They need to know. We’ve already told the packs and the clans in London. There’s no hiding the Hunt anymore, not when high fae are doing as they like over here.
“What do you know about the fae?”
“Fae?” Margot scoffs. “Likefairies?”
“They’re where the stories come from,” Asher says when I hesitate. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “But they are as real as vampires and werewolves and all the rest.”
Rachel blinks. “Werewolves?”
Quinn smiles and gives her a little wave. She goes pale but, to her credit, doesn’t move back.
“Anyway,” I say loudly. “Fae. They’re here. One of them is working with Jakob. She wants a specific kind of vampire.”
“Then why is he killing them?” Margot asks.
Vlad looks at me and I nod. He reaches over and takes my hand like he can’t help himself. “It was an experiment. They sought a vampire who could withstand the sun.”
“But they can’t,” Margot says. “Can they?”
“’Course not,” I reply. Rachel certainly doesn’t believe me. It might have been fifteen years since I last saw her, but I recognise that sceptical look in her eye. Honestly, I don’t think Margot does, either.
She sighs, though, and reaches into the pocket of her denim jacket. She pulls out a small, battered notebook and looks at Rachel before she stretches her arm out to offer it to us.
“What is this?” Vlad asks as he takes it.
“It’s… pretty much every vampire in Margate. All the ones we could find. All the places we last saw them. There’s a list of those working with Jakob. A list of the ones we’ve not seen in a while. It’s all there.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter, and Margot shrugs, ducking her head.
“Not much else we could do,” Rachel says. “We knew we couldn’t get Jakob to leave. He’s always got other vampires with him.”
“Tell me about it,” I say and glance over Vlad’s shoulder as he flicks through the pages. Sure enough, there’s name after name, and I recognise about half the places Margot has written down, too.
“What do we do now?” Margot asks.
Vlad sighs. He closes the book and passes it over to Asher, who flicks through it himself. “You should—”
“Vlad,” I mutter.
Vlad glances at me. I raise my eyebrows. We can’t just throw them out of this. For one thing, if they’re the only people whoknow about the vampires, they might be in danger. Plus, they’ve been here. Eirian knows where we’re staying, but if she works out that Rachel is related to me…
“We’realready involved,” Quinn says, gesturing between me and him. “Can’t hurt, can it?”
Asher gives his mate a look that very clearly saysit can and it will, actually, but Quinn looks right back, expression all placid, and Asher caves first.
I glance at Vlad. Will he cave, too? I widen my eyes a little and he frowns.
“None of that,” he mutters, but he squeezes my hand before he looks at Margot and Rachel again. “We may well have need of your assistance. We need to capture this high fae and arrange for her transport.”
“Capture?” Margot asks. “After she killed all those vampires?”
“It is a delicate political situation. We cannot keep killing high fae.”
Quinn grimaces. Asher knocks their shoulders together, still looking through the book.
“Fine. How do we capture a… fae?” Margot asks.
“Same way you capture anything,” Asher says absently. “We need bait.”
