And that fear was right there in his eyes, along with relief and love. I reached out a hand, and he silently caught it. For several seconds, neither of us moved or said anything. We didn’t need to.

Then he squeezed my fingers and released them with a smile. “You up to eating? Darby says you should.”

I nodded. “How long was I out? And what happened to Alinda? And Cynwrig?”

“Just over twenty-four hours has passed, and Cynwrig left a couple of hours ago to attend the council meeting.”

“Another one? Something drastic must have happened.”

Lugh shrugged. “He didn’t say, but then, we aren’t exactly high-ranking pixies.”

“Maybe, but we are a part of the two relic hunts the council is currently involved in. I’m thinking that should change.”

“Oh, I agree, and I daresay he might have told you had you been awake, but... you know what elves are like.”

I certainly did. “And Alinda? That is who it was, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “She’s asleep in the spare room. She’s been bound by some sort of sleeping spell, and we don’t want to risk getting in an unknown spellcaster to dislodge it. Not until we know who’s involved in all this.”

“What about Rogan? He should have been able to do it, surely?”

“Yes, and if you’d remained unconscious for much longer, we would have called him.”

“So aside from still being spelled, she’s okay?”

He nodded. “Darby’s been monitoring her vitals, and while there has been slight deterioration in the half hour, it’s not yet dangerous.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t hit the place to retrieve her. If the spell is strong enough to last this long, it’s strong enough for them to track it.”

“Sgott has placed guards and sniffers out front and back. No one is getting in here without them knowing about it.”

“That’s going to be great for trade,” I muttered.

“Given the general shittiness of the weather, trade has been nonexistent anyway. I told Ingrid to close down early tonight. It’s pointless paying staff to stand around twiddling their thumbs. I’ve just made a fresh pot of tea, if you’d like a cup.”

“Make it a barrel and we’ve got a deal.”

He laughed, then bent and carefully hugged me. “Don’t be scaring me like that again. Ever.”

I returned his hug fiercely. “I’ll try not to.”

“Good.” He dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “Pizza arrived five minutes ago, so there should be some left.”

“If there isn’t, there will be hell to pay.”

He laughed again and left. I got up and slowly got dressed. My body might have healed, but my muscles still felt dodgy. No doubt it was more a result of being knocked sideways than calling down the lightning. My knives were sitting on the bedside table along with my phone, which—despite the slightly singed look to the cover—appeared to have come through okay. I sent a message to Cynwrig to let him know I was awake and okay if he wanted to drop by after the meeting, then put the phone into my pocket, grabbed the knives, and walked out.