“Now him,” I said, pointing to Desmond. I still didn’t trust myself with touching him.
The vampire hesitated until one glare from me, and he grumbled but did as I asked. He bent over Desmond’s shuddering form and put his hand on the werewolf’s neck. Desmond jerked, but Holden didn’t back away. He lowered, whispered something to the wolf, and Desmond went still.
For a long moment I wasn’t sure if it had worked, but then Desmond let out a sigh and got to his feet. His claws had retracted, and he didn’t have any hair other than what he was meant to.
One problem down.
I looked to Calliope, her mouth set in a firm line. She was angry with me, and I wasn’t sure if it was solely because I’d broken her No Werewolves rule. She motioned for us to follow her. “Let’s get this over with, shall we? If you thought this was dramatic, you have no idea what you’re in for on the other side. ”
Thankfully being pissed didn’t impact Calliope’s hospitality. She provided fresh blood for Holden and me, and made sure Desmond had eaten about half a cow, before she explained what we should expect from the other side. I gathered we’d be needing all our strength for this coming experience.
“Did Gia say what Kellen had promised?” Calliope asked as she walked us down one of the many winding halls of her estate.
Desmond, his voice gruffer than usual, replied, “From what we were told, she promised herself. ”
Calliope stopped walking and turned to face Desmond. “Are you sure? Those exact words?”
Not accustomed to being under the direct scrutiny of Calliope’s gaze, Desmond stammered for a moment before answering, “Yes. ”
The Oracle drummed her nails on the wooden door we’d stopped in front of. “That’s…complicated. ”
“How complicated?” I asked.
“I don’t know if you’re going to be able to get her back,” Calliope admitted. “If I had to guess, I’d say she met one of the high court, he whispered some sweet nothings, and she said something you stupid human girls are wont to say. I’m all yours or some such nonsense. To a fairy lord, that’s a promise. In our laws, he has every right to lay claim to her. ”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. ” I chose to overlook her lumping me in with stupid human girls.
“If I were kidding, Secret, you wouldn’t be running off to the fairy realm to reclaim a missing girl, would you?”
I bit my tongue.
“This one is going to be difficult for you. ” She pointed to Desmond. “I can promise you’re going to regret bringing him. ”
“No more than I’d regret leaving him here. ”
“I never thought I’d say this, but I wish your fate was clearer. ” She grabbed my hands, not bothering to look at the palms, and gave them a squeeze. “I don’t know how this is going to end for you. ”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, although I had no way to know that, and I was hoping she’d be telling me I had nothing to fear. “Cal? Can I ask you something before I go?”
“About the boy. ”
I had anticipated she would know. She was the Oracle after all. She might not know if I’d live to see tomorrow, but she knew I wanted to accuse her of murder. Funny how that worked.
“Did you…?”
“No. ” She rubbed my hands between hers, warming them. “I knew him, but I didn’t kill him. You’ll find out soon enough, lovely, that I am not the only one of my kind. Though I wish it didn’t have to be this way. ”
“Why would this have been the last place he visited?”
Calliope ran a thumb over my knuckle and frowned. “I don’t like to speculate when I don’t know the answer. ”
“Can you try?”
“This house is a gateway, as you know. But for the fae, there is no need to come into the mansion. They can simply use the doorway to come and go as they please. They don’t require my permission. If I were to guess, the young man ran afoul of a fae passing through. ”
“That’s it? Wrong time, wrong place?”
“That or someone isn’t fond of the wayward monarchy and they’re doing it to intentionally frame me. ” She smiled again, weariness showing in her eyes. “But I don’t know. ”