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“Oh, you sly shrew,” Lyric clucked.
“Thank you, my pretty,” Vera preened. “Despite not picking up on my deceptive wording, he grew agitated. Then he demanded I find the one whose blood was in the vial. He said he didn’t trust the results and wanted proof I could scry. Can you believe the nerve of him?”
“Inconceivable!” Lyric played along. “How dare he think he was being played when he was, in fact, being played.”
“I know! The gall of him!” her head shook. “Anyway, I asked if he knew where the donor was. He said he did and if I didn’t produce proof of my ability I would regret it.”
I knocked back my tumbler. The ice clinked against the glass as I pondered the significance of this information. “What happened next?”
Vera’s eyes twinkled. “Well, I debated killing him but I wanted to know his motives. So instead I hexed the imbecile and forced information out of him.”
I swallowed. My pulse began beating erratically. Casimir’s hand enfolded mine.
“And the truth was what?” he urged.
“He’d been sent by one of the Queen’s guards to find any trace of relations to one of her prisoners. He was not to return until he had investigated all avenues and was to bring proof of whatever he found. The Queen would be displeased if he failed, but he was more than happy to do whatever he needed to in order to earn her favor, including cutting off my head or anyone else’s who got in the way. Jerrin didn’t know anything else of value so I erased the memories of our encounter outside of the unsuccessful scrying. Then I stronglyencouragedhim to approach the Fomorians. Without the vial.”
Draven laughed darkly. “Nice touch. The giants won’t react well once he crosses into their lands. I heard they like to keep Seelie fae as pets.”
“Seemed more fitting that gutting him. Anyway, he set off on his way and I attempted to actually locate Raven’s family.”
My muscles tightened. “Were you successful?”
“No. The crystal spun in a circle, which of course meant there were protections in place.”
My shoulders relaxed. Vera likely wasn’t a threat to my family, but I didn’t need any more complications.
“It was very perplexing,” she continued. “I was bothered that a witch was in the dungeons of Ansley Keep. Being that I’m a nosy bitch—”
“More like a vengeful bitch,” Lyric corrected.
“That, too, darling. So being that I’m a nosyandvengeful bitch, I decided I wasn’t going to let it go. I spoke with some of our coven who would be traveling in the Faelands for some contracted work to keep their ears open. We heard nothing. It wasn’t all that surprising, but I still scried from time to time and made some discreet inquiries. Nothing turned up.
Two weeks ago a triad of fae arrived at Eastbourne looking for a fair-haired male fae named Jerrin who had been traveling around on a mission from Queen Sersha. I informed them he had come and gone weeks ago, continuing on his quest. They didn’t ask anything else so I let them be. Then, this very morning, the finest broad-shouldered and tawny-haired specimen of male shifter that I have ever had the pleasure of gazing upon came sauntering through my door.”
My ears perked.
“He was nearly perfect, outside of the jagged scars here,” the tip of one long nail touched the peak of her forehead and skimmed down over one brow, across the eye and cheek before moving to the other side. “And here.”
The switch flipped on my adrenal glands. I’d only ever seen such a scoring on one being, an unjust disfigurement imparted by his father’s claws.
Shifters healed faster than most beings, but they could definitely cause permanent damage to flesh if their wrath was great enough. It was a savage trait of the primitive magic housed within their soul, one they shared with their animal. They called itznak zvira—the mark of the beast.
“Sadly,” Vera lamented, pulling me back to the present, “he wasn’t looking for companionship. He wanted to know if we had seen araven-haired female. One with violet eyes. I told him I had not. Then he asked if a large male fae with dark auburn hair had come to us. I answered that a number of male fae had been in and out of Eastbourne in recent weeks, but no one matching that description. He didn’t seem convinced but walked away without incident. I was left even more intrigued by whatever was going on with this purple-eyed female. So imagine my surprise when I walked into Embour and found myself staring at long black hair framing violet eyes.”
My throat ran dry and I licked my lips. “What was the shifter’s name?”
“He didn’t share it.”
Eastbourne wasn’t far from Terek. Nothing in Vera's account could be a simple coincidence. Something was off. It felt like Fate was giving hints and my head was too cloudy to figure it out. A riddle was forming, its pieces circling around in my brain. I needed to be patient. It would come.
I just hoped it didn’t come when it was already too late.
Then something else the witch said struck me. “You said this morning? How did you get here so fast?”
“Henderson is also a very talented jumper. While I can only go in short spurts, he can travel far and wide. I recently decided he should start accompanying me on these journeys and broaden his horizons.”
“Bonus that it gets you there faster, right?” Lyric solicited sarcastically. “Maybe it also allows you to introduce him to some hot chicks outside of the coven?”
