Page 79 of Hidden

He nodded, then blinked as a curtain of hair fell in his face. He’d lost his hair clip and with his hands bound, he couldn’t push the long mop out of his eyes.

“Move.” Errata pushed again, but more gently this time. “We’ll get you out of here.”

That seemed to be enough to convince him to cooperate. They started toward the road, the fae walking at a smooth pace now that he had someone helping him. Izetta fell in behind them, but paused when a dull sheen of silver caught her eye. The fae’s hair clip. She picked it up, shoving it in her pocket, and hurried to catch up.

She took over steering the fae when they reached the road, where the vamps and wolves waited for the vampire scouts to report back. It was only then she noticed Errata’s amulet was gone.

“Where’s your amulet?” Izetta asked.

The werecougar put a hand to her throat and cursed. She was trapped inside the perimeter.

“He must have broken the clasp when he grabbed it.” The cat gave the fae a shove.

“Retrace your steps,” Izetta suggested. “I can manage our prisoner from here.”

With a sharp nod, Errata turned back and Izetta guided the bound fae to the road. She felt a faint tingle as she stepped from the forest, as if she’d passed through a magnetic field. Even if the perimeter spell didn’t zap the Undead to a crisp, it sent a shiver of dread down her spine.

“Who is this?” Malatest asked as they approached.

He leaned against the front of his car, checking the edge of a sleek-looking boot knife. Izetta had to hand it to Malatest—when the going got nasty, he wasn’t afraid to pitch in. More vampires drifted aimlessly around the double row of vehicles—vamps on one side, wolves on the other—waiting for orders.

“We found him scampering toward freedom and decided to help him along.” Izetta finally let the fae go.

The fae glanced from Malatest to Izetta, blinking through his hair. Though he was still cuffed, he seemed to catch his balance more quickly now, as if the sleep spell was finally letting go.

“Who are you?” Malatest asked, straightening from his slouch with the grace of a serpent. He still held the knife.

The fae didn’t answer immediately, seeming to frame his reply before he spoke. “I am Captain Teegar.”

“And why should we let you live?”

“I’m not your enemy. I was taken captive and held illegally.”

“By your pointy-eared king?” Malatest poked him with the knife tip. “How many fae kings are there again? Four for the light and four for the dark? I can never keep track.”

Teegar flinched at the flagrant lack of respect, but wisely held his temper in check. “I was taken by the agents of Lord Farras. He is a traitor with designs on the life of His Royal Majesty.”

“Is that who is having the party?” Malatest continued. “This Farras guy? Who is he, besides a traitor?”

Teegar shrugged. “Humans would call him a confidence man, except with more killing.”

A brief silence followed the statement. Malatest looked impressed.

“How did you get out of the way station?” Izetta asked. “I’ve been in that dungeon. It’s no joke.”

“A wolf shifter woke me from the spell. He was not working alone.”

“Rafe?”

“Devries,” Malatest called. “You need to hear this.”

Rafe’s father emerged from behind one of the pickup trucks. “What?”

“News of your boy.” Malatest pointed the tip of his knife at Teegar.

The fae licked his lips, clearly nervous. “He called himself Rafe. He woke me and led me to freedom.”

Devries huffed out a relieved breath. Izetta felt a knot inside her loosen, but not by much. She still had too many questions to relax. The first was why this captain of the Royal Guard hadn’t even asked what an army of supernatural predators was doing on the way station’s doorstep.

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