Nerissa and I had agreed, when we realized we were serious, that our hearts belonged to each other. Other women were off-limits, but we could play with the boys as long as it didn’t get emotionally serious. I knew she had a male partner, too—a Were of some sort, though I hadn’t met him yet. We had a real go-round about that one, because apparently my inner idiot believed in double standards. But we had come to a truce, though at some point we were going to have to figure out better rules for coping with the issue.
Roman sensed my need and pressed closer. “If you can carve out an hour or two when I get back . . .” And then, reluctantly, he let me go and returned to his desk. “I’d better get a few of these things out of the way so I can be ready to leave when I wake up tonight. Menolly, fear not. There’s absolutely no question of the Vampire Nation doing its part. This is our world, too. And we have no desire to be under Shadow Wing’s rule.” And with that, he blew me a kiss and went back to work.
On the way home, I thought about his words. This is our world, too. Vampires and Supes and Fae and humans. We all had to work together to keep it from the demons. But there was no way we could enlist the majority of humans, who were too busy fighting their own wars among themselves. And even if they did listen to us, there was no way the majority would trust us to lead the battle.
I reached the house and hurried inside. It was five ten. I was cutting it close. Delilah was dozing in the living room—asleep on the sofa. I wasn’t sure where Camille was. Hanna was awake, and she had covered them both with afghans. She motioned for me to join her in the kitchen.
“There was a call for you in the Whispering Mirror. I tried to wake up your sister, but she’s dead to the world. You girls have been pushing yourselves too hard. Fae or not, none of you can go on like this.”
“Who was it?”
“I have no idea. I’m not authorized to activate the mirror. But I thought you should know.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Hanna. I’ll check the call log and see if I can figure out who it was before I head downstairs.” I bustled into the parlor where we had stowed the Whispering Mirror so it would be out of the way and yet easily accessible. Another glance at the clock told me I had twenty minutes at best before I needed to be downstairs and in my bed.
I slid in front of the mirror, settling on the bench. I couldn’t see my reflection—and whoever was on the other end wouldn’t be able to, either—but that didn’t mean my voice wouldn’t carry through the miles and worlds. I said my name. The mirror was voice activated, keyed to Camille, Delilah, Nerissa, Iris, and me. After a moment, the mist in the silver-framed mirror cleared. Most likely, it had been Trenyth on the other side. The mirror was tuned to Elqaneve.
A moment later, a harried elf appeared in the mirror. He looked confused. “Yes? Who’s calling? Identify yourself.”
“This is Menolly D’Artigo. I’m a vampire; you aren’t going to be able to see me. My sisters aren’t available right now. I needed to find out if Trenyth called us before I head down into sleep for the day, so if you could hurry, I would appreciate it.”
Another moment passed, the elf still looking confused, but then he stood and trundled off out of sight. I waited, tapping my foot on the floor. If he didn’t get his ass back, I was going to have to end the call. But just as I was gearing up to shut the mirror down, Trenyth appeared.
“I was worried—I seldom call this early and don’t get an answer.”
“Delilah’s asleep and Camille’s out. And I was over at Roman’s. So you were the one who called?”
He nodded. “Yes, it was me.”
I rushed on. “You need to hurry. It’s near sunrise and I have to get my ass down to bed.”
“I have some sobering news, Menolly. Can you wake your sisters? I’d rather tell you all at the same time. And what about the men?” He glanced beyond me—Trenyth was fully aware of why I wasn’t showing up in the mirror—straining as he looked to see who all was here.
“I’m alone right now and only have a few minutes before I have to get down in my lair. Can it keep till sunset tonight?”
He frowned, then shrugged. “I suppose it will have to. But first thing, contact me. I’ll be waiting. We have some new information from the Subterranean Realms, and it’s not good.” And with that, the chief advisor to the Elfin throne signed off, looking all too weary.
I scribbled a note for the others and then headed downstairs, praying for dreams free of fire and demons and pain. And for once, I got my wish.
Chapter 3
By the time I woke up, showered, dressed, and hauled ass upstairs, it was quarter to nine. The summer months sucked; the increased length of the days severely curtailed my time spent awake. Besides being an inconvenience, during times like this—when every minute counted—it felt like I put everybody I cared about at risk because I wasn’t there to help them out as much.