the goods to the brownie, who ate it hastily.
“Xavier, are brownies dangerous?”
“Not to the ones who feed ’em.” He winked at her and wandered deeper into the cottage.
A fireplace at the center of the room sat unused. Xavier tested the flue with his hand and then, using a few logs from a bin on the hearth, lit a fire with his breath. She’d never seen any of the other dragon siblings spit fire like that. It was strange and enchanting. She touched her fingers to her lips and wondered at the temperature of Xavier’s mouth.
A soft mew came from behind her, and Avery turned to find the little man had finished his bar. He licked his furry fingers and gave Xavier a small bow.
“I hope that was enough. I’m all out.” Avery rubbed her stomach, suddenly very hungry.
“We’ll need breakfast and tea,” Xavier ordered the brownie. “And some clothes, whatever ye can find.”
To Avery’s surprise, the brownie bowed low again and then disappeared into thin air. “Holy God in heaven!” Avery looked left, then right, then hooked her head out the door. “Did you see that? He just disappeared.”
Xavier laughed a low, rumbling sound that made Avery feel warm inside. “I told ye he’s fairy.”
“Yes, but you said the fairies had mind control and could make plants grow. Not disappear into thin air!”
“Oh aye, brownies can. Very powerful buggers. But he won’t stick around if we donna feed him, so we best get to it.” Xavier headed for the door.
“Get to what?”
“We need to steal a cow so we have cream to feed the wee brownie each morning. We’ll also need to provide him a bed, but I see the last one to live here has already done so.” He pointed to a small wooden box with a mess of blankets.
“He sleeps there?”
“As long as ye feed him,” Xavier said slowly, as if she was a bit dense.
“Right.” Avery pressed a finger into her chin. “Where do we get a cow?”
“Come along, lass, I’ll show ye.”
The woman was comely. Very comely. As he moved toward the door, Xavier found himself suddenly concerned about his appearance. He was filthy, after all, still dressed in the rags he’d worn in the dungeon and without access to a bath, a comb, or a blade. Where was Glenna with his things?
“Now that I think about it, ye should stay here while I filch the cow,” he said. If she waited in the cottage, he could bathe in the stream before he saw her again.
“Nonsense. I’ll help you. I’m a very good thief. I used to lift candy bars from the grocery store regularly as a teen. Besides, you need backup in case Lachlan is out hunting for you.”
He grunted. “Nay. I plan to shift into ma dragon form and fly the bugger back here.”
“Won’t a dragon swooping down over a herd of cattle draw some unwanted attention?”
“I’ll make maself and the cow invisible.”
He walked out the door and jogged down the steps. She followed on his heels.
Avery frowned. “Where do you plan to find this poor cow?”
“The McGregors have a farm nearby, on the edge of the fairy hills. I donna particularly care for stealing, but I’ll reward the man handsomely once I’ve reclaimed Dunchridhe.”
“Invisible or not, don’t you think it would be to your advantage to have a second set of eyes with you? Even if the cattle can’t see you, they can hear you and smell you. If you’re not careful, you’ll send the entire herd stampeding, and within hours the entire village will be talking about it.”
He paused and gave her a sideways glance. He seemed to be having some trouble ridding himself of her, even temporarily. “I can be very quiet when I try.”
She rolled her eyes in a way that stirred his temper. “If someone sees their cow disappear, I think they might make a fuss. You don’t want to lead Lachlan right to us, do you? Take me with you—I might be able to distract anyone nearby. No one knows who I am, after all.”
Xavier grunted. “Ye have wee manners for a lass, ye ken. Can ye just stay behind this one time and let me handle this?”
“No,” she said simply, her unblinking stare a clear indicator of her stance on the subject.
“Ye have a hard head on yer shoulders.”
“Like a diamond. Save yourself some time and energy and simply take me with you.”
“Aye.” He mounted Tàirn and drew her up into the saddle. She winced when her