Rowan sighed. “I wish I had as much faith as you do.”
“Hmph. Well, tell me if there’s anything I can do. You know, other than move out. I was here first. I’m not going.” Henry Dale headed to his room, evidently not noticing how Rowan flinched and hunched their shoulders.
Eli wanted to comfort them, but honestly, Iris looked so shell-shocked that she was his first priority. She always would be, even if she wanted nothing more to do with him after she found out why he was really here. The others seemed to sense that they needed privacy and went upstairs while Iris just stood in the middle of the kitchen, lost as a person could be in her own home.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m fae,” she answered in a bewildered tone. “That’s what Gladys meant at the community center, why she called me ‘Lady’ like it was a title. The older witch knew, apparently, just from the way my energy looks or something. How is that possible?”
Eli took a moment, stunned by what she was saying. Then he gathered himself and reviewed what he’d read about the fae. “Maybe changelings aren’t just stories. There are legends about the fae doing that, though the accounts differ on the details.”
Her expression cleared slightly, and she focused on him, appearing to take interest in what he knew. “Like how?”
“Well, I’ve read stories where it was done for revenge. One house steals another’s child and banishes them to the human realm where the real fae parents can’t find them. In other versions, fae children are sent to the mortal world to protect them from their enemies. Maybe you’re a lost fae princess,” Eli suggested with a faint smile.
Iris scoffed. “Wouldn’t that be wild?”
But at least she didn’t look so broken or stunned anymore, so he risked sharing something else, trusting she could handle it. “I should say, in hawk form, I did notice that your energy shines differently than anyone I’d ever seen.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” she demanded.
“Because other than that, I didn’t have anything concrete to tell you. And I thought you were a psychic vampire until discovering otherwise.” Best not to linger over how hurt she’d been by what Lily had said. “On the bright side, maybe this means your real family is desperately searching for you as we speak.”
She inhaled softly, swiftly. “Do you…think so?”
Maybe he shouldn’t get her hopes up. It was also possible that she’d been swapped because her fae bio-family didn’t give a damn and they’d desperately wanted a human baby for some unknown and likely nefarious reason. Eli tried not to even hint at that train of thought. “Hmm. Could be.”
She paced the kitchen, waving her hands wildly. “Doesn’t matter. Unless they show up at my door, I have other aspects to consider.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like, what should I be able to do if I’m fae?” She ticked the questions off on her fingers, one by one. “Do I have magic? Can I shape-shift? Spin straw into gold? Wait, was Rumpelstiltskin one of the fae? I think I’m mixing up my fairy tales.”
“In some versions, he was a hobgoblin, which makes him fae.” Eli wasn’t sure why he remembered that. “In other renditions, he was a lesser demon.”
“Interesting. I haven’t tried to turn straw into gold, so let’s put a pin in that.” Iris drooped visibly, like a daisy about to drop its petals. “More likely, I’m a dud, and I won’t be able to do what other fae folk can anyway.”
“You’re perfect,” Eli said at once.
“Pfft. You’re my boyfriend; you have to say that.” As soon as she said that, she pressed both hands to her mouth, eyes wide.
Eli could barely breathe for the joy cascading through him. He had no right to be delighted over hearing that word since they hadn’t even talked about it. And that must be why she was so horrified about declaring it unilaterally.
“I am,” he agreed easily. “So yeah, you shouldn’t be looking for unbiased assessments from me. Clearly I have an ‘Iris’ bias. You are my bias.”
She relaxed and wandered into his arms, nestling close. “That’s so cute. No matter how bad things are, you start talking, and I feel better. If I’m your bias, you’re my panacea.”
Guilt prodded at him, but this wasn’t the time to dump another revelation on her for the sake of clearing his conscience. He’d read that certain confessions were actually acts of selfishness, asking someone else to bear pain, and he rather agreed with that currently. Not now. I can’t tell her now. I’ll do it when everything’s resolved.
Instead, he kissed her forehead and offered a different truth. “Funny, that’s how I feel about you. Since my parents died, I’ve felt…rootless. Gamma did her best, but I always felt like…an interruption in her life. As soon as I could, I moved out and tried to find my own place to belong so she could do the same, but I didn’t fit anywhere. Not ever. I was even thinking I might be better off as a hawk because nobody would miss me.”
“Oh my God, Eli…”
Before she could say more, he went on, “That’s not true anymore. And it’s because of you. Because of Violet Gables and everyone here.”
She seemed to take strength in his declaration, gazing up at him with overbright eyes. “We’ll protect it, right?”
“Absolutely,” he promised.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The rooming house license application was seven pages long.
In a fit of ambition, Iris had printed it out upstairs, intending to jump right on this problem. Now she lined the papers up in order on the kitchen table, staring at everything with a growing sense of despair. There was so much information, most of which she didn’t know or even how to access.
Breathe. She heard the word in Eli’s comforting, gentle tone, a welcome change from Delphine hissing poison about how she was disappointing and worthless. But as if Olive sensed she needed cheering up today, her phone buzzed.
Olive: Don’t know if I told you, but this was my last year. I’ll be back for Christmas.
Iris: Oh my God. You have to come! I want you to meet everybody. Can you?
Olive: Are you kidding? I’d much rather stay with you.
Iris: …Even if there’s drama?
Olive: Obviously. I might bring someone. If that’s okay.
Iris: Awesome! And absolutely. You two can have my boyfriend’s room. He might be sharing with me by then anyway.
Olive: Ooh. I can see we have a lot of catching up to do. Love ya.
Iris: Love you too. See you soon.
It might be unwise to be making plans like that so soon, but she was too excited about seeing Olive again to care. How long has it been since her last visit anyway?
Three years? Damn.
That quick chat bolstered her spirits for about five minutes, just long enough for her to remember what she’d been doing. “I have to talk to the fire chief about a fire plan,” she said to no one in particular.
Henry Dale popped into the kitchen. “I know him. I can do that for you.”
She felt like hugging the old man. “Seriously? That would so helpful.”