It’d already been two and a half since he’d escaped.
He could be anywhere.
“If he came through the gateway,” Max said, sitting back in his chair, “he’d need somewhere to stay.”
Lady Sarhin pointed to one of the whiteboards where a list of fae names filled the whole thing. “We already gave you a list of all the fae and half-fae currently living this side of the gateway. We’ve been in contact with all of them. As have you, I believe?”
Max nodded. “Yes, and as far as we could tell, none of them were lying.”
“Unless they were using magic,” Nick offered.
I’d almost forgot he was here.
Max huffed out a tired laugh. “Fuck, I really hate magic sometimes.”
“Who’s the nearest fae to here?” Jake asked, glancing at the board.
“It would’ve been Blake Tehlin.” Lady Sarhin answered. “But he’s still recovering in the Fae Realm.”
“I thought he was coming back, though?” Axel glanced at Dathal, who shrugged. “Unless the high court has decided not to allow him back through, I would’ve expected him to be back by now.”
“He is. He would’ve been back, but we postponed it in light of everything going on. As soon as we can identify who we can trust in the fae guard, then I’ll have him escorted back through.”
“Escorted?”
“If he insists on returning home, then I would prefer to leave him with some protection until Vai Zh’alek is apprehended. His house is not all that far from Dark Forest Pack territory, after all.”
Made sense.
Nick cleared his throat, and we all turned to look at him. He pointed at the bottles on the table. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Zane, does it?”
Fucking Zane.
Rys and I growled in unison.
He might’ve been forced to carry out Tombs’ bidding when he tricked Rys and Axel into being captured but I’d almost killed Max because of him. If I closed my eyes, I could still see Axel’s unconscious body, could smell the blood coating his clothes… I sucked in a breath and forced the image away.
Dathal’s lip curled up into a snarl, and Nick nudged him gently.
“No.” Wyn looked to Max, who nodded for him to continue. “These three potions here all carry the same magical trace as the witches that were working with Yates. They must’ve been making them non-stop after they were released from prison.”
Nick relaxed in his seat but shot Rys and I an apologetic look. “Sorry for bringing him up, I just needed to know.”
I didn’t blame him.
He and Zane were close before Tombs came on the scene. It had to be hard for him to care about what happened to Zane when he was with Dathal, knowing how he felt about Zane.
“It’s late,” Jake said, breaking the tense silence the room had fallen into. “It’s been a long day. Everyone’s tired.” He glanced at Max, who on closer inspection did look exhausted, even though he hadn’t been at Midnight with us. “I would suggest you all go home, get some rest and reconvene tomorrow afternoon, if needed.”
Max shook himself, soft gaze landing briefly on Jake before it vanished and he faced the rest of the room. “I agree with Jake. As far as I see it, nothing’s changed regarding Axel. Zh’alek might look different to how we were expecting, but if Rys treats anyone entering his territory as suspicious, then no one will get near him.”
Like we weren’t doing that already. I didn’t realise I was frowning until Sasha nudged me none-too-gently with her elbow.
“We’ll keep him safe,” Rys replied.
“Axel,” Max said, expression softening once more. “I know this isn’t the news you were probably hoping for tonight. Are you okay?”
He’d been quiet for most of this meeting, pressed against Dathal’s side. I wasn’t proud of the flare of jealousy it evoked but couldn’t stop it either.
