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A few tardy snowflakes sifted down as Cleia and Dion slipped out the back door of her mansion for a morning stroll, leaving Brisa to eat breakfast under her nanny’s watchful eye.

Cleia loved Rising Sun in the summer, when the gardens were a mass of colorful blooms, fruit swelled in the trees and the surrounding meadows were a soft, fecund green.

But the overnight snowfall had touched the grounds with a sparkling wand, turning the gardens into a sugared wonderland.

Dion steered her onto a little-used path and pressed her up against a tree. His mouth took hers in a lazy kiss. She slid her hands under his leather jacket and kissed him back. Even with a nanny to help, a busy toddler meant they didn’t have much time alone.

A low, sexy growl. “I could take you right here,” he said against her throat, “if it wasn’t so cold.”

“Who’s cold?” Her hands went to the zipper of her own jacket…and then fell away.

Rosana’s in trouble.

Cleia clutched Dion’s shoulders, ears straining.

His hands tightened on her waist. “What’s the matter?”

She held up a hand, silently asking him to wait. A full thirty seconds ticked by before she gave up.

“It’s Rosana.” She swallowed hard. “Something’s wrong. She called my name—four times.”

“Where?” he bit out.

“Not close by.” She scrunched her brows, focusing. “Somewhere south of here. Virginia, or maybe southern Maryland. It was quick—a brief touch, and then nothing.”

Their eyes met. They’d spent the night at Rising Sun. Neither of them had seen Rosana since yesterday afternoon.

Dion muttered a nasty Portuguese curse. “She’s supposed to be at the base.”

“I’ll ’port to her.”

“Take me.”

She nodded and took Dion’s hand and teleported to the approximate location she’d sensed Rosana.

They were on a narrow country road, although that didn’t stop cars from hurtling past. A field of dormant winter wheat stretched along one side of the road, and on the other, stubbled cornstalks marched off to the horizon.

Dion turned in a circle, scanning the area. “We’re still in Maryland, about five miles from the Potomac River. What in Hades is she doing down here?”

“I don’t know,” Cleia said. “But she hasn’t tried to contact me again.”

His nostrils flared. “I can’t pick up her scent. But if she was in a car, she wouldn’t leave one.”

Cleia narrowed her eyes to the south, as if she could somehow see where Rosana was now. “New Moon is right across the river in Virginia.”

“I know.” Dion glared in the same direction. “If that fucking cabr?o thinks he can use my sister as a bargaining chip…”

Cleia’s stomach hollowed. It was exactly what a night fae would do.

“We’ll go after him with everything we have. Rosana isn’t just your family, she’s mine.”

“I know. And I’m grateful, querida .” Dion squeezed her hand. “But first, let’s make sure that’s where she is. Take me back to Rock Run. I need Rui—his shark can track anything.”

“At least she has my protection charm. It’ll give her an edge.”

He nodded, expression grim. Humoring her.

Because they both knew Rosana might not be wearing the charm.

They found Rui in the training cave. The shark fada had once been Rock Run’s top assassin until the job had taken its toll. These days Rui spent his time training the younger warriors, a position to which the hard-faced, taciturn man had taken like a duck to water.

“Be right there,” Rui called over his shoulder, his gaze on the two young males he was sparring with. Another seven young men and women stood in a circle, observing.

The man on the left lunged. In a few swift, scarily efficient moves, Rui dropped him by hooking a heel behind his knee and then spun around to kick the other in the chest. The man flew backwards.

Cleia winced, but the two males bounded back to their feet.

“Good work,” Rui said with a nod. The younger men beamed as he turned to the observers. “The rest of you, form groups of three and practice the sequence I just showed you.”

He strode across the cavern to Dion and Cleia, big body naked except for a pair of shorts. “What’s up?” he asked as he pulled on a T-shirt.

Dion tipped his head at the exit. “In the ops room.”

“ Sim .”

The operations room was in its own private corridor near the base’s center.

A couple of warriors were always on duty to sift through communications and respond to emergencies.

Like most of the base, it was a utilitarian space with a handful of chairs and a sturdy plank table, the only lighting a handful of watery blue and green fae lights.

By the time they arrived, Dion had brought Rui up to date. Dion jerked his chin at the pair manning the room. “Wait outside.”

They nodded and exited, but before they could close the door, Isa bustled down the corridor, her round face anxious.

“My lord, my lady. I need to see you, por favor .”

Dion nodded for the men to let her pass and then shut the door behind her.

Isa thrust a folded piece of paper at him. “I found this on Rosana’s pillow.”

Cleia read the note over his shoulder.

Dion, Cleia, Isa—

I’m on my way to Baltimore. But don’t worry. You might as well know, I’m with Adric. I’m tired of hiding it. I love him, and he loves me (even if he hasn’t told me yet).

