“My lover, it will never happen,” Eric said. “The creatures that make up the fae are the most secret of all the supernatural beings. There are not many remaining in this country. In fact, there are not so many remaining in the world. The number of their females, and the fertility of those females, is dropping every year. Your great-grandfather is one of the few survivors with royal blood. He would never condescend to treat with humans.”

“He talks to me,” I said, because I wasn’t sure what “treat” meant.

“You share his blood.” Eric waved his free hand. “If you didn’t, you would never have seen him.”

Well, no, Niall wasn’t going to stop in at Merlotte’s for a brew and a chicken basket and shake hands all around. I looked at Eric unhappily. “I wish he’d help Jason out,” I said, “and I never thought I’d say that. Niall doesn’t seem to like Jason at all, but Jason’s going to be in a lot of trouble about Crystal’s death.”

“Sookie, if you’re asking for my thoughts, I have no idea why Crystal was killed.” And he really didn’t care much. At least with Eric, you could tell where you stood.

In the background the KDED DJ said, “Next, Thom Yorke’s ‘And It Rained All Night.’” While Eric and I had been having our one-on-one, the bar sounds had seemed muted, far-away. Now they came back with a rush.

“The police and the werepanthers, they’ll track whoever did it,” he said. “I’m more concerned about these FBI agents. What is their goal? Do they want to take you away? Can they do that in this country?”

“They wanted to identify Barry. Then they wanted to find out what Barry and I could do, and how we could do it. Maybe they were supposed to ask if we’d work for them, and Crystal’s death interrupted our conversation before they could say anything.”

“And you don’t want to work for them.” Eric’s bright blue eyes were intent on my face. “You don’t want to leave.”

I pulled my hand out from under his. I watched my hands clasp each other, twist. “I don’t want people to die because I wouldn’t help them,” I said. I felt my eyes brim with tears. “But I’m selfish enough that I don’t want to go wherever they send me, trying to find dying people. I couldn’t stand the wear and tear of seeing disaster every day. I don’t want to leave home. I’ve been trying to imagine what it would be like, what they might have me do. And it scares me to death.”

“You want to own your own life,” Eric said.

“As much as anyone can.”

“Just when I think you’re very simple, you say something complex,” Eric said.