Technically, it was our uncle who’d done the name calling, but close enough.
Our grandfather pointed at the chair across from him. “Sit, child. You may no longer want anything further to do with us, but your sister isn’t so lucky.”
“What does that mean?” Jenna demanded.
“You’re more like Patrick than she is,” the old man told me.
“You still don’t know her very well,” I informed him.
Jenna may have seemed like the softer, more reasonable one of the two of us but push her far enough and the Travers cameout. She had Dad’s quiet determination and Mom’s fierceness. She just hid it better than I did.
“I’ll have to fix that,” our grandfather murmured.
Was that a note of approval I saw in his eyes?
That question made me shelve some of my antagonism. This new grandfather of ours was no slouch in the manipulation department. He was like Ahrun and Thomas. Probing and testing to see how far our sisterly bond went.
And I’d fallen for it.
“Ever wonder why my grandson was sent to infiltrate your sire’s territory?” the old man asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
Drake’s gaze met mine briefly before he looked away, going back to pretending he wasn’t there.
“That is a good question. Aileen might not have but I sure am,” Anton growled, making his presence felt.
The deadly look he sent the human didn’t bode well for Drake’s future. My cousin would have to disappear for a while after this. Otherwise, the next time I saw him might be after he took a dirt nap.
“The master of the city will be most interested to learn that a hunter is trying to get close to his son—and the woman he considers a daughter,” Anton continued.
Jenna leaned closer to me. “Your friends are interesting.”
“We also have excellent hearing,” Anton purred. “Remember that, little human.”
“I’ll be sure to,” Jenna said with a smile that could have peeled skin.
I pinched her arm. “Stop antagonizing the vampire.”
As for Anton, he better not get any ideas when it came to my sister. The more distance between them the better.
“How much do you know about hunters?” our uncle asked, interrupting the moment.
“You mean besides the fact that they keep trying to kill me?”
Not much.
Our uncle didn’t react to my sarcasm, his expression remaining neutral. “Made hunters. They give the rest of us a bad name. They’re mostly comprised of humans who’ve stumbled upon supernaturals by accident or have suffered at their hands. Born hunters come from family lines that have been doing this for ages. Each line tends to specialize in a certain species.”
“What’s yours?” Jenna asked, showing interest.
Our uncle fixed me with a look. “Guess.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, one finger tapping against my arm as I considered. Drake’s presence in Thomas’s territory would suggest vampire. But Dad hadn’t been hunting vampires when he came into our lives.
“Fae.”
One side of our uncle’s mouth crooked upwards. “Very close.”
Jenna had a troubled frown on her face as she looked at the two of us. No doubt wondering why that had been my guess rather than the more obvious one.
