“Iwillask if it comes down to me or a pregnant woman or a child, Vas. You know that. And you’ll make sure innocents are saved. Because that’s the kind of guy you are.”
He glowered at that, and I grinned at him.
“The forest sent killer rabbits after us.”
He stared down at me, and I filled him in. I wiped at the blood on my face, but I had a pretty good feeling I was just smearing it around. “What’s a group of bunnies called anyway?”
A hint of lightness danced across Vas’s face as he headed toward my bar. “A fluffle.”
“You’re making that up.”
He finally grinned. “Nope. You guys were almost killed by a fluffle of bunnies. That’s embarrassing.”
I pinched him, and he laughed.
“How’s Ilayda?”
“Fine. Worried about you. Kyla took her to your bar. We figured she’d need a few moments before she talked to Nereus.”
Vas landed, shifting me to my feet. His arms came around me, and he held on tight. I held on to him right back.
I let out a long, shaky breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “I was so worried when I saw that flying beast aiming for you.”
He lifted his head and gave me a cocky grin that saidhehadn’t been worried. Then his lips found mine, and I fell into his kiss.
He grinned against my mouth as a group of witches wolf-whistled. I glanced at them, and one of them shot me a thumbs-up as they walked past.
I laughed. “We should get inside.” I wiped at the bird blood that had transferred to his jaw. One side of my face was still purple, thanks to the harpy’s fist. I was covered in bird blood and who knew what else. And Vas looked at me as if it was taking everything in him to keep his hands off me.
My chest warmed, and I took his hand, leading him into the bar. Ilayda sat next to Kyla. She took one look at me and turned green. Evie brought her a glass of water and handed me a damp towel. I took it, wiping at my face.
“Are you okay?” Ilayda asked.
“Fine. There was this bird… The blood’s not mine.” I sat next to her. “I’m glad you’re okay. Did you see the healer?”
“Yes. Eldan is so nice.” She stroked her belly. “He said we’re both fine.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Kyla asked.
“I was so dumb,” Ilayda sniffed. “I fell right into their trap.”
“What trap?”
She sighed, and more tears leaked from her eyes. “I think this all started because I was hormonal and pissed. There I was, pregnant and surrounded by dark fae, and Nereus didn’t want to mate with me. I was so hurt. I’d begged him to come with me to the light fae realm to have the baby, and he’d told me he would, but he had to wrap up some of his work first.”
“Then what happened?” I asked.
Ilayda sniffed. “One of my bodyguards was acting…weird. I felt like I was going crazy, but I didn’t have anything concrete to take to Nereus. Then one day when I was getting my nails done, this woman started talking to me.”
“What was her name?”
“Aellone. She said we were cousins. Her father died in the battle in the underworld, and she was so sad about it. I’d never met that side of my family. They’re a couple of centuries older than me, and I’ve been in this realm since the portals opened.”
I’d looked into Aellone. Nothing I’d seen had given me any hint she’d been involved. I scowled. Evie was wearing an identical scowl.
Kyla leaned back in her chair. “What did Aellone say to you?”
“She said she’d been asked to pass on a message. I had cousins in the fae realm. Distant cousins, I’d never met. She said they were worried about me. They’d heard I was pregnant with an unseelie’s baby, and they told me the war had changed everything. They said the dark fae king had told Nereus to watch me closely and to be prepared to turn me over to him for questioning after the baby was born.”
