19. ZARA
ZARA
The fork clinked as I dropped it back on the plate with a sigh, the chunk of chocolate cake still speared on it.
I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to do it justice, even if I had promised Eli I would eat it.
I was so fucking lonely. Apart from the bi-weekly team meeting Jed had instigated, which I wasn’t included in anyway, the only person to come to the manor was Eli for work, and even when he was here he was too busy to spend much time with me.
I’d visited Taryn again so he could start helping me with my siren powers – I’d managed to create a little globe of water while I was in the bath last night, until it had turned rogue and smacked me in the eye – and I’d spent some time with Alara practicing my fae magic, with even less success, but I still had far too much time on my hands.
The only reason I hadn’t gone completely insane was the nights I worked with Morpheus and I was seriously considering asking him if I’d still be able to do the dream walking from Fae if I moved into the palace with Gideon and Alara, just to have some company that wasn’t a TV show or a book.
I was almost desperate enough to go down to the basement and hit the treadmill for an hour when my phone rang.
“Hey Phoebe, what’s up?” I tried not to sound too eager, but that ship had sailed when I’d snatched it up at the first ring.
She didn’t answer straightaway, which wasn’t like her, and I hoped she wasn’t calling with bad news.
“Is something wrong? They haven’t cancelled the Karaoke have they?
” I’d been counting down the days until the next one.
“No, the Karaoke’s still on. It’s something else. I wanted to talk to you about Tilly.” Oh dear. That explained the weird vibe she was giving off then. It wasn’t about what she was going to say, it was about what Tilly had been getting up to.
“Is she getting out of hand again?” I was almost afraid to ask after seeing for myself at Theo’s party at the bar just how outrageously she could behave.
“No. She’s actually settled back down now I’ve managed to convince her that her ridiculous plan would never work.”
Thank fuck for that. Phoebe had filled me in on what she’d been up to a while back, and why she’d thought it would ever work was beyond me, but I guess we all do some crazy things when we’re desperate. Like hitting the treadmill.
“She’s no more outrageous than she’s always been at the moment, probably less because she’s feeling so sad.
But the situation here has escalated. Her father is pushing her hard to let him arrange a match for her.
I need to get her out of here, but she still refuses to leave Avalon without his blessing.
I was hoping you might have some thoughts on how I can help her. ”
“Poor Tilly, she must be so stressed out. Doesn’t she have family in Fae? Maybe she could go and stay with them for a bit. Her father couldn’t object to that, could he?”
“She does have family there, yes.” She sounded a bit surprised, as if that wasn’t the response she’d been expecting. “But her father cut off all contact with them when they left Fae. He would definitely object to her visiting them, so that’s not an option I’m afraid.”
“Oh, well that’s a shame. I’m not sure what else to suggest then. Could Jed get her a job with one of his companies? In one of the hotels maybe? If he reassigned her, would her father go along with it?”
“I suppose that might work,” she said doubtfully. “But with no one to keep an eye on her, I’d just be worrying about what trouble she might be getting herself into.”
I bit back a laugh as I finally realised what she was up to. She was angling for Tilly to come and stay with me, probably as much for my benefit as for Tilly’s, but instead of just asking me if I’d have her, she was dropping hints and hoping the suggestion would come from me.
“She does seem to have quite a knack for getting into trouble when left unsupervised,” I agreed. “I don’t suppose she has any friends here in the mortal realm who could manufacture an emergency they need her help with or something?”
“Well no, not really. I’m the only person she truly thinks of as a friend and I’m living in the one place she wants to get away from. Oh, and you, of course. She adores you.” I stayed silent, waiting to see what came next.
“You’re really going to make me come out and say it, aren’t you?”
I burst out laughing at that. “How about if she comes back with me for a visit after the Karaoke?” I suggested. “Assuming she wants to that is. Have you even asked her, or have you been dropping not so subtle hints to her as well?”
“I really don’t know why I like you sometimes,” she complained, “but yes, I have sounded her out. Now I know you’re up for it, I can suggest it outright.
And the beauty of it is, I’m going to make it seem like I’m asking her to come and keep you company as a favour to me, because you’re miserable here on your own.
Her father won’t dare try and stop her.”
“What am I going to tell her about where Seth is though?” As much as I loved Tilly, if she knew the truth I wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep it a secret.
“She already knows that Seth’s away on guardian business for a while and Jed is filling in for him. There’s no reason for her to know any more than that.”
“That’s true, I guess. Once you’ve finished making me out to be a pity case then, let me know what she says before the weekend, so I can get her room ready if she’s coming back with me.”
Now I’d agreed, I was quite looking forward to it. Tilly could be a handful, but she was also a lot of fun, and I bet she’d be on board with creating a few new dance routines with me.
“You’ll have to warn her I won’t be around for any late night shenanigans though, I’ll be working. And she’ll need to promise not to sneak out and go off clubbing on her own or something while I’m dream walking.”
“I’m sure we can work all the details out over the weekend. You are still staying for a couple of days aren’t you? Your boss hasn’t decreed you have to work?”
“Definitely staying.” Morpheus had looked disappointed when I’d told him I was taking a couple of nights off, but I’d only ever agreed to three nights a week, even though it had been more like five or six the last few weeks.
So I wasn’t about to let him make me feel guilty about it. “I’m looking forward to it.”