Page 35 of Dead

“I asked for your help at dinner. I told you I had something important to discuss with you. But you blew me off. And then your secretary didn’t have an appointment open for weeks. Your call to the palace was my last chance… either give them what they wanted or lose my father.”

“You sacrificed me for him.”

Varian shook his head. “With all your guards and your power… I knew you had a chance to stop the assassins. They have my father. I have no one to stop them from killing him.”

“Placing that spell could’ve meant the end of Midnight.”

“What if it had been your father?”

Adriel blanched.

Varian’s face fell. “I only wanted to save him.”

Adriel knew there was some kind of twisted logic in Varian’s thinking. In the same position, what would he have done to save his own father?

Or Eilam?

Noah?

The fact the two shifters were never far from his mind troubled him. He shoved the thoughts aside. He spied his cousin and met the man’s gaze. Varian had tried to talk to him several times the night of the dinner, but he’d been too busy having fun. If this was true—he was just as much to blame for what happened.

Adriel turned to Theis. “Gather as much information from him as possible. Check in with the Midnight police and let’s push the team searching for Ralnur. Make sure they have everything they need to do their job.” He wouldn’t bear the weight of Ralnur’s death if the pair weren’t truly a part of the conspiracy. “Wait… I haven’t seen Valen these past two visits.”

“He’s checking in on an issue at one of the terminals.”

“My gods, is the whole city falling apart?” Adriel asked.

“There was a problem at one of the portals. Valen went down to check it,” Theis said, frowning. “Though we likely should’ve heard back from him by now. I’ll check in on him and find out what’s wrong.”

“Good. Update me if you learn of anything.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Theis said before Adriel swept from the room.

Adriel headed for his cauldron. He shouldn’t have expected Varian to do what he should’ve done in the first place.

It was time to brew a locator spell.

* * * *

Hours passed. Dawn broke outside the window, but Noah couldn’t be sure what time it truly was. He watched the outside, the water lapping against the shore, worried about the king. “What if he doesn’t come back for us?”

“He’ll come back,” Eilam said, rising to his feet.

Noah turned and watched as Eilam stretched his body.

“I’m going to head down to the shore and shift. It’ll help repair a few things. Come with?”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “Anything to get out of this house for a few minutes.”

Noah walked before Eilam, careful to protect his brother bear from a fall. Eilam appeared to be good on his feet, but Noah wasn’t risking it. Once they reached the beach, Eilam peeled off his clothing and shifted.

Fur sprouted over his arms and legs, his limbs twisting. His face became a maw, teeth elongating. When the shift was complete, Noah shifted as well before they padded down the soft beach. With every step, Noah sensed Eilam was nearing full strength. The shift would likely be the last key to get him the final bit.

Noah was forever thankful for a shifter’s speedy healing, never more than now. He remembered how his human father had broken a leg and something as simple as that had taken weeks of healing.

A human would’ve never survived what Eilam had experienced.

After a good thirty minutes of walking, Eilam shifted back into his human form and walked naked into the sea. He turned, smiling, and urged Noah to follow. Noah peeled off the pants the king had given him and then trudged into the water.

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