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for healing my mother."

Maiwenn nodded, and I could tell she really was sick. Weariness ringed those lovely eyes. "I'm happy to. And I'm glad we were able to talk. You have no idea how relieved I am to see where you stand. I'll do what I can to keep others from trying to...take liberties with you."

Kiyo's fingertips brushed her arm to stop her, and I watched that contact with a critical eye. "Wait for me outside."

She nodded and then swept out of the room in all her golden beauty. Kiyo walked over to my bed and sat down, running a hand along my cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay. When I walked in...I thought you were dead."

"I'm hard to kill," I said lightly.

He smiled, shaking his head with exasperation. "I can believe that."

Reaching down, he picked up my hand and brought it to his lips, eyes on mine. He lingered a moment, and my skin burned where he kissed me. Then carefully, gently, he laid my hand back down, lacing his fingers with mine.

"I'm going to make sure she crosses over okay, and then I'll be back to stay with you."

"You gonna take care of me? Massage my feet and feed me chicken soup?"

"Anything you want," he promised. "That's what friends do." He kissed my hand again and then stood up. "Be back in a few minutes."

I could still feel where he'd kissed me, but for once, my infatuation with him went on hold. I was thinking about the conversation I'd just had. It still bothered me, but I'd meant what I said. Learning gentry magic was about the scariest thing - other than rape by a mud elemental - that I could imagine right now. Yet, I wanted no more storms in my living room, no storms anywhere that I was incapable of controlling.

And for what it was worth, that meant getting a grip on my power. I knew whom I had to go to for that control, and it held its own set of terrors. Necessary evils, though. I had no choice.

So while I waited for Kiyo's return, I began a mental to-do list. Summon Volusian. Plot strategy. Buy high-heeled shoes...

Chapter Sixteen

I slept the rest of the day and most of the following one as well. Only the essentials got me out of bed - food, the bathroom, one phone call, and a meeting with Volusian after Kiyo had to leave for Phoenix.

I was dozing around dinnertime that second day when Tim's angry voice in the living room woke me up.

"No! I don't care. She needs to sleep, okay? I'll give her the message, but stop calling."

I'd heard Tim use that tone only on a few people, so I had a good idea whom he spoke to. For whatever reason, despite having never met, he and Lara hated each other. Throwing on my robe, I shuffled out to the living room and saw him talking on my cell phone. The only progress we'd made in cleanup thus far was to sort of clear a walking path through the debris. He pulled the receiver from his face.

"It's that bitch secretary of yours. I wouldn't have answered except that she keeps calling and calling. I told her you can't take - "

I reached for the phone. "It's fine. I need to talk to her."

Glaring, he handed it over.

"Did your asshole roommate just call me a bitch?" demanded Lara. "He has no right - "

"Let it go," I ordered. "Tell me what's up."

"Well, I got your message. Did the shoes show up?"

"Yeah, they're great. What about the witch?"

"I set it up. He's going to come ward the place tonight. He'll need you to let him in."

"No prob. I won't be here, but Tim will."

"Okay, and about the other thing..."

"Yeah?"

A long pause. "Well, I don't think I heard that part of the message right. It sounded like you said you needed a dress too."

"I do need a dress."

Silence.

"What's the matter? Didn't I leave you my size?"

"Yeah, you did, it's just that...a dress? I mean, you've asked me to get you some pretty crazy stuff before - and I'm still kind of uneasy about that one time with the nitroglycerin - but this is really out there, even for you."

"Oh, stop it. Just take care of this."

I wasn't keen on the dress either, but Volusian had insisted during our earlier bedside strategy session. If things fell into place with Dorian, I'd be attending an Otherworldly party on Beltane rather than waiting for an attack