The Rebel Queen (Outlaw #1) - Lexi Blake Page 0,144

podcasts about her.”

“They can’t ever know.” I wished I could send the poor man a letter explaining that the woman he’d known as Dana Johnson was happily married to a vampire version of himself on another plane of existence. Her family had to wonder what happened to her. They would never know she’d had a son and he was here to save them all.

“It makes you wonder how many of those people who vanished off the face of the earth actually vanished off the face of the Earth plane,” Lee mused. “That would be an interesting true crime series. Anyway, I think it shook him, but he doesn’t consider Myrddin to be his father in any real sense of the word. I’ll keep an eye on him. And hey, when I turn, I’ll be able to keep two eyes on him.”

My son was ever the sarcastic one. He’d come by it honestly. “Did anyone deal with the Fae who took your eye?”

He kept walking. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not looking for revenge. In some ways they were simply doing their jobs. I injured them enough that I was able to do mine and get Rhys out of there. That’s what mattered. Also I’m going to be honest again, Momma. Ogres pretty much all look alike to me, so it would be hard for me to be sure I was getting revenge on the right one. Evan tells me that’s speciest of me, but I thought that even before I lost my eye to one of them. Don’t get me wrong. I know maybe somewhere out there is a happy, nonviolent ogre commune, but I haven’t found it yet. Every last one of those fuckers I’ve met have tried to eat me.”

“I’m proud of you for saving your brother,” I said quietly.

“Well, you taught us to watch out for each other,” he replied. “Rhys and Evan and Fen have all saved me at one point. I know it was rough, but some of it was good. I think all childhoods are like that. I know most kids don’t have to fight demons and ogres, but they all have bad shit happen. They have bullies and losses and anxiety. All children have to learn to survive in the real world.”

His real world was a dangerous one, but then it always had been. “I’m so glad you had each other.”

“And I’m glad you had Dad and Grandad when you were growing up. I’m going to miss that old man, but I think Rhys and Shy have a shot now. I can give him hell about the romantic crap.”

“Don’t you dare. You let them find their way.” I used my best mom voice on him. I could be worse than any ogre.

“I’m joking. You have to let us give each other shit,” he said and then fell silent. “How did Kelsey handle Marcus staying behind? I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her before she left.”

I had wondered if he felt like she’d left him again just as she’d gotten back. “She wasn’t trying to ignore you. She needed to see Trent.”

“I know that. She asked me to go with her.”

Now it was my turn to be silent. I hadn’t realized she’d asked him. I understood why Evan had gone. Fenrir needed to get to know his mom again and he needed Evan. But it felt wrong to try to take Lee, too.

“Don’t go all jealous on me. I chose to stay with you. I worry about her though. She and Marcus were close for a lot of years, and well, I worry about her because Gray’s different since he started descending. I don’t know how she’ll handle it.”

We kept hiking along, and I could faintly hear the hum of the road above us. “Different how?”

“Darker.” Lee’s voice softened as though he knew we were getting closer to our destination. “He started his descents because he wanted to know what was happening on the Hell plane, and for a few years he was open about it. In the last couple, he’s started missing meetings with Trent. We know he’s alive and walking the plane, but I think it’s been at least eighteen months since Trent’s seen him.”

Kelsey was pregnant with Gray’s baby. What was regularly visiting Hell doing to Grayson Sloane? He was a half demon, and being forced to live on the Hell plane had been something that Gray had feared all his life. “Does Trent have any way to