Mordred does not look like he got et.

Thank god but also what the fuck where is he

"He's with Inaaya," Lev eventually manages to say.

"What."

"He's been going out with her since we got to Malta."

"You mean, the psychic cultist."

"What, without clearing it with anyone else? Why?"

"Oh! That's good! That's a legible and very possibly nonlethal kind of dangerous!"

"Why is he seeing her! Why didn't he tell any of us!"

"Did you guys... not pick up on that? I'm usually the last person to pick up on that sort of thing."

"I didn't think Mordred was even... interested in..."

She's not sure whether to say "women" or "dating."

"...hi?"

"Mordred! You disappeared!"

"Last time you did that you died."

"I told Lev where I was going and when to expect me to get back!"

"Well, my bed tried to eat me, so we were a little preoccupied and also on edge."

"Look, obviously I know he's gone to see her in the past. That doesn't make it okay for him to go off alone at random times without informing the group of where he's going."

"Even if you did tell Lev. You know full well that there are people targeting you, you know full well that at least some of them want you dead, and - look, it's your life, if you want to risk ending it, but I was under the impression that we were at least trying to be team players, here, and I don't want to risk my life trying to get you back if someone ends up kidnapping you again because you did something stupid."

Admittedly she has done many stupid things in her life. She is not going to admit this to anyone else right now.

"Why are you going out and spending the night alone with a cultist." She eyes him suspiciously. "And if you say you're doing 'investigatory work' or something you damn well better report what you're learning."

"If I get kidnapped again please don't. And --" oh god where does he even start on reporting what he's learning, how about he starts with the very concrete -- "I have an invitation to Montgomery Donovan's house now."

"Ooh. That does sound useful."

"Well, okay. Good to know. Perfectly willing to leave you to the lions. So long as we're clear on that."

Zoe runs her hands through her hair aggravatedly. "Fine. Good work, I guess. Can you please let us know before you go off to secure invitations through... dubious means."

"I don't know when you told Lev but we didn't hear anything about it until a minute ago."

Mordred being located safely and the bed no longer threatening to consume anyone, Zoe puts her gun away.

"I told Lev last night before I left, but I will let you know before I go off to secure invitations to places through dubious means. I'm sorry, I was not expecting it to look like I'd vanished again."

"You easily could have, though?"

"Thank you. Sorry for jumping down your throat there, it's just." She waves to the saliva-soaked bedsheets.

"If Inaaya had decided to tie you up and torture you, or mind control you into telling her all your secrets, or, or, throw you into that enormous mouth to support her Nectar habit, we would have had no way to know or to do anything about it."

"She doesn't really seem..."

That kind of bad, he was going to say, but he doesn't have a good reputation for that kind of judgement call so he shuts up.

"When is the invitation for?"