Turning, I found Caleb already at the door leading down to the main portion of the house. He didn’t comment on the charms, but held the door for me. PC had already trotted down the stairs, so with an unconscious and half-dead fae in my bed, I abandoned my apartment.
“Is someone planning to tel me what’s going on?” Holy asked as I pushed spaghetti around my plate.
I looked up, and Caleb lifted his eyebrow but said nothing I looked up, and Caleb lifted his eyebrow but said nothing as he poured himself a second glass of wine. Guess it was up to me, but how was I supposed to explain a mortal y injured man Hol y hadn’t even seen? Of course, there were plenty of invisibility spel s on the market, and Hol y knew Falin was FIB. Guessing he was fae wasn’t a far leap.
“Falin’s back,” I said, my voice flat as if it didn’t matter.
Hol y dropped her fork. “Outside?”
“He was glamoured. He’s hurt. Pretty badly. He’s unconscious upstairs.”
She looked from me to Caleb and then back. “And we’re here eating spaghetti?”
I cringed. Yeah, that’s pretty much the situation. I rol ed a meatbal from one side of my plate to the other.
“He’s fae,” Caleb said, running his finger along his wineglass. The crystal sang under his touch. “Our options were to take him to Faerie or give him time to rest and heal. The latter was more feasible.”
I could feel Hol y’s disbelieving stare on me, and I hunched a little further over my plate. I think it’s time to change the subject. That, or I was going to feel even worse about leaving Falin upstairs. Maybe I should call a healer despite what Caleb said.
I accepted the glass of wine that Caleb al but pushed under my nose, and then I looked at Hol y. “So where did you go this morning?”
“Go?” She made a soft snorting sound under her breath.
“I’ve got this crazy landlord-turned-nursemaid who’s barely permitted me to get out of bed.” She said it with affection, but there was definitely a strand of irritation mixed in. She looked at Caleb. “You know I’m going back to work tomorrow, right? I mean, I’m a little bruised and cut up, but I’m fine.”
He smiled at her but al he said was, “If you’re up to it.”
I frowned as he focused on his plate again. Hadn’t he said she’d left this morning? Maybe he’d been mistaken, but the fact that he hadn’t pushed the subject made me but the fact that he hadn’t pushed the subject made me think he’d already discussed it with her. Apparently it wasn’t any of my business. Not that I could complain about anyone else keeping secrets. I had more than enough of my own.
We finished dinner in a series of awkward silences separated by short bits of conversation. Afterward, as I headed for the stairs to my loft, I found I had a tagalong. A rather large, unhappy-looking tagalong.
“You planning on babysitting me al night?” I asked Caleb as I took the stairs two at a time.
“Actual y, I was planning to tel you to grab some PJs and spend the night in the main portion of the house.”
Oh, he couldn’t be serious. I glanced back as I pushed open the door to my loft. He looked deadly serious.
“I’l be fine.” I didn’t need a babysitter. He was overreacting. He had to be.
I checked on Falin. The three healing charms had puttered out already, and I tapped into the magic stored in my ring and channeled power into them, giving them a slight recharge. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Then I checked the wound. It had stopped bleeding, which was good, but I couldn’t have said for sure whether it actual y looked any better.
When I turned, I found Caleb stil shadowing me, and stil looking just as determined about my not staying in my own loft.
“I want you downstairs, behind a locked door and my wards. You and PC can stay in the guest room,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You owe me a debt, and I’m cal ing it in.”
He’d helped me move Falin upstairs, and while I didn’t think he’d been any great help to the man other than that, I could feel the debt between us, and feel the fact that I had to do what he’d asked. I sighed. It wasn’t like staying in the guest room was a bad option—it certainly was more appealing than the floor, which was what I’d been planning, but I would have liked to be closer at hand if Falin needed but I would have liked to be closer at hand if Falin needed anything during the night. Now I didn’t have the option.
I grabbed a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top and then headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When I emerged, Caleb was stil waiting for me, PC dozing in his arms.