“Yes, and yes.” Kicking off my sandals, I sat next to her and dangled my feet in the water. “But you cannot repeat anything I tell you.”

“Cross my heart.” Lurine suited actions to words, then uncorked the champagne with a deft twist and a muted pop, filling both flutes. “Now tell.”

I laid out the bare bones of the case, and my dilemma with the naiads and other water elements.

“Dumb bitches,” Lurine commented, her voice taking on an unfamiliar edge. “Don’t they know if any one of us is involved, it could mean trouble for all of us?”

“Apparently not.” I sipped my champagne. Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t on duty. But it wasn’t like I was an official badge-carrying cop, and there’s the hospitality thing. It’s very important in the eldritch community. “Will you talk to them for me?”

“Of course,” she said promptly, studying me. “You seem kind of down, cupcake. Is it just the case, or is something else bothering you?”

I shrugged. “It’s stupid.”

And yet within ten minutes, I’d spilled the entire story of my long-standing crush on Cody, and how I’d interfered with him and Jen, and now Jen wasn’t speaking to me. Lurine was a good listener; she always had been. Not all of her gifts were obvious ones.

“See,” I said when I’d finished. “It’s stupid! Seriously, it’s like I’m still in high school!” I put my head in my hands. “And I can’t believe I’m even thinking about it at a time like this.”

“Oh, baby girl!” Lurine said with sympathy. “It’s okay. Life goes on even at the worst of times, and there are some ways no one ever grows up, no matter how long they live or how many lifetimes.”

It made me feel better. “Really?”

“Absolutely.” She pointed at my purse. “Now you get out your phone, call your friend, and apologize to her. If she won’t answer, leave a message. Or text her. Isn’t that how you kids today communicate? Get it off your chest. If she’s a good friend, she’ll forgive you sooner or later.”

After I’d done it, that made me feel better, too, even though Jen didn’t pick up. “Thanks, Lurine. Any advice on the Cody situation?”

Her look of sympathy returned. “What can I tell you? Those clans keep to their own kind, cupcake. If you go chasing after him, you’re likely to get your heart broken.” Her shoulders rose and fell. “Then again, you’re young. There are worse things in the world than heartbreak. Finding that out is a rite of passage.”

“Great,” I said glumly.