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The heat from Al’s smaller hearth fire arm onon the botto The wood fire crackled, and I breathed the fragrant smoke, much better than the peat moss fire that stank of burnt amber that he’d had last tilad to see other hints that Al was pulling himself, and thereforerooreatly as to the theme Newt’s looked like my kitchen, which made me all warm and cozy But Al was a traditionalist, and it showed in the stone floors, the glass-fronted ceiling-tall cabinets holding ley line paraphernalia and books, and the s to a point over the central, seldom-lit raised hearth fire in thefire for the spell orking, and Al sat on the uncomfortable stool at his slate-topped table five feet from the smaller hearth He liked the heat as ly tapestry I’d once heard scream in pain was back on the wall The hole that he’d ha kitchen had been tidied, and the new solid stone door between the two met with an al funny," I said as I watched the fish ignore the pellets

Al glanced fro with your fish," the de at the print as if he needed the blue-tinted round glasses "You’re going to kill hi, siills His color looked okay, but his eyes were kind of buggy Distrusting this, I slowly turned to Al

Feeling er under the print to reen velvet coat lay carefully draped over the bench surrounding the central hearth, and his lace shirt was undone an unusual button to allow for the warmth of the place His trousers were tucked into his boots, and to be honest, he looked a little stearimaced It was one of his tells, and my eyes narrowed Either it was the fish or the char on the botto for the source of hison him"

Al peered sourly over his book at me "He’s a fish What would wear upon a fish?"

"No sun"

"I know the feeling," heas he went back to the book

"Hiscolor"

Al’s breath ca with that fish Teaching you how to identify the maker of a spell by his or her aura is a bloody hell waste of tioing to do it in" He looked pointedly at led ball out of the brown lunch bag I’d brought it in and nervously set it on the table beside the netic chalk, a vial of yellow oil, and a copper crucible

Al’s eyebrows rose "Since when do you golf?"

I knew Al didn’t like Trent I knew that the source of his hatred was more than five thousand years old and hadn’t lessened in all that time "I was on a job," I said "It exploded under a deflection charered an assassination spell"

Shoulders stiff, his eyes narrowed "You were Kala "It’s a paying job"

Standing, Al’s lips curled in disgust "I said avoid him, and you take a subservient role?" My breath to protest huffed out when he slammed the book in his hand onto the table "There’s only one possible relationship, that of a slave and !"

"God, Al! It was five thousand years ago!" I exclai as it pinned the book to the table "Do you think the fact that there can be no viable children between elf and demon is an accident? It’s a reround"

"Yeah?" I exclaimed "You’re the one who offered hiht you tere BFFs"

Brow furrowed, Al came around the table, and I forceda mistake There’re already concerns that weKu’Sox"

I drew back "Excuse me!"

"That ere taken in by elven trickery and lured into killing one of our own"

"That is so full of bull!" I could not believe this "Ku’Sox was trying to kill all of you and destroy the ever-after!"

"Even so," he said as he put a threatening arm over my shoulder "It would be better if you siers rubbing together, then opening as if freeing so

"You spent a thousand years with Ceri What’s the difference?"

His arm fell away, and I felt cold "Ceri wasTrent as an equal"

"He is an equal"

Motions brusque, Al reached for his book "No, he isn’t," he growled

"Yeah? Well, you loved Ceri," I accused "You loved her for a thousand years"

"I Did Not!" he thundered, and I cringed when dust sifted from the rafters

"Fine," I rabbed o hoh, until the sun set and Bis woke up

Seeingto leave, Al relented, stiffly pointing for me to take his chair Relieved and uncoolf ball back doith undue force before I sat on the hard stool The spell book was splayed out in his thick, ruddy hand as he came to stand behind me, and I could smell the centuries of ever-after on him, soaked in until it couldn’t be washed off He’d teach me this, but I was sure our conversation was far from over