Page 196 of Primal Bonds

“No. That’s not one of our traditions. We honor our dead with a special ceremony, but that’s all.”

“Ah.” Langdon contemplated the blood-red wine in his glass. “I had three sons, once. But you know that.”

“Mm.” Adric’s nape tightened. He willed his heartbeat to stay steady.

“And they’re all dead. I know what you fada say about the night fae. That we’re heartless. That we feed on the darkness in others.”

Because you do.

“But we love our children as much as you do. I’ve seen six hundred turns of the sun, and in that time I’ve only been blessed with the three sons. And now they’ve all passed to the other side…before their time.” The prince’s black eyes burned into Adric’s.

He felt an unwilling twinge of sympathy. The man was genuinely grieving. But that didn’t mean his son Tyrus didn’t deserve to be dead.

“Look,” he said, “I’m sorry for your loss, but I want you out of Baltimore. This is my town now. Whatever deal you had with my uncle is null and void.”

Langdon’s eyes blazed red. “You think to tell me what to do? A prince with a lineage going back a thousand turns of the sun?”

Adric bared his fangs. He might be young, but the Darktime had been a crash course in eat-or-be-eaten. “I’m not looking for trouble, your highness. But if you bring it to my doorstep, I’ll fight back with everything I have. Are we clear on that?”

The prince took a sip of wine—and changed the subject. “One of my sons had a daughter. Merry Jones.”

Jace didn’t move, but Adric heard his heart speed up. Langdon’s son Silver had mated with Jace’s only sister, Takira. Their daughter was Jace’s thirteen-year-old niece Merry.

The prince’s gaze flicked to Jace, no doubt detecting the lieutenant’s agitation with his night fae senses.

“We were told she died in a fire.” Adric was careful not to lie. He had been told that Merry Jones died in a fire. In fact, he and Jace had believed for years that the girl was dead.

“A fire set by night fae assassins.” Jace’s voice was a harsh scrape.

Those assassins had also killed first Takira and later, Silver. Only Merry had escaped. And it had been Lord Tyrus who’d set the assassins on them, because Silver was Tyrus’s half-brother and Tyrus didn’t want any competition for Langdon’s throne.

The prince leveled a stare at Adric. “We all know that isn’t true. Merry Jones is alive and living at Rock Run. I’m also aware that you see her regularly.” He glanced at Jace. “Both of you. I’m sure the Rock Run fada told you about the ward I set, a ward of protection keyed to her quartz. If any of my people try to harm her—if they even lay hands on her without her express permission—they die.”

He waited until Adric nodded, then added, “That should be proof enough that I wish the girl no harm. I made no exceptions with the ward except for myself. Even my son Tyrus knew he’d die if he tried to touch her again.”

“I know this, yes,” Adric said, confused now. Where was Langdon going with this?

The prince’s jaw worked. “Tyrus went too far.”

“He did. But what does this have to do with Mer—?”

Langdon leaned forward, cutting him off. “You killed my son. We both know it.”

“No. I didn’t.”

Langdon waved that aside. “Oh, you didn’t do the deed yourself. But someone in your clan did. I’ve traced him to Baltimore. He hasn’t been seen since. And recently, I received some information from one of your former clan members. Corban, his name is.”

Adric went rigid. Because it was Marjani they were talking about—and he had the bad feeling that Langdon had picked up his sudden tension with those Spidey-senses of his.

Damn you, Corban. What have you done?

He set his hands on the table. “Get out of my town. You’re not welcome here.”

Langdon sat back. “What would the other fae think if I informed them your sister had killed my last surviving son?”

Adric narrowed his eyes. “They’d think it was your son’s own fucking fault for sending assassins to off my lieutenant.”

Jace growled. After all, he was the lieutenant that Tyrus had targeted. “We know who had your other two sons assassinated,” he said. “Tyrus didn’t want any rivals for your title, did he?”

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