Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,60

call Llew to make sure he and Jordan made it home safe. I won’t rest easy until everybody’s checked in.”

“Save it till we’re in the car. It’s almost eleven p.m. We need to go home,” Kipa said. He and Herne shook hands while I gave Ember a hug. Akron’s hearse and his crew’s trucks were still in the yard.

“We should wait for them, I guess.”

“My men know how to contact me if there’s trouble. We’re fine to leave them. Just make sure all their cars are locked tight.” Kipa motioned to Herne. “Check the doors, would you?”

After making sure that Akron’s crew hadn’t left any of their doors open, we filed over to our vehicles. Ember had ridden with Herne and they drove off, waving. Kipa held the door for me and, relieved, I slid into the passenger seat.

As we headed out, I pulled out my phone and made two calls. Vixen told me that Rain, the kids, dog, and cats had made it safely to their place, and they were all settled in for the night.

“They’re doing fine. I fed them and sent them to bed. They looked so rattled,” Vixen said. “Apollo’s here, so he can help out if they need it.” Apollo was one of the Ante-Fae, and he was Vixen’s boy toy. He was studying to become co-manager of the Burlesque A Go-Go.

After chatting for a moment, I said good-bye and then called Llew. He and Jordan were safely home and watching a movie. I told them we had found Aida’s body.

By the time we got home, I was exhausted. As we walked through the door, I let out a sigh of relief. The smell of chicken soup and fresh-baked bread lingered in the air, and my father—who had been cooking up a storm—had the table ready for dinner.

I dropped into a chair at the table, absolutely exhausted. Curikan took one look at my face and brought out the food, ladling large spoons of soup into the wide bowls, and handing us thick rolls with fresh butter. The yeasty scent made my stomach rumble.

We ate in silence. I was too tired to talk, and Kipa seemed reticent, as well. Curikan didn’t ask a single question. Instead, he just encouraged us to take showers and go to bed.

Later, as I was sitting in bed, leaning against the headboard, Raj climbed up to snuggle between Kipa and me. I wrapped my arms around him.

“I love you, pumpkin.”

Raj gave me a skeptical look. “Raj isn’t a pumpkin. Raj isn’t orange and doesn’t turn into a magical coach.”

Laughing, I kissed his forehead again. “Thank you. I needed that laugh.” At his look of confusion, I did my best to tell him that it was just an endearment. Unimpressed, Raj gently headbutted me, then climbed out of the bed to wander back to his own bed in the living room.

Kipa scooted close to me and draped his arm around my shoulders. “It’s been a day.”

“You can say that again.” I closed my eyes and found myself drifting. The next thing I knew, he had eased me back onto my pillow. Before I drifted off into a deep sleep, the image of Aida’s corpse flickered back into my mind. But this time, she began to form again, as though the layers of skin and muscle were flying back on her, like running a movie backward. Then, as she stood in front of me, I realized what a lovely young girl she had been. She smiled and leaned up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome,” I murmured, and the next moment, I fell into a deep and, thankfully, dreamless sleep.

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, the storm had broken and I woke early to a cool autumn sun that was just rising above the horizon. It glimmered through tree boughs, their leaves a cacophony of raucous color. They fluttered in the breeze, waiting for one big blow to send them whirling down to blanket the ground. I glanced over at the other side of the bed, but Kipa was nowhere in sight. He had left me a note, however.

Love, I’m going to feed the ferrets for you and get breakfast for everyone. I’ll take your father and Raj with me, but I’ll make certain Curikan doesn’t come into contact with anybody. We’ll be back by eight a.m.

I stretched, yawning, then opened the window so the breeze could sweep through the room and clear