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Lefty, of course.”
    If my mind hadn’t been sleep-addled, I’d like to think I would have figured that out for myself.
    “They had nothing to do with this.” I shoved to my knees. “I had a dream, that’s all.”
    A dream whose fading tendrils haunted me. The way my strange meeting with Rook ended left me cold. How his eyes shot wide when he forced me from sleep. I was worried about him, yeah, but I was concerned for me too. What did it mean for me if Rook got hurt? Being the considerate wife I was, I hadn’t given his safety a second thought. I had been too eager to escape Faerie—and get my life back—to consider the mess I left him to clean up.
    Of course, it was a mess of his own making, but still.
    “Oh.” She lowered her weapon, and I noticed the price tag stuck to it. “Want to talk?”
    According to my alarm clock, it was four forty-five in the morning. I had planned on waking up at six so I could make Mai’s seven o’clock deadline. “Sure.” I covered a yawn. “First I need coffee.”
    “Why don’t we get an early start?” She smiled at my groan. “I’ll stop at Java Bean, my treat.”
    Right. Because from here on out, my cash flow was dammed. “Can I get a muffin?”
    Her lips pursed in careful consideration. “Blueberry, yes. Strawberry, no.”
    I pouted. “But I love the strawberry ones.”
    “Sorry, Princess.” She winked then spun on her heel. “I’m on an all-blue diet this week.”
    I was about to question how that was possible when it hit me I hadn’t made travel arrangements for my guards yet. Drawing on all the patience allotted to me at this time of morning, I summoned them.
    Both fae appeared, dressed and ready for battle, like five o’clock wasn’t the butt crack of dawn.
    “Has something happened?” Righty asked, scanning the area.
    “No,” I assured him. “It’s nothing like that.”
    Lefty kept a hand on his sword hilt. “Nothing got past me—” he glowered, “—except the fox.”
    I bit my lip and counted backwards from ten. “Leave,” I told him. “Right now.”
    He vanished with a pleased smirk I would be happy to wipe off his face with a two-by-four.
    “Am I dismissed as well?” Righty’s tone was milder, prickly but not hostile.
    I took a cleansing breath. “I’m sure you’ve overheard me planning for a trip to Daytona.”
    “Yes.” A thoughtful pause ticked past. “Daire and I have made our preparations.”
    “Daire?” Oh. He meant Lefty. “Ah. Good. I should have thought to ask you earlier.”
    “It’s no trouble.” Righty inclined his head. “Where you go, we must follow.”
    “Still, I should have given you a heads up.” His puzzled reaction made me think the direction of our conversation mystified him. “It was wrong of me to assume you had nothing better to do.”
    Emotions clouded Righty’s face, all conflicting and none I could easily identify. “I don’t.”
    Exhaling through my teeth, I accepted that a lifetime of Unseelie brainwashing wasn’t unraveled in a day.
    “Well, either way, we’re about to leave.” It felt weird telling him what he must have overheard, but since I rarely saw him or Lefty— Daire —without summoning them first, I wasn’t ever sure how much either of them knew or how often they pooled their information. “Will you two be riding down with us, or do you prefer alternate means of transportation?”
    “We spoke with the cat earlier,” he said. “We agreed that he would ride in the car with you and act as guardian until you reach your destination. Once there, Daire and I will resume our posts.”
    I perked up at that. “Diode’s here?” I had been afraid I wouldn’t see him before we left.
    Righty nodded at me. “He’s lounging in the living room.”
    “Excellent.” I plucked at my shirt. “Can I get some privacy to change, please?”
    Back in familiar territory, Righty relaxed into his role. “Yes, of course.”
    He poofed.
    The bedroom door remained shut, and I hadn’t heard