More, he needs me. I’ll be back in a few days—please, don’t worry. Hugs and kisses, Rosana

“I’ll kill him,” Dion said calmly. “I’ll wring his goddamn neck.”

Cleia eyed her mate warily as he passed the note to Rui.

“If he’s hurt her,” Dion continued. “Forced her to go with him against her will—he’s dead.”

She set a hand on his arm. The bicep was balled tight. “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” she murmured.

“No?” The eyes he turned on her were the cold silver of his animal. “She goes to Baltimore and somehow ends up in a car a hundred-fifty miles south of here. She calls on you for help—which she’s never done in her life? Tell me, what am I supposed to think?”

“I agree it looks bad, but I’ve seen how Adric looks at her. We’ve all seen it.”

Dion snarled. “Like a fucking cat stares at prey.”

“No. Like a man who wants a woman with everything he has—but knows he can never have her. He’s stayed away from her for her own good. And she feels the same. If he’d wanted, he could’ve lured her away years ago.”

Beside her, Isa murmured agreement.

“Then why is he taking her to Virginia?” Dion demanded.

“We don’t know it’s him.”

“Who else could it be?”

“I’m just saying, keep an open mind.”

“Of course,” he surprised her by saying, and then spoiled it by adding, “as long as you keep an open mind when I tear his lying, cheating throat out.”

He turned to Rui. “I’m leaving ASAP. Who’s available?”

“Three men plus the two of us?”

“ Sim .”

“Then Ed and Jaxon can come.” Ed was an older, canny tenente , and Jaxon a young, hard-driving warrior. “And Tiago—he’s at the marina right now.”

“That works. Tiago would want to come anyway. I’ll tell Davi he’s the tenente in charge.”

Cleia chewed her lip, wishing she could help. But she wasn’t strong enough to teleport even Dion and his motorcycle to Virginia, let alone four other men. They’d have to get themselves to southern Maryland.

Dion nodded at Isa. “Thank you. You did the right thing, bringing this straight to me.”

His former nurse inclined her graying head, fingers twined tightly in front of her waist. “I don’t know when she left. I didn’t even know she was gone until after breakfast. For that, I beg your pardon.”

“Senhora.” Dion gently took her hands. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re not Rosana’s keeper. Now, go back to whatever you were doing, but let’s keep this between us, okay? Until we know exactly what we’re up against, I’d rather the whole base didn’t know.”

“Of course,” the woman said, and with a dignified nod to all of them, left the room.

“If that’s it, then?” Dion asked, clearly impatient to be off, but Rui held up a staying hand.

“I’m afraid we’ve got another problem.”

“It can’t wait?”

“No,” Rui said bluntly. He closed the door behind Isa. “Merry believes her grandfather’s been watching her.”

“The hell you say. Is that possible?”

Both men looked at Cleia.

She spread her hands. “Anything is possible. Our wards can block him from entering the base physically, but if he has the farsight, that wouldn’t stop him from keeping a watch on her.”

“Valeria knows?” Dion asked.

“ Sim ,” said Rui. “She’ll keep her inside the wards.”

Dion squeezed his nape. “So the prince knows she’s alive.”

Rui nodded, his strong, sculpted face set in grim lines.

Dion swore. “I don’t like this. There is no way to keep him out?”

“He can’t do it constantly,” Cleia said. “Only intermittently. Using any kind of Sight requires your whole attention. But I’ll talk to Olivia, see if there’s anything she can do to block him.” Her cousin was a spell-worker and ward-maker. “Maybe a look-away spell would work.”

“Good.” Dion wrapped a hand around her nape and gave her a hard kiss. “Go home. Stay close to Brisa. Just in case.”

Cleia’s breath snagged. “He wouldn’t dare.”

“I don’t think so, no. But I don’t want to take any chances.” He turned to Rui. “Have the men at the garage in fifteen minutes.”

“Will do.”

Cleia waited until Rui left before telling Dion, “Let me know the minute you find out anything. And if there’s anything I can do, you’ll call on me.”

His black brows lowered, but he nodded reluctantly. “Fine. If it will make you happy.”

“It will. And I want your promise that when you do catch up to Adric and Rosana, you’ll hear them both out before you do anything. If she’s his mate, and you hurt him…”

His chin jerked back like she’d hit him. “She’s not his mate. That—it’s not possible.”

“But if she is, and you hurt him, she’ll never forgive you.”

“I can handle my own sister,” he growled, and stalked after Rui.

Cleia pinched the bridge of her nose—and ’ported back to Rising Sun and her baby girl.

There was only so much a woman—even a powerful fae queen—could do. Some things her mate had to work out for himself.