“Vampires do nothing but lie,” her mother spat.
“They also drink blood and fuck like rabbits,” Orin said. “And they do it very well.”
When all the witches shifted their attention to glower at him, he grinned in response to their ire. Sahira hated the small smile tugging at her lips, but she couldn’t help it as her mother’s eyes narrowed on Orin before shifting to her.
“Whohave you brought into our realm?” Lydia demanded.
CHAPTERFIFTY-ONE
“We only came hereto offer assistance and warning,” Varo said in his gentle, soothing tone. “We’re not a threat.”
One of the other witches inquired, “Are you light fae?”
When Sahira cast the glamour over Orin and Varo, she’d given them both brown hair and brown eyes. She’d hidden their ciphers, and nothing about them could mark them as dark fae.
Even their builds were bulkier than the light or dark fae typically were. But Varo’s voice and his ability to calm others wasn’t something she could hide.
“Does it matter what I am?” Varo asked.
The witches all exchanged a look before a different one turned to Lydia. “We should check the villages to see if what they’re saying is true.”
“You go,” Lydia said. “There’s no way I’m leaving these three alone in our realm.”
It took everything Sahira had not to roll her eyes, but she could practically hear Orin’s rattling around his head.
“Please, don’t flatter yourselves. If we were here to destroy you, we would,” Orin said.
“He must be a dark fae,” one of the other witches murmured.
Sahira shot Orin a silencing look. There weren’t too many light and dark fae who would hang out together, not unless they were related. If he wasn’t careful, these women would put two and two together. They were annoyed, but they weren’t stupid.
The witch standing next to her mother opened a portal and disappeared into it. It remained open, but none of the others followed her through.
When the witch returned a couple of minutes later, dirt and tears stained her cheeks. She lifted her head to look at Lydia and sobbed.
“The villages are in ruins,” she whispered, “and those who aren’t dead are all gone.”
Her mother’s eyes shot back to them. “Did you have something to do with this attack?”
“Yes, Mother, I’ve learned how to control the dragons,” Sahira retorted. “It’s a miracle!”
“That’s yourmother?” Orin blurted.
Sahira chose to ignore him, but Varo lightly brushed her arm with his hand. When she looked at him, the brown eyes she’d glamoured were full of a sympathy she didn’t want.
Centuries ago, she came to terms with having a mother who despised half of what she was. She’d never understand why, considering Lydia was the one who laid with her father. If the woman hated vampires so much, why spread her legs for one?
It was a question she’d always wanted to ask but never did. She doubted she’d get a straight answer from her mother anyway.
“Was it a dragon attack?” her mother demanded of the witch.
“It must have been,” the woman said.
“If we were here to attack you, why would we tell you what happened?” Sahira inquired.
“You might be trying to push us into another attack,” her mother replied.
Sahira threw up her hands. “Believe what you will and stay if you wish; I don’t care. It doesn’t seem like the Lord intends to send his dragons this far into Verdan, so maybe you’ll be safe. We believed it was best to give you a heads-up.”
