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I was still staring at Oisin in shock when my phone started ringing.
Kai wasn't coming home? What the fuck?
Oisin glanced at my phone and grimaced, holding it out to me. "You'd better answer. You know how fussy your bestie gets if you ignore his calls."
I groaned and snatched my phone from the idiot fae's grasp. "I am not friends with Derek fucking White.
I swiped the answer button angrily and growled into the phone. "What do you want?"
White's smoky, asshole voice purred down the line. "Why Gesa, I'm thrilled to speak with you as well."
I growled again.
He huffed. "I just received a call from the police, Miss Lionheart. It seems someone told them there is a vampire in our fair city."
I wanted to throw my phone, but I resisted the urge. "Yeah, and? Look, dickhead, if we have a vampire problem, that's all you."
He was silent for a beat, then his angry voice rang in my ear. "Of course it's all me. Do you ever utilize the lump of spongy matter between your ears? I was calling to make sure you planned to keep your big cat paws out of this."
I stared out the window, one corner of my lip twitching. I had never heard him react with so much emotion. I wasn't at all upset he was barring me from doing whatever the hell I wanted to do—he'd been telling me what I could and couldn't do forever now. I had learned to just ignore it. But his obvious anger was new.
"Are you...oh my Gods, White, you're pissed off you might have to do actual work, aren't you?"
He sighed heavily into the phone. His voice was muffled when he spoke again, as if he was holding the phone away from himself. "Here, you speak with her. She's being insufferable again, and I have better things to do with my time at present."
I rolled my eyes. What a baby.
"Hello, Gesa," Orion's soft voice came on the phone. "I apologize for my employer. He is...a bit concerned for the welfare of his citizens just now. It tends to make him act like a caveman."
I laughed. "I really hope he's still there with you, so he heard all of that."
Orion sighed. "Unfortunately, no. He left in a huff to go take care of our little trespasser."
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, impatient with the whole damned conversation. I needed to figure out what was going on with Kai, not chit-chat with a bunch of stupid demons. "Great. I've got to go."
"Gesa." Orion's voice was hurried as he rushed to keep me from hanging up. "The warning was genuine. Please stay out of the vampire's way. While Mr. White has the utmost respect for your abilities, this is too dangerous a matter to risk your pride. Vampires can be unpredictable when cornered."
I took the phone from my ear and looked at it to make sure I was still speaking with Orion Black. "Are you telling me White wants us to stay out of the vampire thing because he's worried about our safety?" I snorted. "Did you hit your head? Have you fed recently? Maybe Con used the wrong herbs in that last batch of muffins. I'm really worried about you right now, Orion."
He sighed. "Yes, yes. Blasphemy, I know. Honestly, you two are like a couple of children who can't share a sandbox. Please just focus on Miss Troya. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her on your watch."
I clenched my teeth. "Yeah. Fine. Gotta go."
He chuckled. "Have a pleasant day, Miss Lionheart."
I hung up and turned to Oisin. "What the hell is going on around here? And what do you mean Kai's not coming home? Of course she's coming home."
Pulling up to the curb outside some random coffee shop, I thumbed open my email and read the note from her. I scanned it several times. In typical kraken fashion, it read like she had not a care in the world. Just something along the lines of "oh, nice to hear from you, I'm going to stay here and abandon my mate. Have a great life. Toodles." What the fuck?
"This can't be real," I said, looking to Oisin for confirmation.
He shook his head. "I should hope not." He took my phone from my white-knuckled grip. "Breathe, gryphon. Let's not explode into a rage until we get home and see if Hisashi can tell us anything.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath and not murder anyone. Yet.
My heartbeat was rushing in my ears like a thousand marching feet. "Oisin," I said, my voice rough. "Are you really that upset about the babies? Are you...?” I couldn't even force the words out. But, as usual, he understood. He wrapped his graceful fingers around my hand and squeezed.
"I'm not happy, darling. But I'm not going anywhere. We'll figure that all out, once our whole pride is with us, alright?"
I stared into his eyes, seeing the terror in the emerald green depths, but also the resolution. With Kai missing, I couldn't stand for him to be distant, to think that he might not be with me forever.
"Oh, no," he breathed in mock horror. "Oh, dear Gods, no. Don't tell me you are going to...cry."
I swiped at my face with my free hand, squeezing his fingers in a crushing grip with the other. "Shut the hell up. It's hormones. That's all."
He smirked at me. "Of course."
Reaching up, he brushed my hair behind one ear and thumbed away a tear. "I love you, gryphon. No matter if we are making love, or making an absolute mess of things. Don't ever think otherwise."
I sighed. "It doesn't hurt to remind me now and then. Blond, you know. Kinda dense and all."
