Bloodline by Barbara Elsborg Page A

side.
    “I’m looking for a girl. Jayne Hart?”
    A sea of blank faces.
    “She’s a shifter.”
    “What kind?” asked the guy by the fire.
    “Wolf.”
    Micah sensed a message passing around the room.
    “You might ask the queen,” muttered the guy next to him.
    Did that mean Jayne was in the castle? He decided to drink his ale then move on. The longer he stayed in one place, the more dangerous it became. He was tempted to reveal he suspected the king was half-mortal and why, but concern that Oberon would have no hesitation in killing every faerie in the inn kept him quiet. When he opened his mouth, he had to tell the right person.
    “You should have left before now,” whispered the faerie at his side. He put his mouth to Micah’s ear. “Fenwick Forest. Rumor has it that portal’s still open. Find Kit Rivers. Tell him we need him back.”
    The door of the inn burst open, and faeries dressed in the same clothes as Micah flooded in. He jumped out of his seat and fled toward what he hoped was a rear exit, but someone landed on his back and brought him crashing down. He rolled over, trying to squirm free, and found the guy who’d stood by the fire on top of him.
    “I got him,” the faerie shouted and muttered, “Sorry,” under his breath.
    As the faerie slipped off him, guards took over and yanked Micah to his feet. Cavan stepped forward and slammed his fist into Micah’s belly. He doubled over in agony.
    “Take him back to the castle,” Cavan barked.
    As two guards hauled him outside, Micah heard the sound of pounding hooves and before he could blink, Inigo had dragged him from the grip of the faeries up onto the back of the horse from the barn, and they were galloping away at a far higher speed than any horse he’d ever seen before was capable of managing.
    “I thought animals didn’t like you?” Micah gasped.
    “Blade does. Well, he says he does. He could be lying.”
    “You can talk to a horse?”
    “Apparently. He says having to listen to us playing around in the loft traumatized him. Despite all that, he was still willing to help me. Particularly when I managed to scratch his itch in a place he couldn’t reach. Remind me to wash my hands.”
    Micah clung tighter as the horse weaved around obstacles. “Ask him to take us to Fenwick Forest. There might be a portal open there.”
    “Blade, my beautiful friend, would you be so kind as to take us to Fenwick Forest? If you know where the portal is, that would be even better. As would losing our pursuers before we get there.”
    When the horse galloped into a wood, Micah tucked in behind Inigo, hoping the vampire didn’t get his head knocked off. He couldn’t believe the speed they were going. A quick glance back showed no sign of anyone following, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t happening.
    “How can we travel so fast?” he muttered into Inigo’s ear.
    They suddenly went faster, and Micah let out a strangled laugh.
    “Blade says he’s a champion, but what I have in my pocket helps.”
    “Did you know you could talk to animals?” he asked.
    “No. It’s the substance in the flask. Maybe you can too… Ah, Blade says no.”
    “Not that I’m ungrateful, but I thought I told you to stay where you were?” Micah said in his ear.
    “I…I sensed you were in trouble.”
    How the fuck had he done that?
    Blade pulled up by a large oak tree, its gnarled trunk twisted to reveal a dark gap at the base, and they slithered off.
    “Thank you,” Inigo said and stroked the horse’s flank.
    Blade nuzzled his head, then his pocket before he cantered away.
    “It must be at the foot of this tree,” Micah said. “You go first.”
    Inigo narrowed his eyes. “No, you.”
    Micah sagged. “I can’t leave. Not yet.”
    The vampire glared. “Why the hell not?”
    “There’s…someone I have to find. A missing shifter. It’s my job, what I do. One of the reasons I came here.”
    “Are you crazy?” Inigo gaped at him. “The king will kill you. He