I wanted to stay under the covers for as long as possible, ideally until that asshole Evershaw changed his mind and let me leave or Smith came to his senses and released the geas. But no such luck. My eyes still felt swollen and itchy from crying half the night and not sleeping well, but the medic returned to check on my burns so I had to do more than lie there like a dead fish. Henry watched, silent and still, from the doorway as Tom rolled the sweatpants up over my knees.

I couldn’t look at either of them, embarrassed to think one or both had overheard my pity party the night before, and instead focused on the kitchenette across the room. Part of me wondered where Mercy was, although the rest of me didn’t want to ask in case she showed up out of the woodwork. I couldn’t filter through that much chatter without a serious IV of caffeine.

Henry followed my gaze and straightened from his lean, moseying into the kitchenette to fiddle with the coffee maker. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” I said. There was no need to create any more debts, and food always meant connections. “Thank you.”

My breath hissed in my teeth as Tom manipulated my ankle, and the medic made a thoughtful noise. “You should eat. Important to keep up your strength so you can heal.”

“I’ll be fine once I get back to my house and can create a few poultices.” I tried to move away, though his hands remained gentle and warm on my ankle. “It’s really fine.”

“You have a fever,” he said, just as gently. I wondered how it was that all medics and nurses had the ability to make you feel tended to and reassured, even when they gave you really bad news. I felt calmer just listening to him. “I’m not sure a poultice will cure that.”

I folded my arms over my chest, glad I’d pulled on a sweatshirt in the middle of the night, and wished I’d had a chance to find a bra so I didn’t feel quite so exposed and... unsupported. “You’ve never been in my garden, then.”

“That is true,” he said, a smile making him look younger and less grim. He moved my ankle a little more, then lifted it up to rest against his shoulder so he could examine the blisters on the back of my calf. “What would you put on the burns, then? Magic or just herbs?”

“Both,” I said. I exhaled and closed my eyes, not wanting to see him or Henry when I felt so weak and defenseless. It had also been quite some time since I’d had my ankle on a man’s shoulder, and in very different circumstances. “First lavender and witch hazel, with honey as a binding agent. Maybe coconut oil or vinegar to draw out the heat. Then magic.”

He made a thoughtful noise. “Interesting. I hadn’t heard the vinegar angle. I’ll have to try that. But you still have a fever and the aloe will only help so much. So you’re going to have to eat and drink some, and take this ibuprofen to keep your fever down.”

I lay back and covered my face, flinching as he put more aloe or ointment on one of the raw areas. “Or not. Or I’ll just go home and it’ll be fine.”

“Deirdre,” Henry said. He nudged my arm until I forced my eyes open, and found him holding out a mug of coffee. I reluctantly sat up to take it, twitching every time Tom fussed with the burns, and ignored the handful of pills he offered. The big dude watched the medic work, frowning as he held out the pills. “You can’t find the poison if you’re ill. And you can’t leave until you figure out the poison.”

I concentrated on the coffee and not the impossibility of getting out of that building alive and before my cat starved. It would all work out. I could will myself into figuring out what the hell happened with enough thought and maybe a little meditation. Definitely no more scrying, but there were other spells and processes I could try. Maybe a mirror instead of water, or using crystals or tarot cards. I inhaled from the coffee and hoped that Henry had made a full pot, or at least had a fully stocked kitchen so I could keep myself fueled. I didn’t want their food, but if I had to eat while I was there... I’d eat what I made for myself. To rely on them more was just to invite more obligations between me and the animals.

Tom patted an unburned part of my knee and stood, packing up his bag of supplies. “They’re still pretty bad. I’m not sure how you’re not screaming in pain right now, but if the burns bother you, I’ve got painkillers that will alleviate some of the problem. There’s no reason to suffer in silence. Even for a witch.”

And he smiled, trying to make a joke out of it.

Henry, too, looked entertained. “She wasn’t suffering in silence, believe me. The witch has an impressive set of lungs.”

I didn’t want to like them. I really didn’t. But it was the gentle kind of teasing I’d always suspected uncles and cousins would engage in, maybe even big brothers. I’d never had any of those relationships, but I’d spent enough of my time imagining that it almost felt familiar. I held onto the coffee with two hands, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t have yelled so much if someone hadn’t dropped me in freezing water.”

Tom helped himself to a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, watching from a distance, though he kept smiling. “I think that surprised everyone. Well, everyone except the alpha.”

The thought of Evershaw made me cold all over again. Whatever part of me wanted to relax with them and maybe even joke closed up and retreated. They were the enemy. They might have been nice or helpful or at least concerned about my welfare, but that didn’t make them my friends. They were first and foremost Evershaw’s pack.

Henry glanced toward the door before he eased to sit in the big armchair near the television, like he wasn’t supposed to be on the furniture and didn’t want to get caught by the boss. “Did you make him feel the burns on purpose?”

