“Maybe they had more blood slaves than we realized.”

She wanted to kick something. Cyn felt as if someone was laughing at them, playing games with their minds. They’d lost the vampires, lost any dormants those vampires might have had imprisoned, and from what she’d heard from Peri, they’d lost Sally. What else could possibly go wrong?

A curse from Thalion had her wishing she’d not asked that.

“What?” she asked him, stepping over to where he stood, a piece of parchment in his hand.

“It’s a summons,” he responded absently, as he continued to read what was on the paper.

“A summons from whom?”

His eyes were haunted when he finally looked at her and answered. “My father, the king.”

Jen was eight kinds of pissed and ready to strangle the high fae when she pushed open the door to Fane and Jacque’s suite. Though they weren’t members of the Serbian pack, she’d insisted that they have their own home away from home. She didn’t want Jacque to have an excuse not to come and visit. She and Sally had their own suites in the Romania pack mansion as well. Come to think of it, the Serbia pack and the Romania pack basically shared their two mansions. How’s that for inter-pack cooperation and collaboration?

Titus stood beside her looking eager and practically bouncing on his little feet. “Can I meet the baby now?”

“Hey, kid. I have a baby and you haven’t been this excited to be around her,” Jen pointed out, sounding way too much like a petulant child.

Titus shot her a look that implied that she obviously didn’t have enough brain cells to tie her own shoes. “She’s a girl,” he said, not unkindly but in a way that left no more room for debate. “Slate is a boy. Like me.”

“You do realize that all he does right now is cry, poop, eat, and repeat, right? Thia at least grins and babbles like an idiot.”

“He’ll grow,” Titus responded, again as though Jen didn’t have a clue.

Jen rolled her eyes and hollered. “Get out here now!” The living room area was empty, which meant the newly reunited family was in Fane and Jacque’s bedroom or in the nursery. Jen probably should have been quiet since Slate might have been sleeping, but she didn’t feel bad. She felt like they deserved a screaming baby for leaving her in the dark overnight.

“You don’t have to scream like a banshee,” Jacque said as she came strolling out of their bedroom.

You have got to be kidding me, Jen growled to herself. “At least have the decency to look like you were asking death to have a picnic with you,” she huffed. “I mean, here you’ve been back with the living for hours, and you didn’t bother to come tell me or, crap, even just have someone else find me?”

“We were sort of excited to see our son,” Jacque said.

As if that were a good enough reason. Okay, so it was, Jen thought, but she was still ticked. “I was worried out of my ever-loving mind, Jac,” she admitted as she threw herself at her best friend and wrapped her in a chokehold-like hug. She wanted to hold on and never let go. They’d come too close to losing someone in their group so many times, but this time had been way too close.

“I know, and I’m sorry for not having Peri come tell you right away. If it makes you feel better, I haven’t spent any time with my mom either.”

Jen shrugged. “I feel a tad better, but not much. I mean, she may be your mother, but I am me. Your. Best. Friend. There’s a code, bitches before witches. You can’t go messing with the code.”

“Bitches before witches?” Jacque cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Yes, bitches” —she motioned between herself and Jacque— “and witches, as in your mom. I mean, she’s sort of like a witch with all that seeing the future crap she can do.”

“Um, but she isn’t evil,” Jacque pointed out.

“We don’t know that,” Jen said, her voice rising just a bit. “I mean, what do we really know about her? She got frisky with a werewolf, gave birth to you, and then lied to you your entire life. I love Lilly as much as the next chick, but you can never be too careful about these things.”

Jacque stared at her for several minutes while Jen stared back.

“Are you done accusing my mom just because your feelings are hurt?” Jacque finally asked.

Jen folded her arms in front of her. “Fine, yes. I’m done accusing your mom, for now, until I feel the need to rub it in your face again that you totally forgot your best friend.”

“Speaking of best friends…” Jacque frowned as she tried to look past her. Jen knew all she’d see was Titus and his goofy grin. “Where’s Sally?”

Jen blew out a breath causing her cheeks to puff out. “Yeah, about that.”

Jacque could barely breathe. Jen had finished speaking at least ten minutes ago, but Jacque hadn’t been able to muster a reply. From the minute Jen said, Sally’s gone, she’s missing, Jacque’s brain had shut down. When her brain started re-firing on at least some cylinders, her mouth opened and she said the first thing that popped into her head. “Costin?”

Jen’s hand shook as she wrung them in her lap. Jen’s hands never shook. “He’s not doing too well.”

“Well, duh?” Jacque blurted out before she could stop herself. She glanced over to where Titus was sitting, playing with some toys that were much too old for Slate. The toddler had asked to meet her son. But the newborn was sleeping, so Jacque told Titus he’d be the first to know when Slate woke up. Titus had told her that he’d wait right there so that she’d know where to find him. He was one of those kids that just made you feel like you’d swallowed sunshine. He warmed your insides with simply a smile and small eager eyes. He was still quietly playing, not seeming to be paying attention to them at all. But Jacque knew better.

“I sort of screwed up,” Jen groaned. “I was so excited that you and Fane weren’t, you know, dead. I shot off at the mouth, screaming at the top of my lungs for Costin. He naturally thought I had news about Sally. When he realized I didn’t, he…well…he sort of fell apart. That’s where Dec is now. He’s helping Costin not lose control.”

“It must be killing him,” Jacque said quietly, “to know she’s alive, but not know where she is, or if she’s okay?”