As over-dramatic as that thought was, it made too much sense. I’d moderated how much better I was doing in school, I thought successfully. I also thought I was successfully avoiding Barry.

Well, mostly. I was heading to launch when I caught him looking at me, then away. I wasn’t sure whether this was some hero worship induced crush or whether he’d have started to develop feelings for me anyway.

Ones I might have returned, otherwise, although he could definitely have done better. Now? I was also trying to avoid Kanesha. That was more half-hearted, though. She could manage as long as it wasn’t another kelpie or something. I could hope she’d be oblivious and thus overlooked by anything more serious.

Like another of those fireshadow hellhound things. I was pretty sure I could deal with them as easily as I had with the first, but… To others, they were really dangerous.

Who was I? Something that was a danger…and it occurred to me for the first time that the prophecy might somehow have been planted by somebody who wanted me dead.

Or on their side. I was determined to be on no side but what I thought was right. So anyone who wanted to recruit me would have some convincing to do. Convincing. Persuasion.

Not shooting at me would be a good start. Trusting Her Ladyship, for example, was not going to happen any time soon. The truce we’d agreed to wasn’t going to be broken by me, but I wasn’t trusting her.

So, yeah. Mr. Otter was ahead on that front, but I’d be surprised if he trusted himself. I thought of the horn again.

Then I thought that trust was something I needed to be willing to demonstrate and not try to force.