Page 107 of Heir

I exhaled in defeat. “My apologies. I know how hated we are.”

“We’re all her Fated Mates,” Maxar said.

Bauer’s turquoise-blue eyes widened. “Seriously? Has that ever happened before?”

“Not recorded,” I said blandly.

He growled slightly because I spoke again, and stalked into the living room.

The hunter mage—Arik—had alert, brown eyes that scanned the room with quiet assessment. His nose wrinkled a few times. “There were two demons here. Two demons and a human.”

Maxar, Zandren, and I nodded. “Yes. We believe the demons are the same two who killed Delia Refera, a spellcaster mage.” I’d already grabbed a recent photo of Gemma off the fridge, as well as some of her clothes from her bedroom, and brought them to Arik and Bauer. “Her picture and clothing so you can pick up her scent.”

Bauer did no more than grunt. Arik quietly thanked me and accepted the items.

Both men were tall. Nobody was as tall as Zandren, but we all towered over Omaera.

Arik—the hunter mage—was olive skinned with sun-streaked brown hair, pronounced cheekbones and a dimple in his chin. I’d met hunter mages before. In fact, the mage I accidentally beheaded the night the lightning struck was a young, low-power hunter mage. There were all different kinds of mages out there, variations even I’d never encountered.

Did Maxar ever get that list of mages to Omaera like she asked? If so, I would like to take a peek at it sometime. Generally, Realm species kept to themselves for the most part, but one thing I did know about mages was that unlike demons, shifters and vampires who came into full power by the time they reached about twenty-five, mages took longer to gain their full power. The older the mage, the more powerful. So those who were only twenty-five or thirty had weak powers compared to those like Maxar, Monjol Fiddleman and Delia who were centuries old. How old was this hunter mage who came to help? Would he be of any real use? Or was he just the only one available and within driving distance?

“What do we know so far?” Bauer asked, his accent indicative of an East Coast life, probably a long time spent in the Boston area.

“Gemma is human. Twenty-three-years-old—”

“Twenty-two,” Omaera corrected, her voice raspy and broken. “Her birthday is in three weeks.”

I glanced at her and nodded. “My apologies. Twenty-two. Red hair, fair complexion—”

“Yes, we see all of that in the photo,” Bauer snapped. “But why would the demons take her?”

I stowed my initial defensive reaction to his tone. Replying with my own, more educated rhetoric of retaliation would serve nobody. Least of all, Omaera. “My apologies.” I gave a slight head bow. “She and Omaera are roommates. We believe they took her for one of two reasons. Either as leverage or bait to draw Omaera out, or simply in error. They thought she was Omaera.”

Arik nodded.

Bauer shook his head. “Wouldn’t they smell she wasn’t a demon?

“You’d think,” Arik said. “Who knows how these fuckers work?” He sniffed Gemma’s hoodie. “When they realize the human is neither the Queen, nor a demon, what do you think they will do with her?”

“We’re hoping they contact us to attempt an exchange,” I said. “Killing Gemma will only cause Omaera to go deeper into hiding.”

“No, it won’t,” Omaera said with more fire. “I’m already out for blood after what they did to Delia. This will just make me rain down even more. They killed one of the two people in my life who have ever given a damn about me. And now they’ve kidnapped the other one. If they kill her, I will burn this fucking earth to the ground to get to them and make them pay.” Her gaze landed on me. “And I mean everyone involved. And that goes for those who stand in my way.”

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment, processing the gravity of what she just said.

“Well, we need to be proactive,” Bauer said. “We can’t just sit around hoping they get into contact with us and set up a meeting for an exchange. I doubt they went far. Chances are they’ll have taken her somewhere nearby. The longer the transport, the more room for error.”

Arik nodded. “I agree. I’m not picking up her scent at the moment, but once I get outside I probably will. Cross your fingers that it doesn’t rain. That will make things more challenging.”

“The best thing for you to do is stay put,” Bauer said, addressing Omaera. “Even though demons can only be killed by beheading, if you’re out and about, that puts a target on your back.”

“I’d like to know why they’re coming after you,” Arik added. “What exactly is their motive?”

“We speculate it’s Lerris Byrche,” I said. “King Donovar’s brother. Nobody knew Donovar had an heir. So when he died and the power and title were transferred to Omaera and not Lerris, we’re assuming he set out to find her and usurp the throne.”

“All speculation of course,” Bauer said with a harsh glare my way.

“Of course, but it makes sense. Who else would have motive to go after Omaera? And why now?”

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