Chapter 18

Now that the threat of the Wild Hunt no longer loomed over Fairhaven, I owed Otto an explanation for my recent visit. I brought a bottle of wine as a goodwill gesture. It wasn't expensive and had been on sale at the store, but it was the thought that counted. I hoped.

Heidi answered the door. "You look presentable today."

I held up the bottle of wine. "I come bearing gifts for His Majesty."

"He'd sooner swallow arsenic before he'd drink that, but I'll bring a cork remover to the study all the same."

Heidi's honesty was brutal but refreshing.

"It won't go to waste, mind you," she added. "I'll drink it."

We parted ways in the foyer. I walked the length of the familiar corridor to the study. Otto sat on the sofa wearing his headphones again. I crossed the room and tapped his shoulder.

Otto pulled down his headphones.

"Hey," I greeted him.

"What did I do to deserve a repeat performance? I've been listening to an audiobook, but I'd much rather listen to you play again."

"Sorry. I'm not here for an encore."

"Ah, well, it was a memorable performance. What I'd like to know is what prompted it after so many refusals."

"We should probably both be seated for this conversation. I brought a nice bottle of wine to mark the occasion. Heidi's bringing a corkscrew."

He didn't ask for the particulars, nor did I offer them. I'd let Heidi run interference on that.

I joined the vampire on the sofa and set the bottle on the coffee table.

Heidi bustled into the room a moment later, carrying a tray with two goblets and a cork remover. She pulled a bottle from the deep recesses of her pocket and swapped it with mine. She proceeded to pluck out the cork in one swift move and filled the goblets with rich red liquid. With a wink at me, she withdrew from the study.

Otto sipped first. "Divine. Where did you get such a bounty?"

The lie tumbled from my lips. "Kane donated it out of the kindness of his heart."

"Your demon lover has excellent taste."

"You may feel differently in a minute." I sucked down a mouthful of liquid courage.

"Before you begin," Otto said, "I'd like to say that I know I've pressed you on occasion to reveal your secrets, but now that I feel the moment's at hand, please don't feel obligated. You owe me nothing."

I felt a rush of affection for the vampire. "I don't feel obligated. I want to tell you." Especially given the number of residents that already knew. It wasn't fair to leave out Otto, who'd proven himself to be loyal and caring.

"Very well then. I'm all ears." He made a show of setting aside the headphones.

I drew a deep breath and told him everything—my identity, my parents, their murder by The Corporation, the rival Fates. The only secret I kept was that I'd reached the next level of my relationship with Kane. That one was off limits, although knowing Otto, he'd drag it out of me eventually.

When I finally finished speaking, Otto remained silent, presumably processing the information. He took another long drink of wine, followed by more silence.

"Well?" I prodded. "Any remarks?"

He tapped his fingers on the stem of the goblet. "You finally make sense."

"Glad to hear it."

"I'm serious, Lorelei. There were so many missing pieces of you, which made it difficult to get a clear picture. Now I finally see you as you are, rather than how you want me to see you."

"And that's better?"

"I will always choose authenticity over a carefully constructed persona."

The wall I'd built for protection. The knots I'd formed to secure my mask. They were all gone.

"But what if the persona has her shit together, whereas the authentic version busts into your house dripping wet, plays a Russian concerto, and leaves without saying a word?"

He laughed. "Lorelei, let's be real. Even your persona never had her shit together."

"Kick a girl when she's down, why don't you?"

"How are you down? From where I'm seated, you're practically vibrating with positive energy."

"I think those are nerves." I swilled the wine for good measure. It tasted pretty good. I wondered how it compared with my bargain basement bottle.

"Poppycock," Otto said. "Admit it. You're overjoyed. I guess that means Kane took the news well."

A smile played upon my lips as I recalled our recent encounter. "He took it like a champ."

"I'm pleased for you. How do you feel?"

"That was going to be my next question."

He recoiled slightly. "What does it matter how I feel about it?"

Down went more wine. "I lied to you. Aren't you angry?"

"I made it clear that I knew you had a secret from the moment I met you. I simply bided my time until you were ready to share it with me, and now you have. Obstacle overcome."

"For a crusty old vampire, you sure sound reasonable."

"The truth is, I feel honored that you chose to share such an important part of yourself with me. Is this what you would call an open secret?"

"I guess that's an accurate description."

"And what of The Corporation?"

A bitter laugh tore from my throat. "Oh, I think they know."

Otto's face scrunched as he absorbed the news. "What does that mean for you?"

"It means I'd better watch my back, or I could end up meeting a worse fate than my parents."

"What could be worse than dead?"

I looked at him. "I'm a goddess born from two of their avatars. They have departments devoted to scientific experiments. Let your imagination run wild."

