“Since you seem to already know why we’re here, you might as well escort us to meet Max,” my dad said, more like an order than a request. He might not have been alpha anymore, but it was a hard habit to shake. And something I wasn’t bothered by enough to point out.
“Of course.” I glanced at Axel. “Are you coming as well?”
He nodded. “Yes, the Lady Sarhin has requested I accompany them.”
My car was big, but I couldn’t really imagine either my dad or Lady Sarhin sat in the back with Talis and Axel. “Why don’t you travel with Axel, Talis.”
Axel scrunched his nose, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable. “I’ve only got my bike.”
Talis sighed from beside me. “It’s fine. I don’t mind riding on the back, if you don’t?” He raised an eyebrow, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of challenge in his voice.
Axel’s gaze narrowed, a smirk curling his lips. “Not at all. I’ll get you a helmet.”
I looked at Talis to make sure he was really all right with this arrangement, and he gave me a short, sharp nod in return.
Okay then.
With the three of us in my car and Talis tucked up behind Axel on his bike, we set off to the address Axel had given me.
* * *
“He’s not dead.”Sarhin crouched down next to Blake, one delicate hand laid on the base of his throat. She had her eyes closed, eyelids fluttering, as she did whatever it was she was doing to come up with that theory.
Max cleared his throat. “We checked for a pulse and there wasn’t one.”
Sarhin reached into her bag and pulled out a small vial of purple liquid.
“What’s that?” I asked, glancing at my dad as she tipped Blake’s head back a little and dripped the liquid into his mouth.
“It’s an antidote to the poison,” he answered, pointing at Blake. “Look.”
The room fell silent as we all watched the colour gradually come back to his face, and he gasped.
Gabriel jumped and Max looked like he’d seen a ghost. It’d be funny if the whole thing wasn’t so serious.
Sarhin stood and smoothed down her black jeans. “The fae aren’t easy to kill. His heartbeat was slow, but it was definitely still there.”
It always caught me by surprise when they dressed in “normal” clothes. I’d always thought of the fae as otherworldly and never expected them to turn up wearing jeans, boots, and a black hoodie. But that’s exactly what Sarhin wore. My dad, I was used to seeing in casual clothes, but considering they were both members of the Fae High Court, they didn’t look the part.
Not that I was stupid enough to ever say that.
“Will he be okay?” Max asked, already pulling out his phone, presumably to call for an ambulance.
“Eventually. But we’ll be taking him with us.”
Max bit his lip but didn’t comment.
She turned to Axel. “Please arrange to have him transported to the gateway.”
Axel bowed his head. “Of course.”
“We’ll need to talk to him when he wakes up,” Max said, looking uncomfortable. I didn’t blame him. This was a political minefield. I wasn’t sure who had the final word when it came to the fae. “Since he’s not dead, we’ll need a blood sample to confirm that he ingested Blue Alhuirn. There’s also a whole cabinet full of poison in his utility room.”
“Which we will also take with us and dispose of,” Sarhin answered sharply.
Max rubbed the back of his neck, and I felt his frustration. “With all due respect, that’s evidence.”
She glanced at my father, some unspoken conversation taking place between them, and then she turned to Max again, her expression a little less chilly than before. “I understand your predicament, but I must insist it comes with us. It’s far too dangerous to leave here.”
