Page 97 of What Fools These Immortals Be
His eyes widen. He can sense it, too. “Oh. What happened?”
“I am no longer a member of the Hunt.”
Sam waves a hand, and I assume I can pass through the wards now, so I walk further up the path. Sure enough, nothing stops me, and Spectra frowns when I get close.
“He took the blessing back?”
“It was his blessing, to do with as he liked.”
“What does that mean?” Sam asks.
“I used to have access to some magic,” I say. Notmymagic. I can’t force those words out just yet. “Now I do not.”
He narrows his eyes. “But you’re still strong. Still old.”
I huff. “Yes. Thanks.”
Sam laughs, to my surprise, and Spectra shakes her head.
I sigh. “I assume you know that Njáll is missing.”
“We heard,” Sam says, sobering immediately. “Have you heard about…”
“Augustine?”
He nods.
“I did. What is going to happen?”
“If the hunters weren’t watching him,” Sam mutters, “then we’d get rid of him. Even if he doesn’t kill Quinn during the challenge, he’s going to break him beyond repair.”
“Did you tell the hunters about the fact that a fae helped him to break through your wards?”
Sam nods. “They don’t care. Alwynn is more concerned about a vampire attacking a werewolf than a fae on the loose.”
“That makes sense,” I say, and then, in response to his outraged expression, “She is in as precarious a position as the rest of your leaders. If she fails, all the humans will turn on the rest of you.”
“Still a dick move,” Sam says, and Spectra nods in agreement.
“It would be best if I could speak with Augustine,” I say because I don’t fearhim. He is another vampire, just like me, and one with much less experience in combat. Besides, I havethe distinct feeling he knows where Njáll is. “But as that is not an option, I need to start speaking to the fae instead.”
Spectra frowns. “They’ll know you’re not blessed. That’s not safe.”
“It’s the only choice I have. None of the vampires found Augustine before he appeared before the Council, which means he was likely hiding wherever the high fae is.”
I still have my knife. I don’t know how much magic there is in it—I can’t tell—but it’s iron, if nothing else, so I can use it to get my own way.
“Take Sparrow with you,” Spectra says, and I shake my head.
“I can’t—”
“They’ll be fine,” she interrupts. Oh, she’s not going to take no for an answer. “They know more fae than you, and they can at least get you out of there if anything goes wrong.”
“Fine,” I mutter.
I wait with Sam while she goes inside to speak to Sparrow. He turns his attention to the wards again after a while, though I have no doubt he still has some attention on me.
That is confirmed when he asks, “So, you and Njáll…”
