And to fail miserably.

The old, familiar, soul-crushing grief stabbed my chest, but I shoved the emotion deep down into the bottom of my heart where it belonged.

“All right,” I said. “You can stay here until your baby is big enough to travel. If you’re looking for someplace a little quieter, there are some nice, tall trees over by the lochness bridge. You should scout them out.”

The tree troll cheeped at me again. I hoped that meant he understood me.

I pointed at him. “But no more throwing fruit at people, okay? You leave them alone, and they’ll leave you alone. Capisce?”

The troll cheeped at me a final time, which I was going to take for a yes.

I unhooked my legs from around the branch and started climbing down. The troll watched me all the while, jumping from one branch to the next and following me all the way down the tree, but he didn’t throw any more blood persimmons. More progress. Maybe I really was a monster whisperer after all. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

When I was about ten feet off the ground, I sat down on a branch, flipped over, and let go. I plummeted through the air, letting out a happy laugh at the rush of the wind through my hair, before landing in a low crouch. I made a gallant flourish with my hand to add to my dramatic dismount, then got to my feet.

Felix grinned. “Show-off.”

I grinned back. “Absolutely.”

Devon craned his neck back, trying to see the troll. “So what did he do?”

“He’s got his family up there, so he’s not going anywhere,” I said. “I told him to stop throwing fruit at people, and it seemed like he agreed to it. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Devon nodded. “Thanks, Lila. Good job.”

His face crinkled into a smile. I looked away from him before my soulsight kicked in, but the dizzying rush in my heart had nothing to do with my magic. It was just Devon being Devon, and how hopelessly into him I was, despite my need to keep my distance.

Devon sensed my mood swing, and his grin dropped from his face. I felt like I’d reached up and snuffed out the sun with my bare fingers, and more than a little guilt curled up in my stomach. He really was a good guy, and I kept pushing him away, hurting him without even meaning to.

But I’d been hurt too—horribly so—and I didn’t want my heart to be broken again. Not even for someone as all-around hot, charming, and wonderful as Devon Sinclair.

Devon waited until Felix had handed over my black leather belt and I’d buckled my sword around my waist again before jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

“Come on,” Devon said. “Let’s go home and get cleaned up.”

He and Felix turned and headed out of the square, but something made me stop and look back over my shoulder. Thanks to my sight, I easily spotted the troll staring at me through the leafy branches, his green eyes brighter and more wary than ever before, as if he knew about some lurking danger that I didn’t. Our eyes locked, and once again, the creature’s worry, fear, and dread made my heart sink, my stomach churn, and a chill slither down my spine.

I shivered, dropped my gaze from the monster, and hurried after my friends.

CHAPTER TWO

Devon, Felix, and I left the square, strode down a walkway, and stepped out into the Midway, the commercial heart of Cloudburst Falls.

The square and its shops had been busy enough, but the Midway was jam-packed, as throngs of tourists moved from one side of the enormous circular area to the other, flowing into the shops and restaurants, and back out again. Every single business tied in to the town’s overall fairy-tale theme, from the smallest Olde Tyme Fudge Shacke to Camelot Court, one of the largest hotels. Oh, there were plenty of real magical attractions, like the zoos where you could pet rockmunks and other small monsters. But really, the Midway was nothing more than the world’s largest—and cheesiest—renaissance faire.

Adding to the atmosphere were men and women wearing knee-high black boots and black pants, along with poofy silk shirts, colorful cloaks, and cavalier hats topped with feathers. Gold, silver, and bronze cuffs stamped with various crests glimmered on their wrists, while swords were belted to their waists. The guards moved from one food cart and clothing shop to the next, like sharks circling around and around, making sure that everything was running smoothly. They were constantly on the lookout for everything from obnoxious tourists who’d had a few too many drinks to employees taking more out of the till than they put in.

The tourists thought that the dressed-up guards were just part of the fun, and several folks stopped to snap photos of them. What the rubes didn’t realize was that the color of their cloaks and the symbols stamped into their cuffs designated which Family the guards belonged to—and that they all took their jobs very, very seriously.

Each Family owned a different piece of the Midway, and we were in the Sinclair section, which consisted of banks, several petting zoos, and a museum displaying artifacts made of the bloodiron that had been mined out of Cloudburst Mountain.

The guards here all wore black cloaks and silver cuffs stamped with the Sinclair crest—a hand holding a sword. Devon stopped and spoke to one of the guards, telling her that the tree troll had been dealt with, while Felix waved and called out to the folks he knew, which was practically everyone. Felix had never met a stranger.

The guards all nodded at me, their gazes lingering on the hand-and-sword cuff that adorned my right wrist. I shifted on my feet, my fingers tracing over the small, star-shaped sapphire embedded in the silver cuff. It matched the sapphire ring on my finger. I forced myself to nod back to the guards, wishing all the while that I could melt into the crowd and disappear. As far as I was concerned, the fewer people who knew me the better, even if I was an official member of the Sinclair Family now.

Devon finished with the guard, then cut through the park in the center of the Midway, choosing a cobblestone path that curved past several bubbling fountains. He turned his face toward the cool, refreshing mist, letting it soak into his black T-shirt. The water made the cotton cling to his broad shoulders in all the right places, not to mention his muscled chest. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and I didn’t really want to.

Felix jabbed his elbow into my side, breaking the spell. “Looks like I’m not the only one with romantic problems, eh, Juliet?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Devon and I are just friends.”