Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(83)

“Eh, I’ve had worse,” the other male said. “I, personally, am impressed with any woman who can shove an arrow through her belly and still walk out here to negotiate.”

“A good reason not to kill me,” I pointed out. “Think of the party tricks I can come up with.”

“I am impressed with any woman who can prime a transference box.” The female gestured to the box on the table. “My name is Haweigh of the Tuatha Dé Danann. I am a priestess of the realm. Had the Light of Alhorra made it to our tribe intact, it would have fallen to me to prepare our people to prime the box. Do you understand what I mean by a transference box?”

“Dev explained it to me. He knows about this stuff, but he didn’t see the box until we took it.” I was impressed with the fact that the Tuatha Dé Danann still existed. If I ever saw my father again, I would have to give him the news. “He said you usually turn the magic into a tree or something.”

“Yes,” the large man said sarcastically. “A tree is best because a tree has no learning curve. Sometimes we turn it into a cat or a dog because they reach maturity quickly. In six months to a year, the magical animal will have the emotional maturity to do things properly. Do you have any idea how hard her childhood will be?”

“What my husband is trying to say is we prefer that the magic be contained to something easily controllable,” Haweigh explained. “The child will be somewhat unpredictable.”

“Tell me you won’t hurt her.” I’d screwed up her whole life.

Haweigh chuckled a bit, pulling her hair from the baby’s hand. “She belongs to us. We would never hurt her. She will bless our tribe with her unique magic, and we will be grateful to her. We are thankful you did not damage the box. It could have been much worse. Now, the truth of the matter is, I am inclined to allow the faery to live. He was not involved in the actual taking of our box. In truth, I am inclined to allow you to live. I find you unique, and I prefer to leave the unique things of the worlds whole. But you must return to our plane to face justice.”

“I’m grateful.” I figured that groveling was the best course of action. I decided to be brave. There was one thing I needed to know before I left this plane. “I have to ask you a question.”

“I await it eagerly.” Haweigh seemed amused by me. I could make that work to my advantage later, but for now I just had to know.

“Is he dead?” I meant for it to be a steady almost academic question, but I stumbled through it and gave away far too much.

She looked up at her husband. “I told you it was the vampire. He is your lover?”

I nodded since there was no reason I could think of to cover it up.

“Lang believed you were involved with the faery, but I rather thought it was the vampire. I spent many years on this plane, and you have the look of a companion. As to your question, he continues to exist,” she confirmed, watching me closely.

I nodded to let her know I’d heard, but I couldn’t suppress the small sob that escaped. I wiped the tears away and tried to contain my emotion. “Thank you.”

I wouldn’t see Daniel again. My heart ached. I didn’t think about everything Dev had told me. None of it mattered in that moment. I only knew that I loved Daniel and he was lost again.

“Thank the child,” Haweigh said. “I was inclined to kill him because of the danger he represents. Was he the one you were with when the box was primed?”

“Yes.”

Haweigh contemplated this. “As you are an odd girl, he is not a normal vampire, is he? The box can only be primed through pure magic. We would have used a type of community magic, all of us working together for the good of our tribe. The two of you used sex magic, and while that is powerful, it requires an enormous amount of feeling between the two of you. The box would not have reacted to mere lust. I’m afraid vampires are more associated with obsession than genuine love.”

“We have quite the history.”

“Speaking of the vampire.” The husband pointed to the window, which showed a spectacular sunset. “Shouldn’t we be going? We’ve taken his mate. He will not let this go. We should pass through the veil now.”

“Lang is right,” the other male said. “I would rather wait until midnight, but I would also like to leave with my neck intact. Vampires are not known for their tolerance, which is why we should have killed it.”

Haweigh looked at me. “Men. They believe violence is the answer to everything. We women know differently. Are you ready?”

I would never be ready, but Daniel was alive. Dev would live. I had to call this a win. “I’m ready, and so is Sarah. You can leave Dev here. Daniel will find him eventually. We won’t cause any more trouble. Well, I won’t. Sarah’s a different story. You might want to gag her.”

The priestess stood with the child in her arms. She was a beautiful woman and everything one would think a faery queen would be. She was tall with golden hair that brushed her waist and eyes that looked like jewels. She carried the child with no hesitation, and I was sure this was not the first baby she’d held. I guess you think a lot about all the crap you’re never going to do when you know the world is changing. I wouldn’t hold a baby again. I wouldn’t see Daniel again. I wouldn’t…well, I could go on forever about what I wouldn’t do.