The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,190

asked the question again, and then phrased the same question in a different way, but Benji, even under glamour, couldn’t say why he answered to them.

And it became clear that several months of the boy’s young life were simply gone. He couldn’t say when he’d been here last. When he last drank any liquor. All he could repeat was that he answered to Queen Morgana, that he served the Winter Court, and that he only knew one name.

“Who is the Ancient who represents the Winter Court.”

“Neal,” he said. “I answer to Neal.”

* * * *

After we left, Benji returned to his former state of hissing, snapping at the air, and threatening to kill everyone. We’d moved to one of the many meeting rooms on the first floor. Kalen and Faye sat beside Fabian, who was seated at one end of the table. Tink had moved off to the common area, where he could receive his daily dose of unfettered admiration. The fae loved him something fierce and were almost always in a constant state of awe around him, partly due to the fact that many had never seen a brownie. Ren was beside me, and Ivy was supposed to head over once she was done with her meeting with Miles. Fabian sat to my left at the other end of the table, and beside him, across from me, was Tanner. Where everyone was seated seemed to be important because when Caden pulled out my chair, every fae in the room stared as if he’d kissed me in front of them once more.

“Even under glamour, Benji couldn’t answer why he serves the Winter Court,” Caden told the room. “He doesn’t know, not on an conscious or subconscious level.”

“He has no memory. It’s like his life has simply been wiped away,” I said. “The only thing I’ve seen like that is a few humans who’ve been fed on and under glamour for long periods, but still, never to this level.”

“I haven’t seen it either,” Ren agreed. “Could it be the Devil’s Breath then?”

“It would have to be,” Fabian answered. “I cannot think of anything that would strip the will and thoughts so deeply.”

“They basically become a minion of the Winter Court without reason.” Ren dragged his hand through his hair. “This isn’t good.”

That was the understatement of the year.

I looked over at Caden. “He knew Neal’s name, though. That was the only other name he could say.”

Caden nodded. “That doesn’t tell us if Neal is still in the city or active. I couldn’t get anything else out of Benji.”

“And we already knew that Neal was involved and have checked out his bar. There was no sign of the Devil’s Breath there,” Fabian stated, his fingers tapping on the table.

“We need to find Neal,” I said, thinking more in terms of how I would do it if this were something the Order was handling. “He has to be the key here.”

“We’ve been searching the city, as has the Order,” Tanner said, nodding at Ren. “If he’s still here, he’s gone to ground. But with Aric’s death, I’m willing to bet he’s left the city.”

“It’s not like there aren’t places he can hide that we haven’t looked or thought to check,” Ren pointed out. “And given how many Winter fae are here, he’d have a lot of help doing so.”

“I’m in need of refreshments.” Tanner rose. “What would everyone like?”

Ren and Caden asked for water. Fabian and Kalen had gone for a soda, and my tongue tingled at the thought of carbonated goodness. I knew one soda wouldn’t harm the baby, so I requested one too.

Tanner nodded. “Faye, why don’t you help me?”

She blinked as if coming out of a daze and rose. I nibbled on my lip, watching her follow Tanner out. I wasn’t the only one whose eyes were glued to her. Kalen had been like a hawk where she was concerned, his gaze flickering to her every few seconds.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” I asked when the door closed behind them.

“They were close, more like siblings than cousins.” Kalen tipped his head back. “She’ll be okay. Eventually.”

Eventually always sounded manageable, except it could be a lifetime from now.

“So you think there’s no hope for this kid?” Fabian asked.

“All of the others who consumed Devil’s Breath had to be…put down,” Caden said, his elbow propped on the arm of the chair as he dragged his thumb along his lower lip. “I imagine if Benji hadn’t been restrained, the same would’ve happened