“We’re only friends. Friends and allies. You know that.” I cursed the inexorable tide of heat that rose to my cheeks under the interested gaze of the Countess Cardenza…who just happened to be a bossy and affectionate honorary aunt to Leander Fabian. That was why I’d allowed her into our cottage in the first place. “We have a visitor. Dad, may I introduce—”

“Carmilla!” His face broke into a smile of genuine delight, and he gave her a cheerful wave from his stool. “Delightful to see you again.”

“Again?” I grabbed hold of my short-cropped hair and tugged it hard in case pain could wake me up from this surreal dream I’d stumbled into. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, did I forget to mention?” The Countess smiled dazzlingly at us both but didn’t venture into the workshop. It was filled with iron that neither she nor Leander could ever stand to touch. “This isn’t actually my first visit. I stopped by a few days ago, looking for you, but you were gone. Visiting…Leander, I believe?”

Her smile widened even more as Dad let out a snort of amused confirmation. “Your father was kind enough to invite me in for tea. Unlike some hosts, he didn’t even pour it on me.” With a quirk of one elegant eyebrow, she indicated a small, discolored spot on the draped crimson and black sleeve of her gown.

Clothing could always be washed or replaced; it was the rest of her statement that stunned me.

Of course Dad had invited her in for tea—that part, I instantly understood. My father had always loved company, despite the isolation my powers had forced upon us both. Even here in the countryside, shunned by the closest town, I’d caught him—more than once!—chatting away for twenty minutes or more at the perpetually long-faced, looming man who charged a kingly fee to deliver our food and other necessities of life, which the town’s torch-wielding mayor would have preferred to deprive us of entirely.

That deliveryman barely spoke at all. The most I’d ever heard from him was a grunt of deep and sorrowful resignation whenever I informed him of a new item that I wanted to buy. By contrast, the Countess must have seemed an absolute delight…so why hadn’t Dad mentioned her visit to me? He’d been teasing me about Leander ever since our alliance against the respectable townsfolk had begun. Having the man’s almost-aunt show up on our doorstep should have provided perfect fodder for his speculation.

“Won’t you join us for tea now?” the Countess asked him sweetly while I scowled over the mystery.

Dad always chatted to me about everything. Why would he keep her first visit a secret?