"Doesn't that go for all children?"
"Double for her. But Seanna had her good side, too. Then she grew up--and I don't know if it was the drugs or the booze or the men--but it's like she went looking for something, and it drained all the good from her. Made her queen of her own universe, where others exist only to benefit her."
"You mean she became more fae-like."
Grace wagged a bony finger at me. "You have as much fae as she does. Probably more." She settled back in the chair. "But yes, it made her like us. Except, again, we're supposed to be like this. We work around it to form attachments. Otherwise we'd never be able to live in this damned town together."
"And you wouldn't be running a home for aged fae."
She snorted. "That's not altruism. Don't go making that mistake, girl. None of us knows the real meaning of the word."
"But nor are you so self-absorbed that you destroy even useful relationships, the way Seanna does. If she had an ounce of sense, she'd at least feign remorse to wiggle into Gabriel's good graces and get at his money."
"She can't. Something in her is missing, and she cannot overcome it even to her own benefit. I know she needs to be here, but the sooner she's gone, the better."
"For e
veryone."
She nodded. "Now get in there and rescue poor Ricky. He's helping those dryads watch over Seanna, and she seems to have decided he's a very fine-looking young man."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
I was still climbing the stairs when Ricky opened the stairwell door.
"Thought I heard you," he said.
"You mean you were eagerly awaiting the arrival of anyone who might save you from another minute with Seanna Walsh."
He chuckled. "Maybe. Are we sure she's Gabriel's mom? She looks like him, but I'd demand a maternity test, because otherwise, I'm not seeing anything in common."
"He will take that as a compliment."
I fell in beside Ricky as we climbed. "Speaking of Gabriel, I know you weren't happy with him leaving you behind earlier, but he wasn't trying to play my white knight. His theory is that, given what the sluagh said, they wouldn't kill him."
"I'm more expendable."
"It's not--"
"Yeah, it is, and I'm okay with that. Part of making me more expendable is making me feel more expendable. Making me feel second-rate in hopes that'll turn me against you two. I need to watch my ego and not get prickly." He opened the door for me. "You are going to explain what happened with the sluagh, right?"
I tried to give a casual nod, but Ricky caught my arm and tugged me back into the stairwell.
"Liv...?"
I took a deep breath. "I would love to take twenty minutes and go somewhere to tell you the whole story. But if I do, I won't be in any mood to take on Seanna."
"Okay." He pulled me into a hug and whispered, "We'll work it out."
"Thank you."
We reached the door and I said, "You don't have to stick around. I hear she's ogling."
"She keeps telling me I have a nice ass. I can't tell if she's hitting on me or dismissing me as a pretty boy. Hopefully the latter. As much as I hate being objectified, it's better than thinking she's actually coming on to me."
"She's just being honest. It's a very nice ass."
He laughed. "That's so much more welcome coming from you."