“Well, that’s all right, then.” Metal clanked again behind me as Dad sank back into his chair with a sigh of relief. “Do say hello for me while you’re at it, won’t you? Oh, and let him know I enjoyed that last puzzle he sent over. I could do with something trickier to work on next time, though.”

“Ugh!” I slammed the door behind me and set out on my mission, which had nothing to do with any pleasantries at all.

Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to intimidate someone who embodied the concept of ‘too far’ in every fashion.

Before I’d been dragged into an alliance with Leander Fabian, I’d bored myself silly with pretty windowboxes in an attempt to make my own house look respectable to my new neighbors. Leander, on the other hand, had built himself an actual castle when he’d arrived—and a black castle at that, complete with spy-crows perching on its turrets, massive black doors, and obsidian gargoyles glowering down at every passerby.

Those castle doors always opened wide at night to let Leander’s undead minions roam free across the boggy countryside. But I seriously doubted that the master of the castle spent all of his evenings leaning indolently in the open doorway, his lean shoulders propped casually against the strong wall, a long black coat billowing around his ridiculously frilly white shirt, and long, loose black hair stirring beckoningly in the evening breeze around the angles of his pale, striking face.

Luckily, I was not the sort to let myself be distracted by long, glossy locks and knowing dark eyes, and I had reminded myself of that fact—firmly—at least a dozen times since I’d met Leander Fabian. So my breath hardly caught in my throat at all when I found him lounging there before me, framed in soft golden light by the brace of candles that sat in a wall-sconce nearby. I certainly didn’t wish even for a single instant that I had taken the time to wash off the oil I’d wiped onto my face earlier—or that I’d changed out of my sensible working coveralls.

I never thought about what I was wearing. Why should I? I barely ever remembered that I had a body underneath these sensible, shapeless coveralls, except when Leander Fabian interfered with my work and my concentration by turning my head into rioting fluff. That was why I’d been so carefully avoiding him and refusing all of his pretty invitations so far.

Clearly, he’d felt no doubt that I would come tonight, though—and that realization cleared my head completely.

“This is rubbish!” I threw the crumpled note at his feet.

It bounced off his perfectly polished black boots, and he raised one eyebrow, his lips curving into a wicked grin. “Good evening to you, too, Mia. It’s fine weather outside tonight, don’t you think?”