My Dearest Little Lo,
I have a few important things to tell you, but you mustn’t call me unless it’s of life or death importance. I know you’ll understand. My phone has been bugged and I am using it to feed whomever it is false information. We can’t trace it yet, and we don’t want to tip them off. Please send all correspondences through Samuel. He will get them to me. Ask Charles and him if they have any bugs before you speak freely, though. You know the code.
First, you should know that I'm following a tip that mentioned your mother. I’m in Oxford, staying in a hotel near the Fae realm right now, but I haven’t been successful in crossing over. I think my dear Amelia is in the Summer Fae Kingdom. I suspect a mage and a summer fae are working together. The research you sent me looks to be magically manipulated, but it would take more than a single mage to collect that much power. They would need a vessel of sorts to store it in as well. I haven’t found proof of this yet. Call it instinct, if you will.
Second, keep up your appearances. You’re being followed. I’ve asked Simon to help you run the darker side of the family businesses. He is at your disposal. You will receive all jobs through him that revolve around the other side of club matters as well. I have informed Jack of the issues. He will remain close by until your mates arrive. You should have met another today, and some of the others tomorrow, if not the rest of them.
Third, yes, My Dearest Little Lo, I said mates. Plural. Charles, Samuel, and I have been training a few of them for quite some time now. They are interesting fellows, though I’ve only met the Winter Prince once. Don’t be mad at us for keeping it from you. It wasn’t time to tell you. Your mother left us strict instructions. I’ll show them to you when I arrive home in a couple weeks. You met your Druid Prince before it was time. When you find him, you’ll have to work hard to move past your heartbreak. He didn’t leave because he wanted to. I fear he was taken. We haven’t been able to find him. With your mates’ help, though, I believe you’ll find him soon.
Trust them, Little Lo. Trust your instincts. Keep those hellhounds near you when you’re alone. They will be useful in the coming months. Figure out how to change their appearances to other animals that you can keep with you. You’ll need them, Lo. You’ll need your mates. You’ll need Jack and Grim. You’ll need Franklin and Simon, too. Always keep someone near you, but don’t always make it obvious. Stay aware. Stay observant. Use more than your eyes, ears, and nose.
A bloodbath is on the horizon and you will need all the alliances you can get. It’s time to build an army. Only you can do that.
I love you, My Dearest Little Lo, with all the blood in my body.
Your Devoted Father.
I read it over and over and over, trying to pick up any subtle clues. I wondered briefly if he had known this whole time that the druid was missing, if Papi’s phone was also bugged, and what my mother's instructions were. I would call Papi to find out. It was the bloodbath, alliances, and army parts that really confused me, though. What kind of bloodbath? Alliances with whom? An army for a war? I had too many questions and zero logical answers. Time to call Papi.
I slid my cell phone from my pocket and hit the side button. “Call Papi,” I requested. Stone and Briggs both looked at me but kept quiet. Stone knew Papi, but I didn’t know if Briggs did. The ringing came through on the car speakers while I pondered about who knew whom. I cut the settings off and opted for the speaker phone function instead. I didn’t want to have a conversation that could be heard outside of the car. That was what happened when you talked through your speakers. Just FYI, people. We could hear it all. Stone and Briggs were my mates, and my instincts said I could trust them. I was just waiting for my brain to play catch up. It was a little slow to match sometimes.
“Hello?” Papi answered on the third ring. I heard him shuffling papers and people speaking in the background. He must be busy, but I was on the fence about whether or not I could wait.
“Papi? Are you busy?” I reluctantly asked. I did need to speak with him. It couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s dinner. My mind was made up. I didn’t really want to say anything if he had an office full of demons.
“For you, My Sweet Little Devil? I’m never too busy to talk to you, but I will unfortunately be missing dinner tomorrow,” he disclosed with a sigh. He hated canceling dinner, but with everything going on, it was probably best.
“It’s okay, Papi. I was just calling you because I got Father’s letter last night.”
“Oh, good! Good! You’ve met your mates, then?” he speculated, sounding happier than you would expect from the Devil. He loved me, though. He only ever wanted me to be happy, so of course he’d be thrilled that I’d found my mates.
“Yes, sir. Did you know the druid is missing?” I kept my voice level, but for some gods-awful reason I had to swallow a lump in my throat before I spoke. I was still so angry with him, even with the knowledge that he was missing. Knowing my mate could be in danger was profoundly upsetting. And confusing. It fueled my anger in a different direction. I was going to kill whoever was holding my druid captive.
“No. How long?” He abruptly became very stern and serious. His mood swing made it clear that he didn’t know. “I haven’t spoken to York in quite some time.”
“A little over two years, Papi.”
I heard his intake of breath before he rushed out, “You must find him, My Little Devil, and there’s no need to be sweet when you do. He wouldn’t just disappear without saying a word. He would have warned you if he’d had time.”
That chilled my blood. Papi was right. My heart pounded erratically in my ears the harder I thought about York and everything he could’ve been going through for the last two years. That was a long time to be missing and have no one looking for you. My chest burned painfully at the thought. Briggs turned to me with a concerned look on his face, but Stone spoke up before either of us could. “We’ll find him, sir, and there will be nothing sweet when we do.”
Shit, I had completely forgotten to ask about the bugs. “Papi, Father said he found some pests around. Are you having any issues?” The guys both looked at me again and I placed my index finger over my mouth. I needed to know if his phone was bugged. If it was, then we’d already said too much.
“No, I haven’t seen any pests since his last visit, but I’ll check again. There are other ways to cross the distance, My Sweet Little Devil. You don’t always need to go sailing to do so.” He hinted, reminding me gently that I only needed to call the flames of Hell to talk to him.
“Yes, Papi. See you after my trip. I’ll bring back a souvenir for you.”
“I love you, Little Devil. Stay safe during your travels.” He ended our call after that. My mind was still spinning, but I knew one thing I needed to do, and I needed to get it done as quickly as possible.
I hit the side button on my phone once more. “Call Franklin.” When it started ringing, I looked at Stone and Briggs. “I hope you guys aren’t too attached to your phones, because we’re gonna have to ditch them in a moment.”
Stone tossed his phone right out the window like it was no big deal, straight into oncoming traffic. I was surprised it didn’t hit a car. That would’ve been funny for us, but not so funny for the driver of said car. He apprenticed under Papi, so he understood the code. Briggs should too, but we needed to wait a few more miles before tossing another phone. They couldn’t be found too close together. We’d need to switch direction at some point so we didn’t lead whoever could be tracking us to where we were going. Could be. I wasn’t one hundred percent positive, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.