Page 397 of Hunters and Prey

None of this made sense. A choked sob escaped my lips, but I bit it back. How could he tell me to put myself ahead of my family? This was crazy, but they were his words, penned in his hand, and after everything he’d done for me, there was no way I could turn my back on his one request.

There could be no tears, only action. The urge to ignore his words and go after him was almost overwhelming, and it took every ounce of willpower to quash it, to push it down into the pit of my stomach with the promise that once I’d delivered this cargo, I’d find him. Commander Royce would pay for taking him from me.

“Anya? Babe?” Hesitant did not sit well on Helgi.

Sliding the note back in the book, I pocketed the stone. Helgi looked down at the book in my hands, questions in her eyes.

I stood and smoothed down my clothes. “Pack some things. We’re going to the Furtherlands.”

“Dante is a what?” Helgi cocked her head as the implications sank in. “You lied to me?”

“No.” I held up my hands. “I didn’t lie. I just kept a secret, and I’m sorry.”

She pressed her lips together. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He asked me not to. He was afraid of how you guys would react. We couldn’t risk it, not with the possibility of escape around the corner.”

She hung her head, hands on hips. “Okay, I get it. I probably would have been freaked out but I would have dealt. You just didn’t know that. I get it.”

“So, we’re good?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but no more secrets.”

I held my hand up, palm outward. “I swear.”

“Good, now let’s get the heck out of here.”

We began to pack supplies onto the buggies ready for the journey.

“I don’t understand why they sent a drone after you,” Bran said as we loaded up Juniper. “Why take your dad?”

It had been playing on my mind too, and the only thing I could think of was it had something to do with my blood. Maybe a genome, something they wanted from me that could help them with their super soldier army.

“Trust me, I’m going to find out.” I checked the fuel and locked down the bonnet. “You don’t have to come with us.”

Bran grinned wide, his craggy face made almost handsome by the action. “Are you fucking kidding me? A ticket into the Furtherlands with a Dreki lord is not something to be sniffed at.”

The Dreki lord in question was leaning up against the fence, his sharp blue gaze watching every move I made. The book was hidden in my backpack beneath a change of clothes. Vesper was a lord, but Dad had specifically said not to trust anyone but Orion. How had Dad known Orion? It made no sense. But in a couple of days I’d have answers.

Vesper strolled toward us now. “Your buggy won’t carry us all,” he stated.

The purr of an engine drifted out from the barn and then Helgi appeared, her jagged teeth on display in a wicked grin.

“We have life,” she said.

I straightened, my pulse speeding up. “Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, babe. You built her.”

She flung open the barn door and headed back inside. A moment later, Vixen rolled out into the yard, sleek and huge and fucking awesome. I’d built her from custom sought parts, and this baby would run for miles on minimal fuel. It was a family vehicle made to carry us all. She even had a fucking roof.

Bran let out a low whistle. “Nice.”

His companions looked equally impressed.

“Can I drive her, please?” Helgi asked.

“Go for it.”

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