“Good morning!” Lucien said brightly as he entered the room.
Holly sprang away from Trevor as if he’d shocked her.
“Subtle.” Trevor grinned.
“Shut up,” Holly hissed.
Lucien looked from Holly to Trevor blankly. “I’m choosing not to ask questions.” He took a seat in his armchair.
“Wise decision.” Trevor nodded. “Where’s the other shifter?”
“I’m here,” Johnny said as he entered the inn. “Hey, Vampire Lord, is that potion supposed to make my heart feel like it’s on fire?”
“It’s Lucien,” Lucien replied, “and no. It’s not. I suggest you stop taking it immediately.”
“I can’t do that yet,” Johnny said. “We’ve got some shit to sort out.”
“Let’s get to it.” Trevor leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs.
Holly tried not to stare at his muscular forearms.
Would it be inappropriate to delay this meeting and take him upstairs for an hour or two? What was she thinking? Of course, that would be inappropriate. She tore her gaze away from Trevor and forced herself to focus on Lucien, the only person in the room she didn’t want to take to bed.
She stayed quiet, and Trevor and Lucien filled in Johnny on everything they knew.
Johnny took most of it in stride, though Holly could tell he was caught off guard. Accepting Trevor as an ally rather than an enemy wasn’t going to be easy for him. Holly couldn’t blame him for that.
“Question,” Johnny said when Trevor and Lucien finished speaking. “What does the Maiden say about all of this?”
“I haven’t heard her voice since I came to Golden Oak,” Holly said. “I think the spell blocks her, somehow.”
“That’s not good.” Johnny frowned. He turned his gaze to Lucien. “Your wife has telepathic abilities, right?”
“Indeed.” Lucien nodded.
“Can she block the telepathic abilities of others?”
“I…” Lucien hesitated. “I don’t know. I can’t say we’ve ever tested it.”
“But it’s possible?”
“Are you suggesting my wife is deliberately blocking Holly’s communication with the Maiden?
“I’m merely asking if it’s possible.”
“Even if it were—”
“Which you don’t know if it is or not,” Johnny cut in.
“She would never do something like that,” Lucien snarled. “Take into consideration that the Maiden is akin to a force of nature. Do you have any idea how powerful someone would have to be to put a force of nature off its destined course?”
“And so far, your wife is the only one we know of who is anywhere near that powerful. You said yourself, someone like her is unprecedented in the vampire community.”
“He’s got a point.” Trevor nodded.
“Pardon?” Lucien sputtered. “My wife is not your enemy. She is as much of a victim as you are.”
“That’s only what you believe,” Johnny said.
“It’s what is true,” Lucien barked.
“Can that be proven?” Trevor asked.
“I know her heart,” Lucien said softly. He placed a hand lightly over his chest and closed his eyes. “She does not have it in her heart to do something like this.”
“Maybe not of her own accord,” Trevor suggested. “How many creatures are strong enough to overtake your wife and bend her powers to their will?”
A faint smile appeared on Lucien’s mouth. “You’ve not met my wife. She isn’t easily influenced against her will.”
“It’s either that or she left willingly,” Trevor said. “Which do you believe?”
“She didn’t leave willingly,” Lucien said, his expression stony.
“Trevor?” Holly said. “You mentioned shifters you’d never seen before at the silver mine battle. Did they fully transition?”
“No,” Trevor said. “Like I said, you’d know a transitioned dark shifter when you saw one. For one thing, they wouldn’t be in their human forms at all.”
“With that in mind, how many potential dark shifters would it take to subdue a powerful vampire?”
“I could take three or four aggravated shifters in their human form,” Lucien said. “Celeste could likely do the same.”
“Trevor, were there more than four at the battle?”
“Most definitely.”
“Then we have a lead.” Holly nodded. “And I might have a plan.”
All eyes turned on her.
“Trevor, how many of your followers remain within the town proper?” Holly asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ve left them alone to focus on you. They need to believe you’re under my control.”
“Okay.” Holly nodded. “That complicates things.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to leave.”
Trevor’s mouth dropped open, but he quickly closed it.
“With the bottled death, I can get past the barrier,” she said. “Once I’m outside the barrier, it won’t matter.”
“Not unless the spell can teleport you back here,” Johnny said.
Holly looked at Trevor.
“Is that possible?”
“That’s a question for my sister.” Trevor shrugged. “Or the vampire.”
Holly looked at Lucien.
“From my understanding of barrier spells,” he said, “they can’t affect you if you’re not within the barrier.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Holly nodded.
“Are you sure you want to leave?” Trevor asked. “It’s safer in here.”
“It’s not true safety,” Holly replied. “I can’t do what I’m meant to do if I’m cooped up behind an invisible wall. It’s just as you said, we have to dedicate our energy to what’s most important. That’s fixing this world.”
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “You’re right. I’ll tell my idiot followers you’re carrying my child. They won’t question my authority after that.”
From the corner of her eye, Holly saw Johnny go rigid.
“That’s a good idea,” Holly said quickly. “If you let them think I’m already pregnant, they won’t try to interfere with me.”
“Exactly. You might have to buy a fake baby bump if this doesn’t wrap up as quickly as I’d like,” he joked.
“Convince them I’m playing double agent then get all of the info you can on the mystery shifters,” she ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.” Trevor nodded. “How will I relay that information to you?”
“Through me,” Lucien said. “I’m not under the spell. I can go where
