"The Corrine and the rest of the ruling Dark Fairies believe the child is Gemma's."
"Clearly they need some better intel," Ethan hissed. "Can they not tell that the child is Demon and Vampyre?"
"No, which makes me think Samuel is smarter than we think. He may have cloaked his essence. Maybe Martha and Jane guided him," The Kev said skeptically.
I peeked through one eyeball and saw the glare of disbelief and disgust that Ethan threw The Kev.
"It's just a theory," he grunted. "And yes, I was their best intel, but I am no longer theirs."
"You do realize this is about getting Samuel back—not avenging the attack on Gemma," Ethan said in a deadly quiet voice.
"They are one and the same," The Kev said just as quietly and equally as deadly. "I will be focused on my godchild and the semi-worthless Vampyres, but I will make sure the threat to my mate is eliminated."
"Just so we're clear what the priority is," Ethan said tersely.
"We are very clear," The Kev replied.
My head was spinning and I was dying to ask some pointed questions, but then I would blow my cover. Monkeypoop. There was too much information to file away…I was here to save a baby named Samuel, which was a lovely name. He was Ethan's child, which meant the sexy jack off was married. Bummer. However, I was apparently married with four or six children—to a human no less. Wait…did they tell me that or did I pull that one out of my rear?
Whatever.
It sounded like there were more Vampyres here to save—Martha and Jane. Was one of them Ethan's wife? Or girlfriend? Were they connected to Samuel? Apparently The Kev had a mate named Gemma. Gemma was beautiful, powerful and my best friend since I was a little girl. She could read auras and had unwillingly and unwittingly become the reincarnated Queen of the Fairies and all of the Dark Fairies wanted her dead.
"Sweet Baby Jesus in a schoolgirl uniform," I shouted and scared a life or two out of Ethan and The Kev. "Gemma is my best friend."
The men stared at me and waited.
"Am I right?" I demanded.
"You are," Ethan said as he watched me closely. "What else do you remember?"
If I was believable, they would let me go with them. If not I would be stuck here. Of course I didn't plan to be stuck anywhere. When The Kev had mentioned the possibility that the baby had cloaked himself, I knew in my bones what that meant. I could render myself invisible and go wherever the Hell I wanted. I had decided to add the word Hell to my vocabulary. It was a place, after all.
"Well, um…you're the father of Samuel," I said, simply regurgitating the facts I'd just heard.
"And who is his mother?" he asked in a terse voice as his eyes narrowed and his fangs dropped. Why in the Hell was that so hot?
"Your human wife, I would imagine," I snapped, irrationally angry and jealous over a woman I didn't know.
"What's her name?" he demanded.
"Um…Martha or Jane?" I made a semi-educated guess. His bark of laughter was so sexy I groaned. Hopefully he wasn't a neighbor back where we were all from…wherever the Hell that was.
"No Astrid, neither Martha nor Jane are my wife. They are my subjects, but that is all."
"What, are you some kind of prince or something?"
"Or something," he muttered cryptically.
"Do you recall anything else?" The Kev asked. "Not anything you overheard." He raised an eyebrow and gave me a look. "Something you actually remember."
"No. Things are coming back to me in pieces. And just so you know I am not staying here with The Reggie and The Henry."
"Actually, you are," Ethan said as he crossed his arms over his chest, daring me to challenge him. "You can't be trusted until you remember everything."
"Dude, I am far more trustworthy than you are. I'm not the married sex god hitting on the amnesia victim," I spat.
"You think I'm a sex god?" His smirk made my toes curl and my panties wet. However, I was also tempted to smack the grin off his face.
"No, I think you're a pig." I froze and gasped like I'd seen a ghost. An uncomfortable and slightly painful feeling of déjà vu settled in my gut. "Have I called you a pig before?" I whispered.
"Twice in the last few days as I recall," he said carefully as he glanced in frustration at The Kev.
"She has to find it on her own," The Kev said. "Too much too soon could destroy her."
"Call The Reggie and The Henry and tell them to take the day off. I'm coming with you."
The Kev grinned and Ethan swore, but I knew I'd won. I liked winning. Always.
***
The Reggie and The Henry did not take the day off. Nope, they came over for a play date. As we trudged through the dense forest on the outskirts of Xanthia their monosyllabic replies to all questions began to grate on my last nerve.
"If we're all freakin' magical mythical creatures, why in the Hell are we walking? Can't we fly or run like cheetahs or something less boring?" I griped.
"I thought you didn't swear." Ethan's eyebrow shot up and he chuckled.
"I don't," I shot back. "Hell is a place, not a potty word, dorkwad."
"No name calling, children," The Kev said. "We are getting close. When the forest ends, stay at the tree line. We are being met by The Bob and The Gus."