“I called Jih,” Jenks said as he landed on the raised trunk, his wings going red in the reflected heat. “Bis is going to watch them at night, and Jih is going to watch them during the day. Her husband wasn’t going for it until I agreed that Jih could bring home whatever she wanted from the graveyard.” His wings hummed and he took flight, warm again. “Ivy’s going to bring me my good sword and some toothbrushes.”

“You’re coming?” I asked Ivy, not seeing her suitcase in the trunk.

She shrugged. “I’m going to close up the church and fly out to join you. You can get to St. Louis by nightfall. I already have my ticket.”

Oh God. The one she’d bought today? Feeling used, I dropped back, eying them in disbelief. “This morning was all for show?” I said bitterly.

From beside me, Trent shifted his feet. “Is this why you suggested I dress casually?” he asked Quen. “You knew I wasn’t coming back?”

Jenks hummed, close, darting off when I waved him away before he could land on my shoulder. “We had to be sure Ivy could fly,” the pixy said. “Now we know she can. We’re taking your mom’s car.”

The pixy looked too satisfied to live, but I wasn’t happy.

“No, we’re taking mine,” Trent said suddenly, and I realized he hadn’t known about this, either. It made me feel a little better. Especially when Quen cleared his throat and fell into a modified parade rest.

“No, Sa’han, you’re taking Ms. Morgan’s car.”

I turned to Ivy and Jenks, both of them smiling in the sun as if it was all just a joke. Me and Trent in a car to St. Louis? The tabloids would love it. “You had this all worked out, huh?”

“Not all of it until just now,” Ivy said. “But both Quen and I like to be prepared.”

From my other side, Trent muttered, “Can I talk to you, Quen? Privately?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jenks said brightly when Quen inclined his head to excuse himself. “Go complain. It isn’t going to change anything.”

Gravel crunched under Trent’s boots as the two elves went to have an argument that I was sure Trent was going to lose. Uneasy, I squinted in the sun as I faced Ivy. “You agree with this?”

Ivy nodded, and Jenks darted away to eavesdrop on Trent and Quen. “I think this is the safest way to get you there,” Ivy said, and my focus sharpened on her. “The coven won’t take a shot at you with Trent in the car, and the Withons’ assassins aren’t that much of a threat. It’s the best of a bad situation. And if he is lying and he double-crosses you, I’ll kill him for you.”

From anyone else, it would have been an idle threat, and I smiled, feeling loved.

“Take this for me,” Ivy said, handing me her laptop in the briefcase. “If for some reason I can’t get on the plane, I’ll bike out and join you. With luck, I’ll see you in a few hours.”