Morning cameand my neck still looked like I’d lost a bet with a hickey monster.The mottled purple and yellow ring stood out, and so I decided to wrap a scarf around my neck, until I realized that it felt like I was strangling all over again.Irritated, I tossed the scarf back onto the bed.Let people stare.They did anyway, especially at my boobs.I slid into a black chiffon skirt and chose a leather overbust corset with straps and plenty of silver hardware.As I slid on my granny boots and zipped them up, then brushed my hair, I thought through my to-do list for the day.
We were expecting a couple of special editions at the store—one of my regulars had ordered annotated and illustrated versions of her favorite books.Delilah and I were meeting Menolly for dinner at the Wayfarer, and then, late in the night, our father expected us to contact him via the Whispering Mirror.
Sephreh checked in on us, but it was obvious to us that he was just playing the part.I wanted to refuse his calls, but we owed him our allegiance.He was our father, and he was a respected member of the Guard Des’Estar—the military branch of the Court & Crown.He’d served them faithfully for centuries, and his only ‘failings’ had been to fall in love with a FBH, marry her, and bear half-breed children.
Delilah was up, readying herself for the day.Iris had made breakfast for us and was outside already, gathering mushrooms from the thicket around our house.She had left breakfast sandwiches—English muffins with sausage, eggs, and cheese—on the counter.
“Going to work today?”I asked, grabbing a couple of sandwiches and parking myself at the table.
She shrugged.“Yeah.I hardly ever get any clients, but that’s fine.I wanted to run some errands today, anyway.”Blushing, she added, “I was going to look for a cat condo.”
I grinned.“That actually sounds like a good idea.They need those over in Otherworld.You want to ride in together?”
“Nah,” she said, joining me.“I need my Jeep, especially if I find a good cat tree.”She paused, then said, “What do you think about Chase?”
“What do you mean, what do I think about him?”
“He obviously likes you,” she said.
“Ilikehim.I just have no plans to let him under my skirts.He’s not my type.”I immediately flashed back to my true love—the one man I could not shake.We were bound together on a physical level that went far below the surface, but I had been forced to leave him behind.And I doubted I’d ever see him again.
“You’re thinking of Trillian, aren’t you?”Delilah asked.She gave me one of those looks that combined pity with sadness and regret.She knew what Trillian had meant to me.
I swallowed the lump of sandwich and stared at the table.“Sometimes…I’ll go for weeks without thinking of him, but then he’ll appear in my thoughts and it’s like he’s standing inches away, but I can’t touch him.”
“I think Father did you a terrible turn,” Delilah said.“His hatred of Svartans is almost as great as his hatred of vampires.”
I couldn’t answer.I couldn’t say anything.Tears welled up.I stared hard at the table, trying to direct them elsewhere.Finally, I cleared my throat and said, “Sometimes, I think Trillian’s my Kryptonite.He’s my past, Delilah.And I have to leave him there.”
She leaned over and put her hand on mine.I clasped her fingers, squeezing hard, then let go.I carefully dabbed at my eyes, trying to avoid mussing my makeup.Eyeliner and mascara were good shields against crying, and if I started crying over Trillian, I wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Let’s get moving for the day,” I said.“You want me to braid your hair before we go?”
“No, I’ll leave the braids for Menolly,” Delilah said.“I’ll just sweep it back into a ponytail.”Delilah wasn’t much for fashion or makeup, but that suited her nature.She was our father’s favorite—that much I knew—but I didn’t begrudge her.Delilah was born with a sensitive soul.All cats and cat shifters were hypersensitive.It was just part of feline nature.
In a way, I was grateful that Sephreh favorited her.I just wished he’d give some love to Menolly too.But ever since she was turned, he treated her like a stranger, politely, but with an aloofness that kept her forever at arm’s length.
I was used to bearing the brunt of his criticism, and I’d accepted it.I was the oldest, and I took on that burden when I was young, because I knew that I could bear it easier than Delilah or Menolly.But seeing him barely tolerate Menolly’s presence because of something beyond her control made me rage.
Wondering what was behind the onslaught of churning emotions that shrouded my morning, I said nothing but gathered my purse and keys before following Delilah out the door.
“I’ll see you down at the store,” I said, then waved as I slid into my Lexus and she, her Jeep.As I drove down the rain-soaked drive, I thought again how it was probably best that we had come Earthside.Otherworld felt a million miles away, and right now, even that felt too close.
The day went smoothly,with a few minor upsets.I flipped through my contacts, trying to figure out who to call about the tenzar.Finally, a name jumped out from my list.Frieda Shazar.She was an older woman—human, but with a deep knowledge of magical systems.She came into the shop on occasion to chat about magic and nature and to ask about Otherworld.I picked up the phone and punched in her number.She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Frieda,” I said after her ‘hello.’“This is Camille D’Artigo.You know, the Indigo Crescent bookstore?”
“Right!Well, then.What can I do for you?”she asked.
“I need some magical advice, and I thought you might be able to help.Or, if you can’t, maybe you can direct me to someone who can.I’d like to buy you lunch if you have the time.”I knew that it was common to return favor for favor here, Earthside.“Wherever you like.”
Frieda chuckled.“You don’t have to bribe me, but that would be fun.I have a hankering for clam chowder.How about Clam Acres?It’s a new seafood joint on the pier.”
“I can do that.Meet you there at noon?”I could close up the shop for an hour or two, given Iris wasn’t here today.
“I’ll see you then,” Frieda said.
As I hung up, Henry Jeffries entered the store.As he headed directly for the science fiction and fantasy section, I pushed my worries to the back of my mind and joined him, smiling.