Page 110 of Death and Donuts

“No. However, he is one of my people, and I can easily find and detain him for you.”

“The only promises you know to give are broken ones,” Cross said.

“Ah, but not to get what I want,” Orphia said. Her gaze and tone turned hard. “If you refuse to discuss the inequality of the races, you will suffer the consequences as we have.

“Werewolves prosper because of their anonymity. I wonder how loving the public will be if a list of werewolf names and locations is released. I doubt your efforts to paint yourselves as human-loving creatures will hold long when the public understands the reason for your very existence is to kill.”

“Kill vampires,” Shepard said.

“Considering the number of people who willingly gave their lives for a chance to become immortal, I don’t believe that will endear you to anyone.”

Orphia’s gaze moved to the fae queen.

“Effora, likewise, I believe your precious humans would have a completely different view of your kind if they knew how many you’ve purchased over the decades. These before and after pictures are truly something to behold.”

Pictures of people replaced Orphia’s face. Each one showed a healthy, happy person and then an emaciated version of that person. I thought back to every fae who had ever hit on me at Blur and felt a surge of revulsion.

“I believe I’ve given you all enough reason to meet with me, have I not?” Orphia said. “Vampires want the same as all the other races: freedom to live and feed openly without persecution. You have twenty-four hours to set a time and place before I release everything I’ve promised. And during the fallout, my people will show the world the kind of killers you’ve painted us to be.”

The screen went black, and Orphia’s representative placed the tablet back into her purse.

“It would be wise to meet with my queen to give her what she wants. If you comply, she will ensure your lives don’t change. Defy her, and my queen will ensure your lives fall apart.”

Xiana swept out of the room as quickly as she’d entered and spoke to the guards who were still making out in the hallway. They jerked apart and wiped at their mouths as they glared after her.

“Close the door, please,” Hugh said calmly.

Once they did, he looked at Curran, Effora, Shepard, and Cross. “I believe she seeks to sway the unfavorable opinion of her people’s existence as a distraction to obtain all of the rings, which we cannot allow.”

“Agreed,” Shepard said.

“I agree as well,” Effora said as she stood. “I wish you all well in your quest.”

“Does that mean you no longer want to be welcomed by humankind?” I asked. My gaze shifted from her to Hugh. “I believe you said, ‘Any who do not wish to contribute to correcting this situation will no longer be welcomed by my kind.’ Right?”

Effora eyed me. “Know your place, human.”

A low growl came from Shepard, which only amused Effora.

“Such a virile beast,” she said and aimed a sly grin at him.

“Everly is right, Effora,” Cross said. “We need your help.”

Vena held out the crystal scry to Effora. “Maybe you can’t hunt like a werewolf or kick ass like a dwarf, but you can do magic. So help us by putting a better spell on this thing. It finds every black cat, but not Adriel.”

Effora looked at it with a frown. “You get what you pay for. And sadly, this is a cheap toy.” From the depths of her cleavage, she pulled out a crystal on a silver chain necklace and held it in her palm. I could clearly see the difference in quality between her stone and Vena’s.

I felt the surge of electric energy in the room as Effora silently cast her spell. After, she handed it to Vena.

“It will locate clusters of vampires. Happy hunting.”

“I want Adriel, not a bunch of vampires,” Vena complained. “Redo the spell.”

“I will not. This is your best chance at finding the one you seek. Beyond the low quality of your scry, why do you think it located all black cats and not the single one you want? Scrying can be a useful tool, but they are not all-seeing. The bigger the nest of vampires, the better the scry will work.”

Vena slipped the necklace on with a grumbled thanks.

“One more thing about the scry,” Effora said as an afterthought. “Only a human should wield it since it focuses on otherworlders’ blood.”

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