"Reinhart? Claire went too far. How could she—"
Galina only realized something was wrong halfway through her rebuke. The three witches all looked into Shade's eyes together.
"You said Claire Reinhart? Reinhart with very light hair, very light eyes, and very light skin?"
It seemed they always used strange ways to describe their colleagues in private.
"Yes. I met her this afternoon, and she gave me quite a fright at first. But don't worry, we didn't fight. I accepted her employment and helped her deal with some local trouble."
Sylvia hung Shade's coat on the rack. She was not especially surprised that Shade had encountered another witch; she was curious about something else.
"This time it's Sun. But as far as we know, Claire shouldn't be at Starfall Bay."
"To make sure I haven't mistaken her for someone else, this is the lady, right?"
He pulled a silver, translucent book from the bookshelf beside him. Once he opened it, the image of Sun's Great Witch had already appeared inside.
Vanessa leaned over to look, then nodded with certainty.
"It's her. You can tell from that arrogant expression alone. But how did Claire end up somewhere so far away?"
There was much to discuss, so Galina invited everyone to sit down and eat first. Vanessa told Shade that she planned to stay the night. Since Sylvia did not mind, Shade naturally did not mind either. Although Galina still had business to attend to at Yodel Palace tonight, she planned to leave only after dinner with everyone.
"The Laggson Duchy negotiations are about to begin. That's another pile of trouble."
Shade went to change clothes and wash his hands. By the time he returned to the dining room, dinner had already been laid out on the table.
Returning to the earlier topic,