Chapter 30

“Your guess is as good as mine,” says Alastaire as he pokes at a pancake with his fork.

“He went out for a bit,” Lyall says in between mouthfuls. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Don’t stress ‘bout it Kit.”

“He went out?” says Kitty, her eyebrows knitting together in worry.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Alastaire says. “He’s just out doing loner junk in the forest. Typical.”

Kitty shakes her head, looking gloomily at the counter.

“You worry too much,” says Ben as he pats her on the back. “It’s not like he’s gonna get run down by a rabid pack of bloodthirsty fangirls this deep in the woods. Unless you told your buddies about us, Ashling.”

He winks at me, and I almost choke on the bite of pancake I was busy swallowing.

“My friends would never do that," I say while trying not to cough or choke. “And I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. No one else knows where you are.”

“Good,” says Kitty, acknowledging me for the first time. “It needs to stay that way.”