my parents?”
“So you want to trust her?”
“No. I don’t. Maybe. I don’t know. Tell me not to trust her because she hunts nonhumans or because she gave us guns. But you can’t just decide that she’s not trustworthy because she’s a human. That’s not fair.”
Tamani held his hands out in frustration. “It’s all I’ve got, Laurel. I have nothing else to judge her on.”
“She did save my life.”
“Fine, I’ll take away one strike.” He walked over and leaned against the wall beside her.
Laurel sighed. “Why is this happening now?” she asked, frustration creeping into her voice. “I mean, it’s been almost a year since Barnes, and nothing. And then in one night, bam! Trolls, Klea, more trolls at my house. All at once. Why?” Laurel asked, turning her head to look at Tamani.
“Well,” Tamani said hesitantly, “there hasn’t exactly been nothing for the last year.” He looked apologetic. “We didn’t think you needed to know about every troll that passed through Crescent City and glanced your way.”
“There have been others?” Laurel asked.
“A few. But you’re right, this is the best organized, most carefully targeted attack I’ve had any report of.”
“I can’t believe there were others,” Laurel said in disbelief. “I really don’t have any control over my life.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not like that. Most of them never made it within a half mile of your house. The sentries took care of them. No big deal.”
Laurel scoffed. “‘No big deal.’ Easy for you to say.”
“It was under control,” Tamani insisted.
“How about last night? Was last night under control?”
“No,” Tamani admitted. “It wasn’t. But nothing like that has ever happened before.”
“Then why now?”
Tamani smiled wearily. “It’s a good question. If I knew, it might answer some of my questions as well. Like why the trolls have stopped sniffing around here lately, or how Jeremiah Barnes figured out the gate is on this land, or who’s really giving orders to who in this fiasco. It’s one of the many things we’re still trying to figure out.”
Laurel was silent for a moment. “So what do I do?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Take things slow, I guess. Be careful and try to avoid getting into a situation where this Klea person might come around again.”
“Oh, trust me, I will.”
“For the moment, though, I think that’s all you can do. I’ll talk to Shar. We’ll see if we can figure anything else out. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks for coming to tell me,” he said. “I really appreciate it. And not just because I get to see you. Though it’s a nice bonus. Oh,” he said, reaching into his pack. “I have something for you. Jamison gave it to me.” He handed her a large cloth sack. Laurel took it and peered into it for a second before laughing.
“What is it?” Tamani asked, confused.
“Powdered sugarcane. I make potion vials out of it and I’m almost out.” She shook her head. “Now I can break a hundred more vials,” she said ruefully.
“Things still not working?” Tamani asked, trying to hide his concern.
“No,” Laurel said lightly, “but they will. Especially now that I have a ton more of this,” she added with a grin.
Tamani smiled before his eyes slipped to the side, focusing on something just over her shoulder.
“What?” Laurel asked, craning her neck to look self-consciously at her petals.
“Sorry,” he said, apologizing again. “It’s so beautiful and I hardly got to see it last year.”
Laurel laughed and spun, showing off her bloom. By the time she got back around, Tamani was conscientiously studying Laurel’s bucket of cleaning stuff. Laurel thought about the conversation she and David had about how sexy he thought her blossom was. If it was sexy to David…
“So what is all this?” Tamani asked, covering the awkward moment.
“Just cleaning stuff. Glass cleaner, floor cleaner, multipurpose cleaner.” She pulled out a pair of rubber gloves. “And these, so none of it gets on me.”
“So…can I help?”
“I only brought one pair of gloves, but”—she pulled out a feather duster—“you can dust.”
“How about I clean and you dust.”
“It’s just dusting,” Laurel said with a laugh. “You don’t have to wear a ruffly apron or anything.”
Tamani shrugged. “Fine. It’s just weird.”
“Why’s it weird?” Laurel asked as she filled her bucket with warm, sudsy water and donned her gloves.
“This is Ticer work. It’s weird to see you doing it. That’s all.”
Laurel laughed as she ran her sponge over the dusty countertops. “I thought you were getting uncomfortable because it’s ‘women’s work.’”
“Humans,” Tamani muttered derisively, shaking his head. Then, cheerily, “I’ve scrubbed many a room in my day.”
They worked in silence for a time, Tamani clearing cobwebs from several of the corners, Laurel scrubbing at the counters and cabinets in the kitchen.
“You really should let me bring you some cleaning supplies from Avalon if you’re going to do this very often,” Tamani said. “My mom knows a M — ah, Fall who makes the very best stuff. You wouldn’t need the gloves.”
“You were going to say
“I’m a soldier,” Tamani said, his voice taking on an exaggerated formality. “I am surrounded by uncouth sentries from dawn to dusk. I apologize for my vulgar behavior.”
Laurel looked up at him, watching her with a playful, almost taunting, smile. She stuck out her tongue, which made him laugh. “Well, if it’s not an inconvenience, faerie cleaning supplies would be nice,” she said. “How is your mom?”
“Good. She would like to see you again.”
“And Rowen?” Laurel asked, evading the question his statement implied.
Tamani smiled broadly now. “Had her first performance at the equinox festival; she was adorable. She held the train for the faerie playing Guinevere in the
“I bet she was beautiful.”
“She was. You should come to a festival one of these days.”
The possibilities loomed large in Laurel’s mind. “Maybe someday,” she said with a smile. “When things aren’t so…you know.”
“There’s no place in the world safer for you than Avalon,” Tamani said.
“I know,” Laurel said with a quick glance out the window.
“What are you looking for?” Tamani asked.
“The other sentries.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you get tired of knowing there’s always someone listening to you?”
“Nah. They’re polite. They’ll give us our privacy.”
Laurel snorted in disbelief. “Admit it, if it was Shar and some strange girl,
Tamani’s face froze for a second before his eyes darted to the window too. “Fine,” he admitted. “You