“No.” I shook my head, uneasy all over again. It shouldn’t have happened at all. I’d never created a magical bond with anyone, though I’d shared one with my mother due to our blood relationship. Not even my aunt could feel my pain or share hers with me—except by calling and unloading all her drama on me before demanding to know why I didn’t visit her more often or call to check on her. I had no interest in opening myself up to someone like Evershaw, not when he seemed to crush and overwhelm and dominate everywhere he went. “I don’t know what he felt or why. He should talk to Smith about that.”

“You think it’s because of what Smith did?” Tom scratched at his beard, studying me with an inscrutable expression. “Seems like an odd thing to do.”

I frowned down at my legs, wondering if the burns would scar. Maybe I could have them bring me loose leaf tea so I could create a paste and spread it around the worst parts to minimize any scars. There wasn’t much else to do for them unless I tried to heal them magically, and since the wounds started with magic... there was no telling what adding more magic to the situation would do. Mother would have told me to let it be and just live with the pain for a couple of days until nature took its course. The certainty of normal healing was preferable to dumping magic into the mix and potentially making everything a hell of a lot worse—and then having to deal with more pain for longer. So better just to suffer a bit and hope it made me stronger.

“What did Smith do?” This from Henry as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and stared at me with an unnerving intensity. The force of their attention made me miss Mercy just a touch, since she at least could have distracted them or moved around like a shiny object until they blinked.

“The old name for it is a geas,” I said. I held the empty coffee cup out and Henry jumped up, obediently taking it to the kitchen to refill, then returned it to me. Something tight in my chest started to unravel. All the questions didn’t feel like a trap or an effort by Evershaw to figure out what I knew so he could use it against me. It looked and sounded and felt like normal curiosity. “It’s a way of binding someone to do something, like a compulsion but older. He tied my life to Evershaw’s. I don’t know that he intended it to work in reverse, but there is much I do not know about the ErlKing. He was known for being a cruel and heartless ruler and leader of the Wild Hunt. He set people against each other for his own entertainment. Though he has... relaxed with age, perhaps the proclivity for causing trouble remains.”

Tom’s smile widened a touch. “You think he’s playing a joke by making Evershaw feel what you feel?”

I shrugged. At least they had really good coffee. “I would not be surprised.”

“So the price of Evershaw surviving the poison is to put up with feeling what you feel.” Henry shook his head and started to grin. “I didn’t think I’d like Smith, but that’s pretty funny.”

“I’m glad you find it amusing,” I said. I slid to the edge of the mattress and debated whether I wanted to try standing. “Since it’s not your life on the line, I’m sure it’s pretty entertaining. Is there any chance of getting normal clothes, or should I plan to wear these for the duration of my stay?”

Henry’s head tilted at he studied me. “I’m sure Mercy can find you something. We’ve got a clothes closet for pack to pick from; she can take you there when she’s done making lunch for the alpha.”

“She cooks for him?” I rolled my eyes and pushed to my feet, limping toward the bathroom. “Unbelievable. He can’t be bothered to even make his own lunch? Why the hell do you put up with such an asshole?”

“The alternative is far worse,” Tom said without inflection. “And he’s got his reasons for being how he is.”

I put the coffee on the counter on my way to the bathroom, and leaned against the wall for a minute to reconsider asking for those painkillers. Holy crap. I’d forgotten how much burns hurt, the constant pain radiating from all over and pounding in time with my heart.

“We all have reasons to be jackasses, Tom. Everyone has something that can turn them cold and distant and bitter. The rest of us manage to maintain the veneer of civility and decorum. Why the fuck can’t he?”

They both looked at me, their eyebrows raised, and I wondered if the animals were required to attack me if I disparaged their leader. Instead, Henry took a deep breath and refilled his coffee, not quite looking at me. “Well, you were pretty scary and cold when you walked into the warehouse the first time. Where’s your veneer?”

“It cracks when people trying to kidnap me,” I said. My cheeks burned as I ignored their very faint amusement.

Henry shook his head. “No, you were pretty cold just walking in there. Completely aloof when Smith and Todd asked you to save the alpha. It seems kind of odd when you’re normal here.”

“That’s different,” I said. I wished Mercy would interrupt and distract everyone with her running monologue. “Who I am then is just different.”

Tom shrugged and moseyed toward the door. “It’s probably different for Evershaw, too. Everyone’s got their reasons, Deirdre.”

I really didn’t want to talk to them anymore. I didn’t want to think that the asshole Evershaw was walking around with his own protective cocoon, just like my ice-queen witch persona, when he’d been such a complete dick. Not that I’d been particularly nice to him. He’d never given me a reason to be nice, and with what Smith did...

I shook my head and focused on making it to the bathroom. “I’m not the one being poisoned. Maybe he should think about how he treats people before it gets him killed.”

Henry was still smiling as he fussed around in the kitchen, rattling pots and pans. “Right. I’ll have Mercy find you some clothes.”

“Great,” I muttered. I needed an actual shower, or at least the chance to wash my hair, and enough peace and quiet to try and figure out who poisoned Evershaw. I wouldn’t be free until I fixed that, regardless of how much I thought he deserved it. Who knew I’d have so much in common with an attempted murderer.