Lily pointed that out to herself more than once as the meal progressed. The wraith could have shown up, for example, and a possessed Alicia might have stabbed Lily in the back literally instead of settling for verbal jabs. That would have been worse.But easier to defend against. Alicia was smart enough to keep her digs under the radar—more like sprinkling too much salt than openly dumping poison. Lily didn’t think any of the others noticed. Normally Rule would have, but beneath his impeccable manners, Rule was distracted. Shaken, she suspected. Probably she’d picked a bad time to point out that he had two clans.Fortunately, Lily was a side dish for Alicia, who focused most of her attention on her son.Lily was seated close enough to eavesdrop. At first Toby was stiff, resentful. Alicia kept asking questions, teasing gently until she got him talking about soccer, The Simpsons, and his desperate need for a puppy, which his dad had promised to take care of when he moved to Clanhome. Lily was aware of the promise, having been in on the negotiations.The promised puppy was announced with a stubborn tilt to his chin.
