“This isn’t a joke.” Daniel looked grim in the morning light. Despite the fact that he’s the ultimate vampire in our world, he’s not inhibited by the normal daylight issues. Most vampires would go poof in the light of day and leave behind nothing more than a pile of ash for our butler to vacuum up, but Daniel didn’t worry about UV rays. Feeding off Devinshea’s unique blood and sexual energy had given him the ability to daywalk. “Dev’s been missing for half a day now.”
“Missing is a very specific word, Your Highness,” a silky voice said.
I forced myself not to shudder at the sound of Myrddin Emrys speaking. The centuries-old wizard had once gone by another name. He’d been known as Merlin and he’d served as the advisor and teacher of a king named Arthur. There had been others who’d wielded the legendary sword, Excalibur, but Arthur was the most famous of them. Myrddin was tied to the sword. When the Lady of the Lake had given my husband Excalibur, Myrddin had become Daniel’s mentor, though he’d ignored us for almost a decade. I’d been perfectly happy with his absence.
When he’d walked through the doors of the Council building, into my home, I realized those years had been nothing more than a pause. Someone had hit play again, and I had to deal with a man who had far too much power over my husband.
I had to deal with the fact that Myrddin Emrys was dangerous, and no one believed me with the exception of Kelsey and my eleven-year-old son, Lee.
The good news was Kelsey is a badass. She serves as the sheriff of the supernatural world, though her technical title is Nex Apparatus. She’s a Hunter, which basically means her human momma got busy with a lone wolf who forgot to wear a condom. Her father had been one of the greatest men I’d ever met, and now I understood Myrddin had a hand in his death. He’d set up my former bodyguard to die because of a prophecy that claimed he could kill the wizard.
What he didn’t know—what Myrddin couldn’t ever know—was that Lee Owens’s soul now resided in his namesake. My son. My reckless, wonderful son was one of two beings in all the planes who might be able to kill the wizard.
According to Kelsey, Myrddin had gotten rid of the other potential slayer by sending him off the plane along with his mother. So my son was now the only person on the Earth plane who could harm the wizard. It made my Lee a big target.
“I’m not sure what other word I would use. Devinshea didn’t come home last night.” Daniel had turned to his mentor. “We know he left the hotel after the fertility ceremony. He stayed in the suite with Kelsey, Gray, and Trent for a couple of hours and then he left. It took him roughly fifteen minutes to walk back to our building.”
“Dev’s really missing?” Neil’s blue eyes went wide and he turned to me. “I saw him before he left with Kelsey and the guys. He seemed perfectly fine.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t have a driver,” Myrddin murmured. “At that time of night there are any number of criminal elements about. He didn’t have a bodyguard with him?”
That last question came with a sly look Zack’s way. Zack was in charge of the Council’s security. It was often a thankless job, especially when it came to the royal family.
“I offered to go with him,” Zack said.
“Dev didn’t want to stop the party.” I’d been there when Dev left. I’d kissed him and he’d promised he would be ready to play some fertility games with me when he got back. I wasn’t about to throw Zack under a bus. He hadn’t done anything wrong. “And this is a safe part of town. Dev knows how to handle himself. He doesn’t have a bodyguard on him twenty-four seven. He made it back to the building according to the security cameras. They didn’t go out until after he walked in.”
Even if he’d had trouble on the streets, he wasn’t exactly an easy target. My faery prince hubby is pretty much a demigod. Years before he’d taken the ancient Irish deity Bris into his body, and the fertility god gave Dev supercharged powers that went beyond the ability to make people horny. Though don’t discount that. It can be difficult to focus on battle when you suddenly want to get down and