“Tell me what happened. Exactly.”
Sam speaks first. “Something punched through my wards. I’ve never felt anything like it. They’re connected to me, but it’s just to let me know who’s there or if we’re under attack; day-to-day, they power themselves, and I charge them with my magic when needed. This felt…” He shakes his head. “It felt like someone hitme. Hard.”
Kieran’s watching him, worried. “He went down. We were all preoccupied with that and then I heard Quinn shout, felt—”
“The vampire was with him?”
“Yeah,” Kieran says. “I saw him just before he ran. Vince and Dax were heading inside, and Dax was closest, so he shifted and burst in on them. He’s big; I think he scared Augustine off.”
A big werewolf would. They’re hard for a regular vampire to fight—they’re stronger than us and their blood is poisonous, so even if we bite, we have to be careful not to ingest any. My magic might protect me from it, but it’s not a thing I’d try. Instincts would stop me.
“And the fae?”
Sam shakes his head. “I didn’t feel… Beyond the wards being damaged, I didn’t sense anything else. Ifiguredit had to be fae magic, but I wasn’t certain until I came down to check what had happened.”
“And when did this occur?”
“Last night,” Kieran says. “Not long after the sun went down.”
The fae could have been lying in wait, but Augustine must not have been far away. That makes sense, I suppose. Kieran’s pack is technically in vampire territory, though he’s been given some of the area for his own. His would be the easiest pack to attack.
“I’ll help,” Spectra says again, “but only if you want me to.”
Kieran and Sam have another silent conversation, their body language much calmer this time, and finally Sam nods, though he looks irritated about it.
“You don’t have to, but we’d appreciate it,” Kieran says, and Sam’s magic flares as he adjusts the wards. “Come on. If you both don’t mind sharing, we’ve got room.”
“A room?” Spectra says. “We can do that.”
Kieran shakes his head. “A flat. Sam, can you show them…?”
Sam nods and gives me a final mistrustful look before he leads Spectra and Sparrow inside. Spectra looks back at me once to smile before she disappears behind the door. I stay where I am. Clearly, Kieran has something to say to me, though I can’t imagine what.
“Are you still protecting the crai?” he asks, and I blink in surprise.
“No.”
“Does he need it?”
I frown. I’ve been under the impression that Kieran doesn’t like Njáll all that much.
“We’ve been recalled,” I say instead of asking my own questions. “Dealing with the fae is our main duty, and we need to do that.”
“Asher left, too.”
“Like I said. Recalled.”
“And what if the fae come after Njáll or Deacon?” He doesn’t ask about the hunters, and I suspect he only added Njáll because he really wants to know if Deacon will be safe.
These wolves are all so loyal.
“Then we will deal with them,” I say and try not to think of the way Njáll and I were trapped. If that happens to him again, he will be alone. He will be unable to escape. My mouth is dry when I say, “That is our duty.”
“So it’s not to help them then?”
He doesn’t seem satisfied with my answer, but I know the question isn’t about my loyalties, not really. He doesn’t know what the Hunt is for.
Neither do I, I think.
