Thomas's lips quirked. "Indeed. I think so as well."
I went still, glancing at my sire out of the corner of my eye. It occurred to me that he might not be entirely happy with me dragging Connor into such a dangerous situation.
Picking up on my tension, Alches lifted his head.
"Don't look at me that way," Thomas said in a chiding voice. "Connor is his own man. Much as I'd like him to be safe, I know he’ll make his own decisions. I will never blame you for them."
I watched him carefully, deciding whether I should believe him or not. This was a surprisingly evolved outlook. Or maybe I had never really understood Thomas in the first place.
“You need to check my apartment. There was a woman there that night. I don’t know if I stopped the petrification process in time or not, but either way she could be a problem,” I started.
“Connor already warned me,” Thomas said, stopping me. “She was gone by the time he woke, so I’m going to assume she’s still alive. I have my people looking for her already. She is proving surprisingly resourceful at evading us, but we’ll find her and deal with her.”
I had a feeling the way he dealt with her would be of a permanent nature. In the past, I would have protested under principal. Human life should be protected, I would have argued.
This time, I found myself remaining silent, unable to voice those objections. Pelt was a loose cannon. I’d seen her eyes when she shot me, an unarmed woman. She thought she was doing what was right. Someone like that would have no problem hunting others of our kind and killing them based simply on the fact we were other.
I didn’t want her dead for the same reasons I’d stopped the medusa, but if Thomas couldn’t compel her, there’d be no other choice.
I didn’t know if something had changed in me when I held the crown, or if it was the recent betrayal by Travis, but I had no intention of arguing with Thomas about this course.
“I thought you compelled everyone involved. How did you miss her?” I asked.
“I’d like to know that myself.” There was a grimness to Thomas’s voice that said when he found the answer, there would be a reckoning.
I couldn’t help but be grateful his resolve wasn’t pointed in my direction for once.
Thomas set aside the book he’d been reading. "You're probably wondering why neither Liam or I answered your call that night."
I blinked at the sudden change of subject.
It had never really occurred to me. I figured they'd been busy dealing with their own stuff. Even if either of them had answered, they never would have made it to me on time.
Guilt and regret were strange emotions to see on a man I'd always been determined to paint as the villain. "We didn't realize we'd stumbled into a Fae maze until too late. Evidently, the medusa anticipated we'd follow her and set a trap to get us out of the way."
A Fae maze was a little pocket of time and space that looped in on itself. They were difficult to escape once you blundered into them since every path you took doubled in on itself. Decades could pass before you found your way out.
"When we escaped and realized you'd been taken, we went to Arlan." Thomas's lips quirked.
I didn't have to ask how that meeting had gone. I was willing to bet there'd been a surplus of yelling and pounding on chests before they realized they were all on the same side.
"It wasn't until Arlan learned the twins had been kidnapped that we decided to set aside our differences," he said.
"How did Cadell and Niall get involved?" I asked.
Thomas's expression was wry. "Your roommates. They found them when we couldn't. Evidently, the two are skilled at finding portals. They're the only reason we were able to find the realm where you were taken."
That matched what little Inara had let slip.
"Nathan and Makoto were transported to an oubliette by your friend with the umbrella. It's a frequent dungeon of sorts he uses when he doesn't want to kill his prey," Thomas admitted. "Liam finished freeing them and sent Nathan to find you and act as a decoy."
So that was how he came to be wandering the halls by himself while dragging a sword.
"I'm surprised you're not more upset at me." I let my head sink into my pillow, already tired.
He arched an eyebrow. "Upset? I should be paying you. We now have alliances with the lord of the barrow and a newly crowned King of a realm. I've just become the most powerful master on this continent."
A soft sound of amusement left me. Of course, Thomas would have already figured out a way to turn this to his advantage.
