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“She’s too young,” Quinn said with a sigh. “I want her to see more of the world. Not just war and horror. I want her to see what Faery has to offer. It’s part of her heritage.”
Evan shrugged. “So is the Hell plane, and no one there ever tried to kidnap me.”
“No, they’ll try to drain you. Demons like companion blood, too,” Quinn argued.
The man didn’t know when to stop. “I’m going to check on Dean.”
I started down the hill and suddenly there was a hand in mine.
Lee. “I’m coming with you. I love my papa, but I can’t handle more of this.”
I squeezed his hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
The queen caught up to us, taking Lee’s other hand. “They can fight this out on their own. I’m here for you, baby. I’m done fighting. I’m proud of all of you.”
We made our way to Lily’s, hoping Dean was okay.
An hour later, Lily stepped out into the crowded waiting room. Rhys and Shy had joined us, and it seemed Quinn had at least a cease-fire with his daughter, though she’d walked in and defiantly placed herself on Fenrir’s lap, her arms around his neck and head resting on his shoulder.
Couldn’t he see how in love they were? I knew what he wanted. He wanted them to be five again, wanted to be one of the primary forces in her life, but that chance was gone, and we all had to make a place for ourselves now.
Trent stood, the first of us to realize Lily had joined us. Lily was almost fifty, but she looked far younger given how witches age. There were streaks of gray in her brown hair that seemed incongruous with her unlined face.
Frelsi’s chief witch had been joined by two others, but they seemed to be staying with Dean.
“I’ve got him stable, but I’m worried I don’t understand what happened,” she said. “I’ll be honest, some of Myrddin’s magic is a mystery to me. This doesn’t feel like an Earth plane spell. There’s a lot of brimstone surrounding him right now.”
“I don’t smell it,” Trent admitted.
“Neither do I.” Donovan’s senses were almost as good as Trent’s.
“I can.” Fenrir’s arm tightened around Evan’s waist. “I can smell hints of brimstone and soot. Like a fire that’s still smoldering.”
No one could touch my son’s senses.
“Yes, that’s a good description,” Lily replied. “I take it there were three witches who attacked.”
Lee nodded. “It was the new Profane. Is he awake? Can he talk?”
Lily shook her head. “No. I gave him a sleeping potion. He’s very weak, and I don’t understand why. He did regain consciousness and told me his chest ached and burned.”
“That was where it hit him,” Rhys explained. “We exited the Hidden Ones’ domain and started for the Jeep. The Profane were waiting for us. I felt myself slow down.”
“Is that what it was?” Lee asked. “You didn’t react.”
Rhys shook his head. “There was something tossed my way, and then it was like my body was heavy. I could move but it was hard to. Dean didn’t seem affected by it at all. Neither did Lee.”
“Likely it was meant specifically for you,” Lily said. “Despite being twins, the two of you are unique creatures. What works on Rhys won’t necessarily work on Lee, and vice versa. In order to take out your brother, they had to slow you down. I believe they didn’t anticipate Dean being there or they didn’t think he would react the way he did.”
“They might have been told to leave him out of it,” the queen offered. “When Myrddin came to us in the café, he seemed intrigued by the idea of having a son. He wants to keep his while taking mine.”
“Lee is extremely hard to kill.” Donovan had spent a lot of time out on the porch talking to his partner in the last hour, but now he seemed focused on the problem at hand. “He could be bound by silver chains. Too much silver to the heart would work. He daywalks far better than I do. I require Devinshea’s magic to allow me to daywalk, but it comes naturally to Lee, so a focused UV ray wouldn’t hurt him.”
“It bugs him, but he doesn’t admit it,” Rhys replied.
Lee frowned his brother’s way, sending him a what-the-hell look.
Rhys shrugged. “We have to talk about it. Dean’s in trouble. Very bright sunlight bothers you. I told you some of Papa’s or my energy could fix that, but you refuse.”
