“I do not know what she is, or where,” he said, his voice dull. “I had to send her to her mother’s people, far to the south, to protect her. The king threatened her and…” he paused, his throat working. “I could not risk knowing where she would be. If the king turned on me… he has gone after others’ families in the past. I could not risk it.”

“So, you sent her away. And haven’t seen her since?”

He shook his head. “It was before the birth. I do not know what her child—our child—was. Or whether she survived, or whether the child did… I do not know anything.”

I put a hand on his arm in sympathy. “Then you understand what Mircea was doing at the capitol,” I said, and saw his face change.

“Mircea?”

“Lord Mircea,” I said, indicating the master vamp who was still just sitting in the dirt, his face splashed by multicolored explosions, watching us with dark eyes.

Arsen flushed angrily.

“No,” I said. “No, listen to me! He had a woman once, too—”

“Then she may mourn him, when he is gone!” he said, and lunged.

And was held back by my borrowed strength, although with difficulty. And then he got an elbow in my throat, when I tried to explain, making me gag. But I recovered a second later, getting him in a headlock that Pritkin had taught me, wrestling him into—momentary—control. And finally finishing my sentence, if only as an anguished croak.

“—and Aeslinn took her!”

It took a second, and Arsen did not turn back to me, but I saw his shoulders stiffen. He stared at Mircea, and Mircea looked back. He said absolutely nothing this time, because I don’t know of anyone who learns faster, but he also didn’t look away.

“What woman?” Arsen finally snarled.

“Her name was Elena, a human. Or so he thought,” I amended. “They met a long time ago, in a place called Romania—on Earth—where she had fled from Aeslinn’s control. We don’t know the whole story, only that he sent some of his men—his fey—after her. It took them a long time to find her, but they finally did, only by then, she and Mircea had had a child, too—a daughter. The child remained on Earth but Elena was taken. Mircea went after her, but he does not know Faerie and he lost her. He’s been searching for her ever since.”

Arsen scowled, his eyes still on Mircea. “Is this what he told you?” he asked me.

“Partly, but I was also there when Aeslinn’s men took her.”

“Then you lie. The king has no interest in humans—”

“She wasn’t human, at least, we don’t know what she was. Maybe another type of fey—”