Jessamine wore a dress with a scooped neck, revealing the fair, unbroken skin at her shoulder. “That will come,” I assured them. “For now, you must all know andacceptthat, yes, I have taken her to my bed. And every time we’ve coupled, it has been proven that she belongs to me. And I to her.”
There was no need to be any more frank than that. I’d had plenty of lovers outside of this clan, choosing never to take one among my own for the troubles it could cause. Many beast fae took lovers for pleasure, but they rarely took them for long, always seeking the mate the gods intended for them. It was wrong to procreate with any but your mate. And I’d never found my mate among the beast fae females I’d bedded elsewhere.
Melgar and Pavlok were angry because they thought I was simply sating my appetite with the pretty foreigner in camp, that there was no way the gods would bind us together as mates. They were wrong. And though I’d thought the same before, I was wrong too. Happily mistaken.
And there she was—this light fae female, with her pale skin and blood-red hair, her defiant chin in the air. She was my mate, and I couldn’t be prouder or more grateful.
I turned to face my clan, finding expressions of surprise and wonder, disappointment, and a few smiles.
“Now that that’s settled, Leifkyn, gather ten warriors and meet me in my tent. The rest of you stay here,” I commanded, roughening my voice with the dominant beast that lived inside me. “The clan sleeps together in this cave tonight.”
I wasn’t going to speak of our plan of action in front of the council or anyone else who thought they knew better than the king of this clan. My command for them to stay put was to keep them safe.
“Come with me,” I told Jessamine. “Let Shearah tend to Dayn. Lorelyn,” I called. “Follow us.”
I marched out first, sniffing the air for any signs that the grimlocks might have returned. But I knew they wouldn’t. They’d caught their prey and were far away by now.
We moved silently through the darkened camp to my tent. Leifkyn carried a torch inside and lit the fire pit on the tripod.
With the ten warriors Leifkyn pulled from the crowd—I noted they were all unmated males, which was wise—we gathered around the fire and sat upon the rug. Jessamine settled next to me, Lorelyn on the opposite side of the circle. Bezaliel and Tessa burst in.
“You’re a fucking madman if you think you’re planning anything without me,” Bezaliel barked.
“Sit down, Bezaliel. I would not cut you out of the plan. I merely thought you might need more time with Tessa.”
“No,” said Tessa. “We are not grieving or in mourning. Our child is alive.” She thumped her breast. “I can feel ithere. She isalive, and we will help find her.”
I gave her a grim smile, buoyed by the fact that Bezaliel had mated a fierce woman.
“Good. Then we will find her.” I turned my attention to Lorelyn. “When we chased the grimlocks, they vanished deep into Wyken Woods. There is no way they simply outflew us that fast. One minute we heard Saralyn, the next we couldn’t hear her anymore.”
“By all the hells, I’ll tear them to pieces,” cursed Tessa.
Bezaliel took her hand in his lap. “It is true. There is no way they outflew us so fast.”
“You think it’s black magick,” said Lorelyn.
“Yes,” I assured her. “So we need magick of our own to find them.”
Lorelyn shook her head. “I can cast the runes or scry. But it would be better if we had some of their blood.”
“I don’t have their blood,” said Jessamine, “but I have some strands of hair.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a clump of coarse, green hair. “I pulled some loose when I was fighting one of them. I don’t know why I kept it.”
I did, but I didn’t voice it. Jessamine was full of magick, likely had some seer powers of her own. She somehow knew we might need it.
“Leifkyn, fetch some of their blood as well. I left a corpse out in the field. Balko, go with him.”
The two left while Jessamine stood and went to our washing bowl. She emptied it outside then filled it with my water satchel hanging on a hook near the tent entrance. I liked watching her move about our tent, like she belonged here.
Before long, Leifkyn returned and we gathered back around the fire, Lorelyn sitting before the bowl. She squeezed the blood from Leifkyn’s handkerchief into the water then sprinkled the hair onto the surface.
We all sat quietly, waiting in anticipation. Lorelyn was our only beast fae with magick, and we depended on her time and time again. I was afraid to wish for too much, for her to discover where they were by simply scrying.
Lorelyn murmured in a whisper as she used her forefinger to swirl the blood and hair into the bowl. Magick sizzled along my skin as her power filled the room. Jessamine had taken a seat beside me, resting on her heels.
A subtle red glow radiated from the scrying bowl. Lorelyn continued to chant inaudibly, faster and faster as she stared down. Her dark hair hung loosely, blowing in an ethereal breeze. The water stopped rippling, flattening into a sheet like glass. Lorelyn gasped and clenched her fists, her gaze fixed on the bowl.