He ruffled my hair and gestured toward the road. "Well, carry on blondie. We've got a kraken to find."
When we arrived home, Hisashi was waiting for us at the door. His eyes were slightly silvery, and his ears were showing. "What's wrong?" He demanded, one hand splayed over his solar plexus. "I feel this...pull."
Oisin and I explained the email from Kai.
Hisashi held out his hand, delicate claws extending from the fingertips. "Can I see? Usually I have to have direct contact with an object to use psychometry, but things have changed since I'm tied to you all...."
I handed over the phone and watched as Hisashi closed his eyes and ghosted his fingers over the text on the screen. When he opened his eyes, the icy blue was completely lost in liquid silver. "Kai didn't write this. In fact...I doubt she's ever emailed you since she got to the island."
I growled. "Sirens and their fucking bullshit. I knew we couldn't trust them."
Oisin touched Hisashi's arm. "Did you pick up anything else?"
Hisashi shook his head. "Only that you're right, it was a siren who wrote this message—feels like cold and fish scales."
I snorted. "How fucking stupid could they possibly be? Like they don't think we'll just come back over there and get Kai? Do they really think I won't murder their asses for messing with my mate?"
Oisin tilted his head, his eyes narrowed. "No, I really don't think they do. They remind me of the older fae, in a way. Emotions are...a bit removed. Perhaps they don't understand why you would go to the trouble of traveling all the way back across the world for one little pet, even if she is a rare specimen."
Halstad came out of his reading nook, tugging his gloves on. "Fae's right," he muttered. "Fucking fish think they know everything. The rest of us backward, feeling creatures are beneath notice."
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes in frustration. "Godsdamn it."
Con came down the stairs from the apartment, carrying with him the warm scents of ginger and cream. He stopped when he saw us all gathered right by the door. "Uh. I was going to bring you something for your stomach, but...."
I made my way to him and took the warm mug. "Thanks but...huh. I just realized I haven't needed to puke lately." Small miracles.
Con shrugged. "Well, it's still good stuff, if I do say so myself. And I put healing and fortifying intent into it. It will be good for the...um. Good for you."
I watched him blush when he realized he'd almost fumbled the whole pregnancy secret thing. I shook my head at him, and he shrugged.
We filled Con in on the situation with Kai and I watched him turn red for a whole new reason. Right now really wasn't the best moment to enjoy it but...Con was so cute when he was pissed off.
"What are we going to do?" the human demanded, running a hand through his brown curls, tangling them up into knots.
Hisashi got a faraway look, then nodded resolutely, as if he'd just had a conversation with someone we couldn't see. "I'll take us there."
I swallowed a mouthful of ginger latte and opened my mouth to protest, but Oisin beat me to it. "Are you sure? We were almost lost last time."
Hisashi quirked a white brow at him, and I was struck by how confident our fox had become when it came to his previously out of control powers. "A lot has changed since then," he reminded the fae. "I have control of things now. And I have anchors. My shrine."
I think that hit us all in the feels, but only Con showed it, giving Hisashi a fond look.
I thought of the expense and time that would be wasted if we had to take a plane and a boat like last time. Kai would be out there, in the Gods knew what kind of circumstances, for over a week before we even got to the area, let alone the time it might take to deal with the sirens. "If you say you can do it, I trust you."
He met my eyes and his own silver gaze flicked down to my stomach and back briefly. He knew I was trusting him with more than just my life these days. "I can do it," he said softly. "Or I wouldn't even offer to try."
I nodded.
"But," Hisashi said slowly. "Someone has to stay here. I think I have to have an anchor here to come back to. One of the pride has to call me back home."
We all looked at each other like a bunch of kids about to shout, "not it."
Finally, Con heaved a gusty sigh and spoke up. "I have work. There's exams this week. And someone has to watch Troya for White."
I gave him a sympathetic look. I didn't like leaving him behind, but it was really the most logical option. Safer for Con. And like he said, he had things to do.
"Well, since Oisin decided to bring her into the bookstore, maybe it will be easier for you to watch over White's victim without being in two places at once." I got out my phone. "And I'll call Orion and tell him they're just going to have to deal with it. If White really wants someone protecting this kid twenty-four seven, he can damned well call in some of his own goons for a while."
Of course, that meant talking to the demons again. At least White would be too busy stalking vampires to bug me at the moment. Dealing with Orion was way better than dealing with Derek fucking White.
An hour later, we were ready to go. I closed my eyes and prayed we weren't about to make a huge mistake. I fucking hated the creepy otherworld that lay in between this world and the next. But if traveling through ghostville was what it took to get my kraken back home safe, then so be it.