I found Velma in her cottage, grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle. The air smelled of lavender and something spicier—rosemary, maybe. Her silver-streaked hair was pulled back in its usual braid, though wayward strands had already escaped to frame her face.
"There you are," she said, looking up as I entered. "I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."
Just busy, I signed, settling into a chair across from her worktable. Jenny said you wanted to see me?
Velma set down her pestle, giving me her full attention. The birthmark across her eyes—a dark patch like a masquerade mask—made her gaze particularly intense.
"I heard about the nightmare," she said without preamble. "Kieran came by earlier, asked for something stronger than tea to help you sleep."
I frowned. He shouldn't have b
