When Pepper saw it was me, she blinked, and her eyes reverted to slitted pupils. Past trauma had left her unable to hold her glamour, but under Veronica’s care—and with the fae energy of Cainsville—she was making progress. When I’d first met her four months earlier, she couldn’t speak. Now she greeted me with, “Hey, come on in. It’s been a while.”

“We’ve been—”

“Busy, I know. That wasn’t an accusation, Matil— Liv. Sorry.”

“You know you can call me that,” I said as I walked in. “Only you, though.”

“Which is why I try not to. It just slips.”

The damage to Pepper had gone deeper than her ability to hold her shape. Not unlike Lloergan, she’d been psychically damaged. In her case, it caused mental impairment. That, too, had vastly improved, but if she stayed outside Cainsville too long, she started to revert. So she was here indefinitely, as a “Greek exchange student.”

“If you’re looking for Veronica, she’s at another town meeting. I can let her know you’re here. I’m sure she’d appreciate the excuse to leave early.”

“Please.”

Pepper texted Veronica.

“Give her five,” she said. “Hot chocolate? No, you’re a grown-up. I should offer you coffee.”

I smiled. “Hot chocolate is fine.”

Pepper loved her hot cocoa as much as I loved my mochas. In her case, “hot” was the biggest attraction. Her glamour issues meant that—like a snake—she was cold-blooded. That was improving, but the heat in the house was cranked to near eighty and she still wore a hoodie.

As she fixed the drinks, I looked at the papers and books spread over the kitchen table.

“That’s our project,” she said. “Mine and Veronica’s. We’re compiling a history of lamiae for her records. Patrick has lent us his books, which help bring back my memories—hereditary and personal.”

“Sounds like a good project.”

“Keeps me busy. Especially up here.” She tapped her head and then handed me a steaming mug. “Patrick doesn’t have a lot on Greek fae.” She chewed her lip. “Which is an awkward…What’s the word? When you switch topics?”

“Segue.”

“Right. It’s an awkward segue to something else. About Greek fae. Veronica says there are dryads in town.”

“Does that worry you?”

She shook her head. “No, no. Dryads are cool. A little silly sometimes, but smarter than they seem. I thought maybe I could talk to them. I’d like to. I’m just not sure they’d want to talk to me. Dryads and lamiae might both be Greek, but we aren’t exactly kissing cousins.” Her face scrunched up. “Is that the term?”

“Close enough.”

“They’ve probably also heard what Melanie did, which means they really aren’t going to want to talk to me.”

“You had nothing to do with that.”