again?”
“Well, you would be conscious this time,” I pointed out. “And you would also be in a place of peace, so we should be able to nullify Myrddin’s magic.”
“If he agrees to it, which he likely will not,” Dev countered.
“I don’t know about that.” Danny’s eyes met mine, and I knew when he’d been keeping something.
“He’s already contacted you.” That hadn’t taken long. “When?”
Dev’s glare could have roasted our whole dinner. “When he asked me to speak privately with the alpha about future locations for meetings with the other European packs. I should have realized something was going on when you disappeared with the she-wolf. Is she a spy?”
“No, she doesn’t need to spy. Myrddin contacted her over the Dark Web. He sent the message out to the Irish wolves, too. There isn’t a pack here in Iceland that isn’t connected to me, so those were his two best bets.” Danny stood and started to pace. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted to discuss it with our wife, and you know damn well if the two of us talk we generally make a decision and then inform her. I’m not making the same mistakes this time around.”
It was good to know that he was thinking about how the first time had gone. He and Dev had been excellent at making decisions that affected me without ever asking my opinion. But then I’d done the same to them. I had to learn from my mistakes, too. “What did Myrddin want?”
“He wanted to meet,” Danny admitted. “I think he hoped I would be the one in the city today. He obviously had it all planned out. I have to think he’s got a witch he can work with in most of the major cities. He waited until one of us was sighted and then he worked his magic. Like I said, I think he would have preferred me or Dev, but it’s a sign of desperation that he was willing to try it with you.”
“Not that you aren’t the prettiest of us.” Dev always tried to soften Danny’s edges.
He didn’t need to in this case. I wasn’t offended that I was the last royal the asshole magician wanted to deal with. It was a point of pride that most people avoided dealing with me if they could. “Well, the witch must be good because Neil couldn’t tell he wasn’t corporeal. It was an excellent illusion. And he had it focused. Dean saw him. Lee couldn’t, but Dean could. And by the way, he did mention that he was surprised Lee was still human.”
Dev’s gasp let me know he hadn’t been in on that secret.
Danny’s eyes widened, and it was obvious he knew he was in serious trouble. “Z, I was under the influence of that stone. It made me think I was safe with him.”
Dev stood and faced him. “And you weren’t safe with me? Lee is our son. You knew he was a latent and you didn’t tell us but you talked to him?”
“I wasn’t sure.” Danny huffed as he tried to find a way out. “You can’t tell before puberty. At least I’ve never been able to. Look, I started to suspect it because of his behavior, but then I thought maybe it was wishful thinking.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Dev asked.
I knew exactly what he meant and how Dev would take it. Sometimes I could translate for both of them. “It means he didn’t have a biological child, and while that didn’t stop him from loving the ones we did have, a part of himself envied us. The boys look exactly like you, and Evan resembles me. He’s not making light of our family. He’s being honest with us about something he doesn’t want to admit.”
“Okay, I do understand that.” Dev’s tone softened.
Danny sent me a half smile. “Thanks, Z. I was afraid I was seeing something that might not be there. And then Lee said something to me. Not our Lee. This happened when his soul remembered that he’d been…well, our Lee, but older and more cranky. He told me he sensed something different about himself, that he thought something was wrong with him and he was worried. He asked me to watch him. I promised I would. Like I said, I had suspicions already.”
“Suspicions you didn’t bring to us,” Dev accused.
“I had my reasons for that. I explained it to you. What you’re really upset about is that I told Myrddin. I can’t explain that