Otto winced. "I take your point. What can I do to help? As you're well aware, I have many resources available to me."

The Corporation was my problem to solve. I wouldn't endanger the residents of Fairhaven any more than I already had. "Just be my friend, Otto. That's all I ask."

He reached for my hand and squeezed. "Always."

The Castle felt emptier than usual. I'd grown more accustomed to a house full of visitors than I realized.

I stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom. Addison's belongings were strewn across the floor and the bed. I hadn't realized she'd brought so many personal possessions. Knowing Addison, she'd stolen a magical bottomless sack from The Corporation and filled it with her stuff, and most likely a few items that belonged to others.

I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a stuffed unicorn from the pillow. The colors of its rainbow horn had faded and some of the white fur on the body had worn thin. The unicorn had belonged to Addison for a long time. The toy had probably comforted young Tessa in times of turbulence and strife.

And Aite had opted to keep it as a personal treasure.

Tears stung my eyes. She'd been temperamental and unhinged, yes, but also capable of change. I'd started to see glimmers of it in the past few days.

But no more.

I glanced up to see Ray and Nana Pratt crowding the doorway.

"She wasn't very tidy," Nana Pratt commented.

"No need to speak ill of the dead, Ingrid," Ray chastised her.

"What should I do with her belongings?"

Nana Pratt eyed a pair of thong underpants on the floor. "A bonfire seems like a good idea."

"She didn't die of scarlet fever. I'm not setting fire to her things."

"Why not?" Nana Pratt asked. "Your friend Brody set fire to her."

"It was her last request. We chose to honor it."

I set the unicorn on the floor and stripped the sheets off the mattress to wash them. A sliver of white peeked out from underneath. I tugged the end and removed an envelope from its hiding spot.

"What is it? A journal?" Ray asked. "My daughter used to keep one underneath her mattress."

"Not a journal." I peered inside the envelope. "Holy Benjamins." There had to be thousands of dollars tucked in here.

Ray whistled. "Definitely not a journal."

"Let me see." Nana Pratt drifted to the other side of me for a closer look. "Whoa. Good thing you didn't throw that in the washing machine."

I stared at the windfall. "I can't keep it."

"Don't be silly," Ray said. "Of course you can."

It didn't feel right. "It isn't mine."

"It isn't hers anymore either. She had no friends or family. She came to you for help, remember? She'd want you to have it." Ray leaned forward. "How much is it?"

"Enough to buy me more time."

"And maybe some new ductwork?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

"At least buy a new air conditioning unit for the kitchen before summer arrives," Nana Pratt said. "You almost melted in there last year."

"I've been nearly broke for months and you're already spending the money. You're supposed to be my financial advisor."

"Keep the money, Lorelei," Ray insisted. "You've earned it."

"I didn't keep the treasures in Bruce Huang's house," I pointed out.

"Those would've been ill-gotten gains, but this money is different," he said.

"How? This money still came from The Corporation."

"She was paying you rent with that money, wasn't she? And yet you accepted it."

He had a point.

"Besides, now that The Corporation knows who you are and where you live, you're going to need to upgrade that ward of yours again," Nana Pratt advised. "Security doesn't come cheap."

I groaned. "I'll speak to Phaedra tomorrow." Another day, another ward upgrade.

"Maybe this next version can do more than alert you to the type of visitor," Ray said.

I cast a sidelong glance at him. "I can't have a ward that incinerates visitors, Ray."

"I'm not suggesting that, but I am suggesting something a bit more robust that keeps unwelcome visitors from making it past the gate. The front porch is too close for comfort when it comes to The Corporation. We need to stop them at the gate. What's the point of the moat if it doesn't keep them out?"

I knew he was right, but I wasn't excited to make myself even less accessible to the locals. Why couldn't the moat, the cemetery, and the stone walls be enough?

I carried the sheets downstairs to the laundry room. Before I could load them, the revenant scurried across the floor, gathered the sheets into a tidy ball, and dragged them into the washing machine.

"Thanks, Claude."

"I could've done that," Nana Pratt sniffed.

"How about this? I'll let you switch them to the dryer when they're done."

She considered the generous offer. "Fine."

"What's Claude still doing here?" Ray asked. "Shouldn't he have left with Matilda?"

"She's taken the rest of him, but this part of Claude has decided to stay with us," I announced.

"For how long?" she asked with a curled lip.

"As long as he wants. Consider him part of the gang."

Ray straightened. "As a Black man, I object to the word gang."

"Fair enough. How about coterie?"

Nana Pratt huffed. "Since when are we French?"

"I've got it." Hands on hips, I pivoted to face the revenant. "Claude, my love. Welcome to the family."