I fidgeted, wanting to get this over with so I could have my house back, even if it was only the illusion of privacy.
Except now you’re going to have a new housemate.
I held in a groan.
Max started the conversation. “I understand that some areas of this investigation are classified and that you aren’t willing to divulge that information, even to DCI Thornton, but it would really help us get a clearer picture if you could give us some background.”
I expected Lady Sarhin to shut him down immediately. The Fae High Court were reluctant to share at the best of times, but when it came to my magic? There was a reason we’d signed a blood pact after interviewing Blake.
The very same reason we all sat here now.
In the Fae Realm, I could read other’s thoughts at will. A talent I’d trained hard to be able to turn off, because it was a huge violation of privacy.
But also a deadly tool in the wrong hands.
“I understand your position, Detective Knowles, and believe me, I wish to apprehend Vai Zh’alek as much as you do.” Lady Sarhin glanced at me, and in a rare show of emotion, her eyes softened. “Probably even more so.”
I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat, refusing to let my mind go backthere.
“But regretfully, thereareaspects of this case that we cannot share, but I’m willing to tell you as much as I’m able. As long as we have your word that, with the exception of DCI Thornton, this information goes no further than the people in this room.”
Max nodded. “I swear on my pack.”
“As do I,” Gabriel was quick to add.
That was as good as a fae blood oath by shifter standards.
Lady Sarhin smiled, seemingly satisfied. Then she surprised me by looking at me again, this time with a question in her eyes. “With your permission, of course, Axel.”
Not what I’d been expecting, but I should’ve known. The past few months had shown me that Lady Sarhin was full of surprises. As much as I didn’t want to relive any part of that time in my life, Max was right. If we stood a chance of catching Zh’alek, then they needed as much information as we were willing to give them.
I nodded.
She raised an eyebrow, andohhh. Did I want to be the one to tell them? It was my life story, but I hadn’t told it in a long while.
Purposefully so.
I didn’t want to do it now either, but she was giving me the choice of how much to tell them. I glanced at Dathal, wishing I was still sat next to him, because his strength and support would’ve been welcome right then.
With his uncanny knack of always knowing what I needed—and the irony wasn’t lost on me—he got up and perched on the arm of my chair, leaning back so his side brushed my shoulder.
How had I managed all this time living here without his unwavering support?
I thought back to how I’d handled this morning.
Badly.
That’s how.
I couldn’t change the past, but I had a say in how the future went, and that started now. Vai Zh’alek had almost ruined my life once. I wouldn’t let him do it again.
Greedily drawing on Dathal’s strength, I looked Max in the eye and started talking.
* * *
Talis
The trees flashed by in a blur of green and black. The scent of the forest hung heavy in the air, chasing away the scent ofhimlike I desperately needed it to.
