It was also why she’d almost killed Devon. Until his first shift, he’d had no notion he was a shifter. A lesser wolf would’ve died. Devon had instead struggled through the summons, ventured into the Realm on his own, and somehow managed to show up at the castle. It had cemented his incredible potential.
It had put him on Roger’s short list of shifters to watch closely.
“Some have more extravagant quests than others,” Alder went on. “Regardless, the second Arcana, upon acquiring his full strength, had a dream that he should travel to the Brink and forge a bond linking the warrior fae and humanity. That was apparently it. Just link the two. Reports say that he had no idea how.”
“Sounds pretty vague,” Roger agreed.
Alder nodded, glancing down at his notes. “So he made the journey through the Realm, largely undisturbed as one of his magic and power level would be, and emerged somewhere near Chicago. There, reportedly, he met a woman, as a handsome man usually does.”
“And seduced her, as a fae usually does,” Roger added. He already knew where this was going.
“It’s said that he loved her greatly. He was apparently convinced that his quest was to sire a child of both bloodlines.”
Roger shifted in his seat. “Sounds promising, but I have a hard time believing a fae, let alone an Arcana, would leave a child behind.”
“Exactly. They wouldn’t. After six months or so, the woman still wasn’t pregnant. The Arcana, feeling the pull of home, decided he had misinterpreted his quest. He’d connected with a human, and that was his quest completed. Since he couldn’t take his love with him, he had to leave her behind.”
“And she was pregnant?”
Alder quirked an eyebrow. “That’s where it gets murky. Charity was born about ten months after he left, judging by the reports I have. Nine and a half months, to be precise. She delivered a day before her due date.”
“So Charity couldn’t be his blood.”
“Well, actually, from conception, the doctors count out forty weeks until birth, give or take. Ten months.”
Roger sat forward. “So if he gave this woman a farewell lay, then it’s possible Charity could be his child.”
“It’s possible.”
“The reports you have can’t be all that exact. I wonder how many children were born within that time period, within that city.”
Alder grinned, a disturbing sight. “Exactly, on both counts. The Arcana did send someone back to the Brink to make sure a child wasn’t formed from that union, and the scout found a run-down house with nobody in it. They searched for the woman in question, but found nothing. Figuring they could sense their own kind, and didn’t, they went back to the Flush.”
“So…”
“Charity being this child is a shot in the dark. Although it’s said only an Arcana can bloom the sun in the darkness.”
“I had no idea you were a poet,” Roger said dryly.
“I have hidden talents.”
“Apparently. Did you visit Charity’s parents’ house to ask questions?”
Alder grinned again, this time with murder glinting in his eyes. “Of course. Found dear old Dad. He didn’t like the look of me. I narrowly dodged a shotgun blast.”
“Ah. So we have no idea if this mysterious woman was Charity’s mother, and even if she was, we have no idea if the child is the powerful Arcana’s. Even if Charity is this child, she isn’t full fae. She’s a half-breed.”
“Correct on all points.” Alder glanced at his notes again. “But fae scriptures say that a child born of a quest will flourish in power. That his or her power will easily rival an Arcana, if not more.”
“If the Arcana’s quest was to sire a child at all.”
“Yes, that’s still up in the air.”
Roger stood and stared out the window. “What if she is this child? If she’s the missing link and the daughter of the Second, which still remains childless, last I heard.”
“Then the Second will move the worlds to get her back. She is heir to the throne. More, she’s the product of a quest. Their magical juju people will want to consult with her, and then stars, and then tea leaves or whatever it is they rely on. The elves will want a piece, too, to bend her to their cause. Which is why the vampires—or at least one particular vampire—wants her.”
Roger rubbed his eyes, suddenly exhausted. “What does Vlad know that we don’t? How is he so sure she’s Arcana? There’s no way he can effectively verify it until her blood is tested. And even then, he’d need a comparison with the Second. To wave a child at the warrior fae, claiming it’s theirs, would probably incite a war if he’s wrong.”
“Here’s where it gets dicey.” Alder stared at Roger for a moment. “For you.”
Roger steeled himself for the worst.
“Needing more information, I consulted with Reagan Somerset. I hired her to question a lower-tier vampire that was in the know.”