Page 45 of Death and Donuts

“Do we have any choice?” Indri asked bitterly.

“Daughter, please,” Curran said with a sigh.

Before Indri could say anything else, I asked, “Where are Mr. and Mrs. Hunter?”

“We were unsure what to do with them, given the situation,” Indri said. “Would you care to see them?”

“Please. I would like to explain what happened. They must be scared and confused.”

Indri nodded and rang a silver bell with a ruby handle. A panel on the wall opened, and a butler entered. When Cross and Shepard had us locked in here, they hadn’t known about the hidden door. Were we safe here?

“We’re ready for dinner,” Indri said. “Escort the Hunters, please.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I satat the ornately carved, gold-gilded dining table that could easily seat thirty people and fought not to fidget. It felt weird with only the three of us, but my discomfort evaporated when the Hunters appeared.

“Everly!” Mrs. Hunter cried when she saw me. I stood quickly to receive her desperate embrace.

“It’s okay,” I said softly. “Miles will be okay.”

She pulled back to look me in the eyes. “He didn’t do it, Everly. He would never kill someone.”

I didn’t want to have this conversation with them, but they couldn’t remain in the dark forever. So, I took her hands and met her gaze.

“Normally, Miles wouldn’t,” I said. “But he’s not exactly himself.”

She frowned. Behind her, Mr. Hunter did the same.

“Let’s sit,” I said. “This is going to take some time to explain.”

I started from the beginning—Miles sending us on an exploratory hunt to check the validity of the information he’d provided. In some spots, I kept the details vague to protect Cross and to keep Vena from getting into trouble. But I stuckwith the raw truth about Miles going missing and why we hadn’t immediately called them.

Mr. and Mrs. Hunter listened silently, along with the king and the princess. I paused whenever servers brought in the next course but otherwise continued to the end. Or what I’d thought had been the end.

“We all saw him die. The connection Adriel had with Miles should have been gone. We thought it was. I’m so sorry.”

Mrs. Hunter looked down at her untouched lamb steak.

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “It’s not Vena’s or Miles’ either. It’s ours for letting our kids believe we would have scolded them instead of helping them.” Mr. Hunter’s hand covered hers. Comforting her. “We’ve lost our parents; we won’t lose our kids.”

Mr. Hunter nodded. “I believe the rings are what my parents had been working on before they disappeared. Each ring possesses a special stone created to ensure the four races have equality.”

I realized what he meant. The stones in the back of the book Vena and I had found had been labeled for each of the primary races. Those were the stones in the rings.

“Is that why the vampires are after the rings?” I asked. “Because they don’t want equality between the races anymore?”

It didn’t exactly make sense, though, since the vampires were definitely not equals. They hid in the shadows while the fae played in the daylight. Even the werewolves were carefully cautious about exposing themselves.

“In a sense,” the king said. “And I think that’s all I can safely say on the subject. As you’ve learned, it’s a dangerous topic.”

“Agreed,” Mrs. Hunter said. “I do have a few questions for you unrelated to the rings or vampires, Everly.”

“Ask me anything,” I said.

“So Shepard is the Alpha werewolf?”

I nodded hesitantly, hoping I wasn’t giving away something that should be kept secret.

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