“Are you serious? What was your ability?”
“Cookies. I still make cookies, and they’re okay, but I used to make cookies that were perfect. And my cookies made people happy.”
“They still make people happy.”
“It’s not the same. Everyone who bit into one of my Unmentionable cookies smiled. And then there was the other thing,” she said.
“There was more?”
“If I really concentrated, I could bend a spoon just by looking at it.”
“Jeez.”
“I know it’s a parlor trick, but I really enjoyed it. The cookies I can manage, because I can still make decent cookies, but I feel bad about losing the spoon bending.” Some of the color returned to Clara’s cheeks. “It was great at a dinner party. All of a sudden, someone’s spoon would curl up, and everyone would freak out.”
“No one knew it was you?”
“Some might have suspected. It was known that the Dazzles weren’t all normal. Mostly, there were all sorts of wrong rumors about our abilities. Like flying and casting spells. The truth is, most Unmentionable abilities are pretty mundane.”
I plucked one of the misshapen cupcakes out of the pan. “I never knew I had help making cupcakes. I just always figured I was really good at it. A natural ability.”
“You were right about the natural ability,” Clara said.
“So how did I lose it?”
“I suppose you lost it the same way I did. You had sex with another Unmentionable. Did you sleep with Diesel last night?”
“No. I haven’t slept with Diesel at all. At least, not that way.”
Clara bit into her lower lip. “Wulf?” she whispered.
“Not that I remember.”
“That’s not a definite no.”
I put my hand to the island to steady myself. “I was unconscious for some of the time.”
Clara fanned me with a kitchen towel. “You don’t look good.”
I slid down the side of the island and sat hard on the floor, legs out. “I don’t feel good.”
“Is there any other possibility?”
“Hatchet.”
I leaned forward, head between my knees, took a bunch of deep breaths, and tried to wrap my mind around the horrible possibilities. “The thing is, I can’t imagine either of them doing it.”
“You don’t think they’re capable?”
“I think they’re both capable . . . just not under these circumstances. Hatchet is impulsive, but I can’t see him messing with a woman he thought belonged to his liege. And Wulf wants me to find the fourth charm.”
Clara pulled me to my feet, and we looked at the cupcakes.
“Cupcakes don’t lie,” Clara said.
My emotions were mixed. The thought that I might have been violated while I was unconscious made my stomach sick. The possibility that I might have lost my Unmentionableness (if in fact I ever possessed it) wasn’t completely disappointing. The scary people would leave me alone, and I could return to a normal life of mortgage payments and cupcake making. Okay, so maybe my cupcakes wouldn’t be spectacular, but I could learn to make them perfectly enjoyable. I mean, anyone can learn to make a cupcake, right?
“Are there any telltale signs of . . . you know?” Clara asked. “Is your underwear on backwards?”