The Rebel Queen (Outlaw #1) - Lexi Blake Page 0,122

I don’t want Myrddin to know we’ve healed you. It’s better to let him think the curse is still working on you or he might have questions we don’t want to answer.”

“Yes, this is how it must go,” Sasha agreed. “I will also remain here in Frelsi in case this is some kind of trick to leave us unprotected.”

“Sasha, I know you couldn’t be at the actual meeting, but I would rather have you with us,” Danny began.

The Russian was quiet for a moment. “I can’t, Your Highness. It’s too close. The temptation to see her… I cannot risk that my heart would overrule my head.”

“Your daughter.” Danny sighed. He’d forgotten where Sasha’s daughter lived. “I’m sorry. She’s in Dallas. You’re right. We need to protect Frelsi. If you don’t mind my asking, have you been able to keep up with her at all? Her name is Tasha, right?”

The saddest smile crossed the Russian’s handsome face. “Yes, Natasha, but she still goes by Tasha. She is well. She’s a freshman in college and very beloved. Her guardi…her parents adore her and she’s happy with her siblings. She would not even remember what I look like after all this time, but I fear there are many in Dallas who would. I have watched them all, you know. Watched the men who became my brothers, watched them marry and build families. Whatever we went through, it was worth it because there was a good life on the other side. I struggled in the beginning, but I have hope now.”

Rhys turned Sasha’s way. “I know what you sacrificed. I am grateful to the goddess for sending you to us.”

“So very grateful,” Daniel said.

“It has been my honor, but I will say that I’ll be happy when this war is over.” Sasha pushed his chair back. “I would like to know what proper vampire society looks like. And I would like to travel a bit. In style this time. We did not do first class when we were running across the planes.”

“Trust me. You’ll have all the first class you can get,” Dev promised as he pushed back from the table. “I’m going to call and make sure our plane is going to be ready. That means taking the portal to the outside world. I might be late for supper.”

Daniel stood. “I’ll go with you.”

One by one they left, eager to get to work. Dinner would come soon, and I was thinking seriously about asking for a tray in my room. I didn’t know if I could sit at the table with Lee and not break down in tears. Then Rhys would want to know what had happened, and he would hate me, too.

“Are you all right, my darlin’?”

My father was the only one left at the table. I gave him a wan smile. “I’m as good as I can possibly be.”

“Something’s happened,” he said. Shy’s big brown eyes seemed to look into my soul. It was odd to be talking to my father and looking at the gorgeous woman my son was infatuated with. “I saw Lee earlier. He told me he was good, too.”

I thought seriously about getting up and basically running to my bedroom, but knowing my dad he would simply follow me. If he truly thought something was wrong, he wouldn’t care about privacy. “Lee found out I’ve been investigating ways to change the timeline.”

Shy’s head dropped back as my father unleashed a frustrated groan. “Damn it, Zoey. I was hoping you would keep that nonsense to yourself.”

“It’s not nonsense, and I tried to. It turns out Lee’s still excellent at eavesdropping and spying. I suspect someone’s given him a charm or a spell of some kind or Danny would have known he was coming.” I wasn’t used to anything getting through Danny’s senses, but even as a child Lee had found ways around anything in his path.

“They’ve been working on some spells that fool supernatural senses. Lee tries them out all the time. He’s always looking for an advantage in a fight. It’s what happens when a human has to survive in the supernatural world. I should know. Like you and Lee, I grew up in this world. I wasn’t a child, but I was young when I first learned there was something beyond the human world we knew, and I was eager to explore it. I learned quickly how dangerous it could be.”

I knew most of his stories. He’d fallen into this world. Even when he’d been young,