She could threaten the trow. Maybe that’d keep him in line if pleading wouldn’t. Why should an Each-uisge, great hunter of the North Sea, plead with an underground trickster? She should show him his place.

“Just reconsider,” she snarled. “It’s a fine arrangement, this. You eat well without having to hunt voles. Don’t ruin a good thing.”

It was as close to a threat as she could manage, which was pathetic. She must be going soft.

It wasn’t as if she was fond of the creature.

When she said so to Madeleine that evening, Madeleine only smiled. “Are you sure about that?”

Hæra tugged her in closer on the couch and began to play with her shirt collar. “Of course. Why would I be fond of him? We’ve never had a proper conversation.”

“No, but he’s…like you.”

Hæra thought of the day she’d gone to the trow’s mound to ask him to protect the farm when she was gone. He’d said nothing, just looked at her inscrutably. Was that kinship? “I don’t think so.”

Madeleine studied the base of Hæra’s throat. She began to trace the dip in Hæra’s clavicle with her fingertips. “Isn’t he more like you than I am?”

Hæra frowned and caught Madeleine’s hand in her own. “What do you mean? He’s a little thing who lives under the ground all alone and doesn’t want anything but food and beer. That’s not like us.” She squeezed Madeleine’s hand. “Come with me sometime. If he comes out, I’ll introduce you. You’ll understand then.”

Madeleine looked at her, and Hæra held her breath. Come and look, she pleaded silently, see the unseen. Don’t turn your face from it.

After a pause, Madeleine said, “What about the day after tomorrow? I told Jim I’d help him tomorrow first thing, but the next day…” She took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’ve been saying I want to learn new things, haven’t I?”

Hæra’s heart soared higher than if she had grown wings. “Really?”

Madeleine gave her a tiny smile. “Really.”

“And after that, perhaps you’ll be ready to watch me transform into my real shape?”

The tiny smile faded. “Um…”

Hæra drooped.

“I will,” Madeleine said quickly. “I’m working my way up to it. I do want to understand your world, I know it’s time, just…baby steps, okay?”

Hæra hadn’t spent much time around human babies—and wasn’t anxious to change that—but she understood the metaphor. “Of course it’s okay.”