“You’re quick.”
“And not susceptible to flattery.”
“Answer my question, and perhaps I’ll answer yours.”
“I don’t like the sound of that perhaps.”
“It’s the best you’ll get.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I am happy in the human world.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I’d like to.”
She hesitated at that, surprise flashing across her face. “Really?”
“Very much.” My candor startled me. I rarely shared my thoughts with anyone. Unnecessary when I could get whatever I wanted. I was very good at getting my own way. “Tell me. Are you happy in the real world? The human one?”
“What is happy?”
“That’s a no, then.”
She shrugged. “It’s my home.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
She looked past me, out at the city. Her face turned wistful, and something tightened in my heart. I grimaced, barely resisting rubbing my chest.
Feelings.
I didn’t like them.
Unfortunately, around her, it seemed impossible not to have them.
“What is it about the human world that you like?”
She blinked at me, seeming confused. “My books from Beatrix, I suppose. Cordelia.”
“Who is Cordelia?”
“A raccoon.”
“What?”
“I like her, okay? She lives in the alley behind my flat. Or at least, I thought she did.”
I couldn’t do anything about a raccoon. But the books… “Your books? Surely you could bring those here.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? That doesn’t make any sense. They are just books. They can be taken from London to Guild City.”
“I’d need to go back and get them, and as it stands, I’m a wanted woman.” A shadow crossed her face. “There’s every chance the police have taken them into evidence.”
“Well, with any luck, we’ll have you off the hook for that crime soon. And we’ll avenge your friend.”