yet, Trent?” Ellasbeth said pleasantly as she puttered in the kitchen, and Trent shot a look at me, sandwiched between his two girls with his tie undone and looking so domestic, it made my heart hurt.
“Yes. We ate at Carew Tower,” he said, not a trace of anything in his voice.
Ellasbeth ran her eyes over his suit and loosened tie, gaze rising to Zack in his borrowed finery. Her attention landed on me last, and I flushed. “That must have been pleasant.”
“It wasn’t,” Trent said as he helped Ray with her napkin boat. “It was a business meeting with Landon.”
Ellasbeth’s motion to put the box of Cheerios away hesitated, and then she smoothly closed the cupboard door. “Did it go well?” she prompted, a fake smile in place.
God, no. I came in closer so it wasn’t so obvious that I didn’t belong. “We learned a lot,” I said as I half-sat against the back of the couch. “Trent, before I go, I want to talk to you about catching the baku.”
“Go?” Trent’s attention jerked up, completely missing Ellasbeth’s flash of unease. Not to mention Quen’s frown. “I thought you were going to . . . ah . . .”
I shrugged, smiling thinly at Ellasbeth as she brought the girls two small bowls of dry cereal. “I didn’t want to assume,” I said, and Quen snorted as he settled himself in the living room and brought up something security-related on his phone.
“You can’t leave,” Trent said, and Ellasbeth colored. “What if you fall asleep?”
“Why?” Ellasbeth said, still standing behind the girls. “What happens if she falls asleep?”
I ran a hand over my mouth, very aware of Ray watching me. “Perhaps we should . . . mmmm . . .” I turned to look behind me at the living room. It wasn’t so far from the table that the girls would feel alone, but distant enough that they wouldn’t be likely to listen in.
Trent nodded, a hand on each of the girls as he rose. “Zack, will you watch Ray and Lucy?”
“Sure!” Zack sprang from the couch, long legs eating up the distance to settle himself at the head of the table, where he could see them and us both. I wasn’t sure what had happened on the five-mile drive from the gatehouse to the garage, but it was clear the girls liked him.
“Zack.” Lucy giggled, spilling her dish as she reached for him. “Why are your ears short?”
“Uhhh.” He flushed as Lucy eyed them. “Because I don’t have a demon godfather,” he said, and I smiled when Ray pushed one of Lucy’s spilled Cheerios off the table to Buddy.
“Ray, no!” Lucy cried when Ray pushed another. “That’s mine!” and I looked away, my smile fading as I found Quen frowning at me.
I spun where I was, not caring what anyone thought as I scooted down the back of the couch to land with my skirt in disarray. Trent watched in unabashed appreciation as I tugged everything where it belonged, then he settled carefully beside me to make me feel both awkward and loved. Ellasbeth glowered at Quen, willing him to move, then finally sat in Ceri’s rocker, where she could stare balefully at Trent and me at the same time. Whatever.
“Why shouldn’t you sleep?” Ellasbeth asked again, and Quen put his phone down.
Trent took my hand in his, and my shoulders eased as his fingers twined with mine. “Because Rachel, and anyone with a similar aura resonance, is potentially under the threat of a baku attack,” he said, setting our clasped hands where Ellasbeth could see them.
Ellasbeth’s gaze flitted between Trent and me as if unsure. “What is a baku?”
Lucy’s sudden squeal of delight shocked through me. Apparently Zack had caught the Cheerio that she’d thrown at him with his mouth. At least, it seemed as if that was what had happened, since Buddy was busy vacuuming the floor of the misses.
“A baku is a spirit being,” Quen said, his low voice pulling my attention back. “One that can invade your dreams and cause you to act out your nightmares.”
“Oh.” Ellasbeth frowned, clearly not seeing the problem, and I winced.
“Landon is using it to try to get me to kill Trent,” I said bluntly, and Ellasbeth’s eyes widened in horror. “But it could be used to get Trent to kill me,” I added to be fair.
Trent made a soft sound of annoyance. “Or anyone for that matter,” he said.
“It’s a weapon,” Quen said. “One our ancestors created to kill demons.”