Page 76 of The Rebel Seer

“I have the utmost faith that you can and will,” he replies. “And by then Rhys and Shy will have moved to the rebel village, and we can find a way to join them. I promise you, we will get out of this. We will get home, and we will take Myrddin down.”

I sit against him for a moment, simply breathing in his strength. He’s the center of my world, he and Devinshea. I don’t know…can’t begin to comprehend what I would do without either of them.

“Myrddin said if I don’t play my part he’ll tell the king about our baby.”

Daniel whistles softly. “He really needs whatever the king has. Once he has it in hand, he’s going to kill the king, and then he’ll go after you. He’ll try to take you into custody because he knows I’ll turn myself in.”

I shake my head. “No, he’ll kill me because he’s afraid of Harriet.” I told my husbands what happened at the Council House before I blew it up, but I don’t think it sank in yet. “He believes she’s an abomination with the potential to kill the world or something.”

Daniel is quiet for a moment.

“What do you know that I don’t?”

He sighs behind me. “When we got back I talked to the academics about what happened off plane. I explained how you got pregnant.”

I’m not sure I want to know what they said. “You talked to Henri?”

“And Hugo. It is not unsurprising that sometimes a latent vampire knows a companion during their human lives. They are often attracted to each other. It’s not unheard of for those pairings to produce children.”

I like where the words are heading. It’s the way he’s saying it. There’s that hedging tone to his voice. The one that tells me there’s a but in here somewhere. “And what are the children like?”

“Mostly normal. The few female vampires we have are all from latent-companion pairings.”

I try not to wince. Something about vampire genetics makes the overwhelming majority of vampires male. From what I understand there are only two female vampires walking the night today. I’ve only met one of them and she was…odd, to say the least. But I can handle it. “I survived Lee’s childhood.” He’s silent for a moment and I prompt him. “What else did they tell you?”

I’m proud of myself for not asking the question I want to ask. Why haven’t you talked to me about this before now? Why wasn’t I in on that conference of yours? That’s another fight for another time.

“I’m a vampire king. You’re the equivalent when it comes to companions. I believe they are worried that we take more after our ancestors than the others. That our DNA is closer and stronger to what it used to be than a normal latent and companion.”

I know this one. “The Amazons? That’s who the companions were. Obviously she’ll have Amazon DNA.”

His head shakes. “No, baby. That’s what they called themselves years and years after the fall. I’m talking about who they were before they fell.”

“Angels.”

“Yes, the Amazons evolved from a group of fallen angels who did not turn demonic. They were warriors who took on the role of protecting humans and eventually became companions. But your ancestry is angelic. And mine is demonic. I’m considered an Earthly demon king who married an angelic queen.”

He seems to be trying to lead me somewhere. But I do not understand the road map he’s handed me. “And?”

He growls a little, and though I cannot see him I feel his eyeroll. “Harry didn’t teach you the crap he taught me. You know you were lucky you got to spend all your time in high school playing around with the yearbook staff.”

“Daniel.”

“Nephilim, Zoey. Myrddin thinks Harriet is a Nephilim, and if she is, we will have trouble from both Heaven and Hell. If she is, we might wish we let Myrddin close that gate because I fear they will come for her.”

Chapter Twenty

Sasha

Sasha entered the servant’s quarters deep in the bowels of the palace, feeling the moment the wards came into play. It prickled along his skin, little stings digging in and refusing to let go for a moment. He wanted to turn back into the tunnels, but he had to take a deep breath and banish the feeling. It wasn’t more than a moment before he could ignore it.

Naturally the wards were stronger down here in the servant’s lodgings. Couldn’t let the slaves get comfortable, after all.

He didn’t like this version of Devinshea one bit.

“Are you okay?” Fee asked, carefully shutting the door behind them. Like the one in the temple, the seam disappeared and was completely invisible the moment the door was closed. “The wards can make one sick.”

He shook his head. “I’m fine.” The need to run screaming through the palace, killing everything in sight until he got his hands on his wife, was almost overwhelming. “Tell me about Ostara.”