“I think you might need to call Darby and see if she can meet us at the tavern,” Mathi said.

“Wouldn’t it be better just to go straight to the fae hospital?”

“It probably would, but I’m not in the mood to be waiting in the emergency room right now.”

I snorted. “As if, as a highborn, you ever had to wait for anything in your entire life.”

“That doesn’t dismiss the initial comment.” He glanced at me. “Did you know that Darby warned me off trying to seduce you back into my bed?”

Amusement ran through me. “Did she now?”

“Yes. She claimed you now had a nice man in your bed and that I need to give up and just get on with finding someone else.”

“Sound advice, if you ask me.”

“You know me far better than that.” His voice was wry. “But unless you’ve gained a third suitor, it’s a long stretch to call Cynwrig Lùtair a nice man.”

“You would of course say that.”

“You don’t know him.”

“Odd. He said the same thing about you.”

He sniffed. It was a disdainful sound. “Myrkálfar cannot be trusted.”

“And Ljósálfar can? I believe I’ve evidence to the contrary. But it doesn’t matter, because I’m just sweeping out the cobwebs until something better comes along.” I paused. “Something other than you.”

He gave me another of those sniffs, and I couldn’t help grinning. “Do you have another hanky? You appear to have developed a sniffle.”

He didn’t look amused. I laughed, tugged my phone from my pocket, and rang Darby.

“Hey,” she said in a bright voice that thankfully said I hadn’t woken her. I knew she had the next week off work because her sister-in-law was expected to give birth at any minute, but she’d been working late shifts until last night, and that usually meant she slept solidly through most of her first day off. “What’s up?”

“Just wondering if you’re available for a little wound patching.”

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Nothing much.”

“Nothing more than a magical explosion that destroyed two stories of a building,” Mathi said dryly.

“Is that who I think it is?” Darby grumbled. “Please don’t tell me you’re letting him back in.”

“This is purely a business venture.”

“A fact I can sadly confirm,” he added.

“Well, good, but why the hell were you both in the vicinity of an explosion? I mean, I can understand someone wanting to blow Mathi’s annoying self up, but not you.”

“It wasn’t aimed at either of us. We were at Aram’s—a spellcaster involved in one of the attacks at the tavern—and it was just a matter of bad timing.”

“That seems to have become a habit lately.” I could almost see her shaking her head. “Are you heading for the tavern?”

“No, Lugh’s.”

“And he’s there right now?”

Her tone had gained a little extra excitement, and my grin bloomed again. “He is.”

“Excellent,” she said with obvious relish. “I’ll pop over there immediately.”