Reid understood. “The Lupines are settling into their new homes well. Eric and Graham have learned to work together without tearing into each other, though they still argue. Graham’s mate is heavy with her first cub, and Graham acts as though no one else in the world has sired a child before.”
Zander grunted a laugh. Graham McNeil, leader of the Lupines in the Vegas Shiftertown was a blustering pain in the ass, but his bluster hid great caring and canny leadership skills. No one but his mate would dare say that to his face, however.
“Otherwise, all is quiet,” Reid finished.
“Good.” Zander set his empty plate on the counter. “Let’s take a walk. Rae—join us.”
Rae set her half-eaten meal on the counter without bothering to argue. She quietly lifted the sword she’d leaned against the kitchen cabinets and walked out behind them.
* * *
The morning was crisp and clear, a beautiful summer day. Rae would have preferred to spend it on a run or grabbing fishing poles and heading with her brothers to the lake. A lazy day fishing and napping in the sun would be perfect. But she had things to worry about and she wasn’t about to let Zander walk off alone with a Fae—no matter how trustworthy Zander said he was.
Zander kept a swift pace, leading Reid into the woods along the same route he and Rae had taken last night. He didn’t go all the way to Daragh’s place—that would still be watched.
Zander stopped them in a small clearing in the trees, a quiet space warm in the sunlight, the breeze that sighed through it cooling and soft. A flat-topped black boulder rested on the dark earth, deposited here by a glacier eons ago.
“Rae?” Zander said, signaling her forward. “Want to show him our problem?”
Rae didn’t. The sword was sacred to Shifters and this man was Fae, no matter how much Zander reassured her about him. Reid didn’t seem intrinsically evil, but Rae had never met a Fae before, so what did she know?
“It’s all right,” Zander said. “I wouldn’t have brought him here if I didn’t trust him. And I can always break his neck if I turn out to be wrong.”
Reid didn’t look worried. “I don’t betray Shifter secrets,” he told Rae. “I know a bear Shifter who would kill me, and I don’t mean Zander.”
Rae didn’t know what to make of that statement but she did believe that Zander could flatten this Fae in a heartbeat. Zander had easily held her back from attacking Reid, even though Rae had been in half-beast state, which should have matched or even surpassed Zander’s strength in his human form. Rae hadn’t even come close—Zander had held her as easily as he would pick up a paperclip.
Reid watched with interest as Rae unsheathed both halves of the sword and laid it on the rocks. The silver glinted in the sun, the runes sharp outlines. The sword made no noise at the moment. No humming, nothing.
Reid stared at it. “It’s broken.”
“No shit,” Zander said without heat. “We want to know if the runes on it tell us how to put it back together.”
Reid leaned closer to study the blade but Rae noticed he didn’t try to touch it.
She looked Reid over while he examined the sword. Fae had always been portrayed to her as having white-blond hair, like Zander’s, with pale skin and intense black eyes. Reid had the eyes, but his hair was soot black, and he had a deep tan from living under the desert sun. Rae wondered what dokk alfar were, why Reid lived in a Shiftertown, and how he survived outside of Faerie. The Fae didn’t like iron, this world was full of it, and so the Fae had long ago decided not to venture too far into the human world.
“Hmm,” Reid said.
Zander moved in impatience. “Can you read it or not?”
“I can.” Reid straightened up, in no hurry. “But it doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s Fae—I don’t expect sense. I just want to know how to stick it back together.”
“It’s not so much instructions as a story.” Reid let his finger hover above the runes. “It’s a tale of two lovers who were forced apart, endured madness and torture, and then found each other again. They became one and then went to the Summerland, hand-in-hand.” He pointed to the swirl of runes on the hilt then lifted his hand away.
Zander frowned. “Well, that’s uplifting.”
“I don’t know if it’s a Fae legend or a Shifter one,” Reid said. “I’ve never heard it. The Fae woman whose magic is in the swords might have used a tale that was popular at the time, or the Shifter swordsmith told it to her. I can only guess.”
“Great,” Zander said. “How does this help us?”
Reid studied the sword a moment longer then lifted his shoulders. “I haven’t the faintest bloody idea.”
Zander growled. “You’ve been hanging around with Shifters too long. You sound just like them.”
Reid shot him a dark look. “I’m in exile. Don’t rub it in.”
“The trick with exile is to learn to enjoy the hell out of it. What do you think, Rae?” Zander slid his arm around her waist. “Have you ever heard a story like that?”
“Other than Romeo and Juliet? No.” Rae shook her head, trying not to like the warmth of him against her so much. “It isn’t quite the same, though, is it? These lovers reunited—does it say for how long before they went to the Summerland?”
Reid examined the runes on the hilt again. “It’s cryptic. It might mean they lived together for three hundred years or it might mean they found each other and were wiped out in five minutes.”
“Zander’s right,” Rae said. “Seriously uplifting.”
Reid pointed to where the runes had split with the break. “That’s exactly where the lovers were reunited and battled to stay together.”
“Thought so,” Zander said. He pressed a kiss to the top of Rae’s head and released her. “Thanks, Reid. Appreciate it.”
“It’s an interesting problem,” Reid said. “If I uncover anything else that might help, I’ll let you know.” He took a step back, as though clearing space around himself.
“Wait!” Rae reached out to him. “Are you just going to go? At least stay for lunch.”
Reid shook his head. “I don’t like to stay away for too long.” He shot them a wry smile, which lit up his face and made it darkly handsome. “The cubs I help take care of get unruly. Besides”—he grew somber again—“I’m Fae. They’re used to me in the Las Vegas Shiftertown but I wouldn’t last long here.”