Her question interrupted the murmured conversation that had been going on between Drake and Quinn. Her voice wobbled, but she couldn't help it. She had stepped neck-deep into a hellhole this time. Everything about these two and Cathbad were way beyond her skill set.
Until now, the only significant supernaturals she’d met over the years besides Herrick, had been a mage and one Fae, neither of which had been a threat.
She ordered, “Somebody answer me!” That sounded better. More like she still possessed a backbone even if her knees shook.
Drake sounded consoling when he told her, “The less ya know about the two of us, the safer ya will be. Discoverin’ Cavan is Cathbad changes everythin’.”
He’d surprised her when she’d opened her eyes to those silver-gray eyes staring at hers with concern. His huge hands had held her carefully, but he’d thrown her off by standing so close.
But that didn’t mean she would now let him go alpha on her again. “Hold on a minute. What do you mean by this changes everythin’?”
“By now, Cathbad will have realized we know each other. He has very likely been everywhere ya have been. He probably saw the disaster at your cottage. If he has not returned for his book or the grimoire, it may mean he has changed his mind. That leaves us with little to go on.”
“Stop right there.” She had given them Cavan’s identity. They owed her. “I thought we did this whole mind thing to get both of our friends back.”
“True.”
“I’m not hearin’ a plan to save Fenella.”
Daegan stared at Quinn for a few seconds.
They were doing that damned telepathic talking again. “Stop doing that!”
Daegan’s gray eyes swirled.
She blinked and his eyes were normal again. What the hell? She didn’t care about his damn eyes. “Besides being impolite to talk where I can’t hear, it’s annoyin’. I did my part. I gave you access to my freaking brain! Do your part.”
“We were merely discussin’ Quinn’s next moves, which do not include ya,” Drake replied. “He is headin’ back to our people. We have a large network of resources. First, we must determine if Cathbad has Fenella, if someone else has Fenella, or if she is simply somewhere ya aren’t aware of and has not told ya.”
“She would not—”
“Luigsech, listen—”
She would not allow him to talk his way out of this. “You gave your word!”
“Enough!”
The power behind that one word knocked her back a step. She felt the boom deep inside.
Drake’s mouth flattened into a stern line.
She’d pissed him off? Too bad.
Fenella was Casidhe’s responsibility. She would not contact Herrick until she knew what Cathbad wanted. Drake had been right about one thing.
Learning of Cathbad changed everything.
She had to be extremely careful not to expose Herrick to anyone who might know the red dragon, such as a druid from back when dragons were a natural sight in the sky.
A druid that old, and a dark one at that, could harm Herrick.
Once Drake’s power dissipated, he explained, “Ya have gifts and expertise. So do we and our people. Quinn will know by the end of today if Fenella is in this realm or another realm. We need that information to know where to start searchin’ for her and how to rescue her. I have not broken my word. Do not make that accusation lightly with our kind.”
She took her word, and her honor, seriously. Maybe these two did as well. “What are you goin’ to do, Quinn?”
“I have the greatest supernatural network at my fingertips as well as our alliance with a human group who can match and sometimes exceed that of international security agencies. We found you by making one phone call yesterday.”
To say that surprised her would be a ridiculous understatement.
Just who were these people? They dodged that question as if they were CIA from America. She could handle a human CIA group, but not this mysterious supernatural bunch. Still, if they had the resources they claimed, she intended to tap that and anything else to find Fenella.
Tilting his head in a bow to her, Quinn said, “It was nice meeting you Ms. Luigsech. I’m sorry for the circumstances, but perhaps you will see the useful side of an alliance with us from this.” Angling his head to Daegan, he added, “I’ll be in touch.”
Air, or energy, around her changed. Sounds immediately became sharper. Had Quinn removed the cloaking?
Quinn headed into the forest in the direction of the river, carrying himself as a man comfortable in the woods or an urban setting.
She frowned. “Where is he goin’ to do all this research to find Fenella?”
“”Tis none of your concern.”
“For the love of ... do you really think every time you shut down one of my questions I’m goin’ to just be a nice little girl and let it slide?”
“I do not consider ya a little girl.”
Why had that sounded sexual in his deep voice?
Because the last twelve hours had fried her brain.
She started to speak, but she had to flex her jaw muscles to loosen the tension. “It’s good that you recognize I’m not a child, but that was not my point, which you well know. How about showin’ me the respect of answerin’ my questions?”
That seemed to take him aback. “I answer the pertinent ones.”
Arrogant son of a gun. She lifted a finger. “Rule number one of us workin’ together is if you want answers from me then you don’t get to dismiss any of my questions as unimportant. If I ask one, it means I need an answer.”
A sigh escaped his big chest and came out as a growl. “Just as ya protect the secrets of who and what ya are, I have no reason to share everythin’ about our people. Quinn and I should be huntin’ the grimoire volume to save our people being prey of the Imortiks, but I have sent him home where he will be able to tap every resource we have to first locate Fenella. Ask your questions, but know
