Axel didn’t bother with pleasantries. “I just got word that your dad’s on his way. Lady Sarhin too.”
“Both of them?” Sarhin might have married my father, but I didn’t generally have a lot to do with her. Not that we had a problem with each other or anything like that, but she rarely left the Fae Realm, and I never went there. “Why both of them?”
Axel sighed, and I could almost feel the indecision through the phone. “You need to ask Max.”
I was instantly alert, the alpha in me coming to the fore. “He’ll be my next call after you. When are they arriving?”
“Within the next hour or so. You know how it is.”
I did. Time worked differently through the gateway. A day for us could be as little as a couple of hours for them. “Let me know when they arrive.” Pack etiquette demanded I be there to meet them, and I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of the high court.
“Will do.” Axel ended the call, and I frowned down at my phone.
“What the fuck was that about?” Talis asked, having heard it all.
“No idea.” I scrolled through for Max’s number. “I’d asked my dad for help with Callum’s case and the Blue Alhuirn, but I wasn’t expecting him to bring Sarhin too.” I hit the button to call Max and put it on speaker.
“Rys?” Max answered, sounding unusually stressed. “What can I do for you?” Voices sounded in the background but not loud enough to pick up what they were saying.
“My dad and Lady Sarhin are arriving any second. Axel told me to ask you what it was about.”
Max groaned. “Remind me to thank him for that later.” The voices quieted and I got the impression he was walking away from them. “I shouldn’t be talking to you, but I imagine you’ll find out as soon as your dad gets there.” He paused and I waited, holding my breath. “The fae Mase and I went to see this morning?” My skin prickled at the mention of Gabriel. “He’s dead.”
It took a second for his words to sink in. “Dead?”
“Yep. And there’s enough dried Blue Alhuirn in his house to poison an entire fucking pack.”
“Motherfucker.” I glanced at Talis. “So he’s the one who’s been poisoning people? He’s the one who gave it to Callum?”
Max’s voice lowered even more. “We don’t know yet, obviously, but it’s looking that way. We had to contact the Fae High Court as a matter of protocol. That’s why Lady Sarhin is accompanying your father.” He sighed. “They’re coming to collect the body.”
* * *
Less than forty-five minutes later,Talis and I arrived at Axel’s cottage.
“Ready?” Talis asked as I turned off the engine.
No, not really.
Seeing my dad was always a little bittersweet. I missed him, of course I did, but seeing him reminded me of what we both lost when my mum died. He was happy now, and I was happyforhim, but I still felt that pang of longing whenever we met up. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Axel opened the front door before we could knock. His gaze drifted to Talis, something flashing in his eyes but gone too quick for me to discern, before he schooled his features into the easy smile I associated with him. “Come in.” He stepped aside and then closed the door behind us.
My dad and Sarhin waited for us in Axel’s living room, both standing.
“Dad.” I nodded to him, then turned to Sarhin, bowing my head slightly. “Lady Sarhin.”
“Alpha Calder.” Sarhin offered me a small smile.
“Rys.” My dad walked toward me and pulled me into a tight hug. “It’s good to see you.” His familiar scent reminded me of her, and for one brief moment, I was just his son, not the alpha of the pack he’d left me with. I sank into his embrace, breathing him in and letting myself just have this.
We stepped back and assumed our roles once more.
I turned to Sarhin to offer my condolences in a way that was acceptable to the fae. “It’s unfortunate that you’re here under such dire circumstances.”
She nodded. “It is indeed.”
I tried to recall the rules when dealing with the Fae High Court.Don’t apologise,don’t thank them, don’t give them reason to think you owe them something.I was rusty at being diplomatic.
