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Phalen finished first. He wiped his mouth and asked, “Any word from Brokk?”
Draven shook his head. “I sent Talia to Terek. She should have reached her destination by now, as fast as she is in shadow form. She’ll stay long enough to pick Brokk’s brain, possibly help strategize. I also told her to sniff around if she found anything of interest, so we might not see her for a while.”
“My father didn’t make it back to Terek,” Raven flatly announced.
My knife paused in mid spread. “What?”
“He didn’t make it back. Either that or he took off shortly after arriving without telling anyone.”
Draven placed his elbows on the table. “Explain. And be sure to include why this is the first I’m hearing of it.”
Raven’s bright irises were a stark contrast to the circles forming under her eyes. She’d had a fitful sleep and I hadn’t been able to do more than hold her through it. Sex might have settled her energies but I hadn’t wanted to risk exhausting her further, not after her day yesterday and the complications of meeting Vera last night.
“The shifter who came to see Vera. I’m sure I know who it was.”
“How sure?” I asked.
“Positive. There’s a male shifter who works for—and is close with—The Navita. He has tawny hair and a scar down one side of his face. It couldn’t be anyone else, not if he was asking about both me and my father. Too much of Vera’s story fits with my situation to chalk up to happenstance.”
The Shadow Lord’s forearms dropped to the table and he leaned forward. The coloring of his face darkened. “I cannot make informed decisions, Raven, if I haven’t been fullyinformed. In a timely fashion,” he tacked on the last part with a growl. “Tell me more about this shifter and what he has to do with you and your father.”
My mate appeared to be unfazed. I knew otherwise because I could feel a hint of her irritation through the bond.
“His name is Niklaus. We call him Nik. My father saved his life once and Nik has worked for him ever since, says he is forever indebted.”
My mind clamped down on the shifter’s name, rabidly chewing it with distaste. Raven referred to him as Nik, not Niklaus. She would only refer to me as Casimir. Not Cas. Using a shortened name implied a certain closeness. It clawed at my insides.
“Nik is basically Father’s go-to male and is often left in charge of Terek when Father’s gone. If Nik’s traveling with him or away from home, there’s an Unseelie fae who steps up. They follow a chain of command to ensure Terek remains safe and under their complete control.”
Home?Did she still think of Terek as home?My molars pressed together uncomfortably.
“Nik’s main job is recon,” she continued. “He’s also an excellent tracker. It’s not like him to actually approach a being directly. He’s usually extremely stealthy. He would only go searching for my father like that if he thought something was wrong.”
“And you didn’t think to mention this last night?” I admonished.
“You have a pact with Vera. I do not. Truthfully, I wasn’t prepared for her to be informed I had a connection to the Fae Queen. I didn’t bring it up last night because I didn’t want to cause a scene.”
Lyric dropped her bacon, frowning. Her puppy dog eyes were too much.
“It’s fine, Lyric. I’m not upset with you. Truly, I’m not,” Raven assured. “However, I’m sure there is a grey area in there somewhere Vera could exploit. I don’t want to accidentally jeopardize my brother and father or those who work for him so I decided to limit what I shared. Also, I needed some time to think it through. I was up half the night mulling it over. A witch’s coven comes first. Always. If there is a loophole, she’ll find it. If she brings my mother into it, it will be catastrophic. I’m sure you understand this.”
I had ushered her away the second Vera asked about Brokk. He wasn’t a subject the Council would be discussing with outsiders, but Raven could have shared the info with me once we were alone.
It stung. Was it wrong to expect trust from my mate so soon?
Shadows rolled across Draven’s eyes then were gone. A blink and I’d have missed it. An unmistakable stream of magic floated past me. Inexplicably, my cousin was making no effort to hide his inspection. Raven released energies and pushed the stream back to the Shadow Lord.
Lyric made a sound and Phalen murmured something under his breath. My body tensed.
“Draven,” I warned, nearly rising out of my chair.
“You’ve done that to me before,” Raven accused.
Draven pushed his plate away and interlaced his fingers in front of him. “I have,” he confirmed with no hint of regret.
“Why?”
“I’m scanning you.”
