“Of course you were. Because there he would be, running his hands through all that lovely fur, and when he realized who it was, he’d think, ‘Oh, my. I’m touching Selena. I’m intimidated.’ Phah. On the other hand, if you change back while he’s got his hands all over you, it might be more of a thrill than he’s ready for, depending on where his hands are at that moment.”

Selena just gaped at her.

There, Ashk thought, satisfied, that’s got your mind off thoughts of troubling dreams. “Trust a woman married to a baron. They like fur.”

Selena shoved her hands through her hair. “It wouldn’t be fair, just trotting up to him and wagging my tail. Besides, he gets so gentry prim whenever he thinks about Breanna and Falco being lovers—”

“He’s not his sister. And you’re not his sister. And if you’d ever noticed the way he looks at you, you’d know he’d jump through a couple of hoops for the chance to pet you.”

Selena sputtered. Muttered. “It’s out of the question. I’m sharing a room with my sister.”

“He’s not sharing a room with anyone.”

“This is none of your business.”

“I know. It wouldn’t be half as entertaining if it was any of my business.”

Selena lowered her hands. “Bitch.”

Ashk just smiled.

“All right. Let’s check on Breanna and Keely first. Then I’ll decide what to do about Baron Liam.”

As soon as they walked through the kitchen door and saw Fiona, their humor fled.

“Breanna?” Ashk asked.

Fiona shook her head. “She’s asleep, thanks to Morphia. So is Keely. It’s Jean.”

Selena’s sigh sounded more like a growl. “Now what?”

“I can’t find her anywhere.”

Two shadow hounds ran through the moonlight. They didn’t pause when the men standing guard over Nuala’s grave turned to watch them race past.

Selena wanted to howl with frustration. Fiona was certain the girl wasn’t sulking in the house somewhere, but they still spent time searching the more unlikely places—pantry, cold cellar, wine cellar. They would have searched the attic, but that was pointless. The boys were sleeping up there on beds made of straw and blankets. She wasn’t in the stables or any of the other out-buildings. It was possible that she’d run off into the woods and couldn’t find her way back to the house after dark, but there were Fae keeping watch around the shining road and at least half of them were in their other form so that their sharpened senses would warn them of any kind of enemy approaching. If she was out there, they’d have seen her and brought her back to the house.