Eduard couldn’t help but laugh and give her a head scratch of his own. He’d never wanted a pet before, but he could see why Sawyer loved his dog so much.
“Hey, where’d everyone else go?” Sawyer asked.
They’d come upstairs on their own and Eduard appreciated his other mates giving him a few minutes alone.
“They’re downstairs. They’ll be up in a few minutes.”
Sawyer sighed and ran his hand over Pearl’s back. “Go ahead and tell me.”
Eduard sat beside Sawyer on the couch and reached for his free hand. Sawyer linked their fingers together and gave him a sad smile. “I’m going to go deal with Magdalen,” he explained. “I’ll be gone for a few hours, but I’ll try to be back in time for dinner.”
Sawyer stared into his eyes for a long, quiet minute. “Okay. Don’t go alone.”
“Andvari will be accompanying me.”
“Good.” Sawyer closed his eyes and leaned in. He pressed a kiss to Eduard’s lips, barely there, but so sweet and hopeful that it took Eduard’s breath away nevertheless. Then he touched their foreheads together. “She’s scarier than you think,” Sawyer whispered, his voice so low even Eduard’s advanced hearing had a hard time picking out the words. “She’ll hurt you if she gets the chance. And… she wants what you have, wants your power and prestige. She’s desperate. It makes her more dangerous than you probably want to admit.”
“I’ll be careful. I’ll have Andvari beside me, and her hellhound guard will be in the room as well as my father and his guard. We aren’t taking any chances when we confront her. Please tell me you understand what has to happen.”
“Draco explained. She hurt me and that’s like, the absolute worst thing she could do. Well, killing me would have been the absolute worst, but yeah. Hurting a clan member’s mate is… well… yeah.”
“It’s a death sentence,” Eduard said, unwilling to pull any punches. It was the most basic tenet of their culture. Mates were precious and sacred. The worst offense imaginable was attacking someone’s mate. It was never forgiven and never ignored.
Sawyer remained quiet, neither agreeing or disagreeing. He breathed and Eduard inhaled alongside him. “Come back soon,” Sawyer finally whispered.
“I will. I’ll send the others up now. I love you, Sawyer.”
“Love you, too.”
Eduard hurried back downstairs and found Cecil waiting in the foyer.
“I sent an additional change of clothing to your father’s earlier,” Cecil said. “I have a suit for you in the guest room if you would care to freshen up before you go.”
“Thank you, Cecil. Andvari will be with me so if you could arrange a change of clothing for him as well.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure it is there waiting for you when it is done.”
The entire clan knew what would happen that afternoon and Cecil was no exception. He’d also realized that Eduard was likely to come away bloody, and that Eduard wouldn’t want to risk Sawyer seeing it.
After changing into one of his better suits, Eduard returned to the foyer and found Andvari waiting on him. The vampire had changed into a formal robe, embroidered along the edges with green and gold threads. He’d also pulled his hair back and wrapped it with leather straps.
“Ready?” Eduard asked.
“I am.”
They arrived at his father’s house with no fanfare. Most of the staff had been redirected elsewhere for the time it would take to complete the questioning of Magdalen. His father met him in the foyer with one of the werewolf bodyguards at his side. They went upstairs, where two vampires stood outside the door. Inside the room, only Magdalen and Calliope were present.
Calliope bowed her head quickly to Augustus, and then stood as they made a semicircle around Magdalen.
“Eduard,” Magdalen said softly, “I’ve been so worried.”
“Sawyer has been found, Cousin.”
There was only the slightest glimmer of panic in her eyes before it faded. “I’m sorry for your loss, Cousin.”
“I lost nothing. My mate is alive.”
And there was the panic again. She looked frantically around, suddenly realizing the precarious position she was in.
