My father smirked, seeming amused by my response. I could almost hear the thoughts churning in his mind though. He didn’t like that I’d stolen his grand gesture—didn’t like showing up late to a battle that had already been fought and won.

Too fucking bad, old man. Do your job next time, and maybe you won’t miss out on the glory.

It was technically his duty to protect the North American territories from threats like this, but he hadn’t taken that duty seriously in hundreds of years, if he ever had. Why he’d decided to show up and play rescuer this time, I had no idea. Unless the shade attacks had spread so far and wide that unrest and fear had forced him into action.

That seemed the most likely possibility. Thomas, our werewolf informant, had told us the attacks had been going on much longer than we’d suspected. People must be getting anxious. I’d never known my father to act unless he was backed into a corner.

“Well,” he said, his voice booming with false joviality, “as you can see, your intervention wasn’t needed. We would’ve dealt with these creatures ourselves quickly enough. It’s a pity, really. My hunters have been tracking them for several weeks, and I promised them a good fight.” His eyes glittered with malice, though his smile didn’t falter. “But then again, if our paths hadn’t crossed, I never would’ve gotten to meet your charming new friend, Willow.”

His gaze shifted over my shoulder, and my blood turned to ice. I could feel my brothers closing ranks behind me, trying to shield the wildcat from my father’s searching gaze. But it was no use. They knew him as well as I did, and we all knew he wouldn’t let this go.

“Willow… what did you say your last name was, my dear?” The old bastard cocked his head.

Behind me, Willow cleared her throat. I could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she stepped up lightly beside me. “Willow Tate.”

“That was it.” The face so much like my own it sickened me smiled beatifically at the girl. “Tell me, my child. What are you?”

Her eyelashes fluttered as her gaze shot quickly to me. Asking a wordless question, searching for guidance on what to tell him.

Damn it, little wildcat, I wish I knew.

She couldn’t admit she was fae. That was out of the question. And she couldn’t claim to be human either. Her blood smelled too strongly of the supernatural for that. There was no good option, only a lie of omission that delayed inevitable disaster.

I rested my hand on the small of her back possessively, feeling her body relax slightly under my touch.

“She’s a vampire.”

A smile spread across Carrick’s face like dawn breaking—slow, and just as deadly as the rising sun. “Is she now? Well, it is truly lovely to make your acquaintance, my dear. I thought I knew all the vampires in the North American territories.”

I heard the implicit threat in his words, but Willow didn’t know the danger she was in. She took Carrick’s offered hand, greeting the viper with polite confusion.

Goddamnit. This is all my fault. This is why we should have let her go.

Anger and regret burned in my veins. I’d known this day might come from the moment we’d turned her, had felt it hanging over us all like the threat of a storm.

Perhaps we should have let her die on the street that night. Perhaps it would’ve spared her greater suffering.

But even as the thought passed through my head, my body and soul rebelled against it. No. That truly hadn’t been an option. There’d been something about her even then that had made it impossible to walk away. And now that I knew what she was? Now that I knew her, the goodness and strength of her soul? It was unfathomable.

We couldn’t fight my father. Not with the guards he had backing him, and the dozens more likely waiting outside. The king was smart enough and cowardly enough not to step into a battle unless he was sure he could win.

It would be foolish to take him on.

Still, when he spoke again, I was sorely tempted to try.

“Malcolm, you must bring your new friend to the Penumbra. Sol and Jerrett too. It’s been far too long since you’ve been home.”

The hand splayed across Willow’s back tightened into a fist, curling around a handful of her shirt. She looked up at me, worry in her eyes.

For her sake, I forced my muscles to unbunch and called a stiff smile to my face. “Of course, father. Thank you for the kind invitation. We’d be delighted.”

“What about the children?” Willow interjected.

“The children?” Carrick’s eyebrows shot up.

“The goblin children. The ones the shades kidnapped. They need to be returned to their families. Isn’t that why you came here?”

My wildcat looked Carrick right in the eye, her spine straight and head held high, and warmth filled my chest. My father, whatever else he might be, was very charming—but Willow had seen through his charismatic facade immediately.

Ire flashed in his dark eyes at being called out by a fledgling vampire, but Carrick nodded smoothly. “Of course, my dear. My guards will see them home safely. You needn’t worry.”

That, at least, was true. He would return the children unharmed. Goblins were a generally peaceful, reclusive race… and their blood tasted like wet mulch. These young ones had nothing to fear from Carrick’s vampire guards.

Unfortunately, it meant we had no excuse not to return to the Penumbra with Carrick right now. And he knew that, judging by the satisfied smirk that crawled across his face.

He gestured with two fingers, and four of the men behind him stepped forward, gathering up the children. Then Carrick turned on his heel, leaving us no choice but to follow.

I pushed gently on Willow’s back, urging her forward. Jerrett and Sol fell into step close behind us as the remaining two guards gathered up the shade’s broken body.

My wildcat didn’t protest, but I could feel her stealing glances at me as we walked. I kept my face impassive and my gaze trained straight ahead, hiding my churning thoughts behind a blank mask.

Defeat weighed like an anchor on my soul. It wasn’t an emotion I was used to, and I didn’t like it.

We had come here to destroy the shades and free the children, and we’d at least succeeded in that. But the person controlling those undead creatures was still out there, and by now they must know someone was trying to stop them.

What was worse, Carrick’s arrival had thrust Willow into a more dangerous world than she was prepared for. A world I’d tried and failed to keep her away from.

We had never declared her, had hoped to keep her existence a secret from the king, but now it was too late to hide her away.

And if my father found out what she truly was, she would be doomed.

I’m sorry, wildcat. I’m so sorry. I hope you live to forgive me.