Chapter 3 shifts back to Rose’s perspective and does heavy lifting for the book’s worldbuilding, introducing Warren, a gruff werewolf private investigator Rose quietly hires to look into whether her sister’s death was truly an accident. Their conversation reveals the shape of the hidden world underpinning the whole series: a Fae royal family in exile, a rare and dangerous line of succession, and a very real fear that Lili and Bobby’s deaths were a deliberate strike meant to disrupt it.

The chapter’s best material, though, comes from Rose’s fraught relationship with her formidable Aunt Allura. Allura’s icy, public rebuke of Rose for chasing an artifact instead of protecting her sister lands with real emotional force, and it’s the first clear signal of the political pressure Rose is under to do everything by the book from here forward, whether she agrees with the plan or not.

Underneath the tension is a genuine mystery hook: why would an attack meant to eliminate the family stop at Lili and Bobby instead of also targeting the children? Rose’s private request that Warren also dig into Chip’s background, hoping to find enough dirt to disqualify him from whatever role the family has planned for him, closes the chapter on a note of simmering distrust that readers will want resolved fast.

📖 Meet the Fae royal family — get Unlikely Guardian on Jamie Davis’s site:

jamiedavisbooks.com/books/unlikely-guardian/

 

Unlikely Guardian — Chapter 3

I watched as Chip took Sadie by the hand to go out to the back yard. As I stood there, I realized I’d started grinding my teeth and forced myself to relax.

“Has anyone told him what’s about to happen yet?”

I turned, recognizing the voice that sounded like a metal box dragged across a gravel parking lot. “Hello, Warren. I’ve been trying to reach you for two days now.”

The werewolf and part-time private investigator put on something approaching a sympathetic smile across his bearded face. “I had other business out of town to attend to. I came back as soon as I could after I heard about your sister and Bobby. I figured your family would want all available resources on deck. So sorry about what happened, Rose. Has anyone taken up the investigation yet?”

“The human investigators called it a tragic car accident, but they wouldn’t be looking for the same things we would. This is one of those times I’m glad most of them are blind to the magical world around them. And the answer is no. We have not assigned another investigator. Aunt Allura has allowed me, as the arms mistress, to lead that effort.”

“And you were waiting for me? I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be. No one else wants the case. They all know it has to be a deliberate attack on the family, and they don’t want to get caught up in another Fae civil war of succession.”

“Does that make me loyal or just plain stupid?” He let out a grunting chuckle. “Don’t answer that. I know what you think of me most of the time. I’ll take a look at the police report and check the vehicle for magical residue. Anything else I should know about?”

I grimaced. “No. There won’t be much there when you get to the junkyard. Whatever happened out there to them set the SUV ablaze. There wasn’t much but a metal frame and engine block left. We aren’t even sure all the ashes we buried today are from the bodies.”

Warren reached out and placed a gentle hand on my forearm. “I’m sorry, Rose. I truly am. They were good people.”

I stared down at the hairy-knuckled hand on my arm until he removed it. He promptly shoved the offending member in the pocket of his slacks. “Uh, look, I didn’t mean anything by that. I know you and I don’t have that kind of history. You have my sympathy. It’s just a tragedy, that’s all.”

I decided to ignore the inappropriate sign of concern. He knew better than to touch me and he wouldn’t do it again. There were protocols for members of the royal family, even though we were in hiding. Instead, I turned my attention back to watching Chip through the rear family room window. He pushed Sadie on her swing out back. The look of pure joy on her face made my heart ache. “That tragedy, Warren, is exactly why we have to figure out who’s behind the attack, and soon. They’re bound to come after the kids next. They’re especially vulnerable during this transition period until the new Guardian settles into their powers.”

“Which brings me back to my original question.” Warren moved around to interrupt my view of the yard. “When are you going to tell Chip about what he must do?”

“That’s up to my aunt and the royal Counselor. I’m still hoping Lili changed her mind at the last minute and came to her senses. We’ll see when they read the documents this afternoon.”

“I thought you tested him for this. Isn’t that why your sister asked you to check him out before Sadie was born?”

“It is. And I haven’t changed my opinion that Chip cheated on that test, somehow.”

Warren laughed. “You administered the test. How’d he manage that with you watching him?”

“I don’t know,” I snapped back at him. Angry at losing my temper, I shifted to the side, restoring my view of the back yard. The warrior in me wanted to make sure I knew where Sadie was at all times and who was with her. Chip’s latest glamor-queen girlfriend, Mia something or other, had joined them by the swingset. “Do me a favor. While you’re checking into the accident, spend a little time on Chip and what he’s been up to lately. I still think he’s completely unsuitable to fill this role. Maybe if we can dig up enough dirt, Allura will overrule the will.”

“I wouldn’t bank on that happening anytime soon. Your aunt’s always been a stickler for following the letter of the law, especially when it came to the royal family and lines of succession.”

“Do it anyway. Don’t worry, you’ll be paid your usual rate.”

“What if you don’t like the results? If there was something shady about your brother-in-law, you’d have sniffed it out a long time ago.”

“You’ll get paid either way. Just give it your due diligence once you’ve looked into the crash.”

Warren nodded. When I kept my gaze on the little girl outside and didn’t say anything more, he took the hint and drifted off towards the deli platter and collection of casseroles on the table in the dining room. I didn’t begrudge him a free meal. He had taken the time to come see me and pay his respects. There were so few in the Unusual community around Westminster that did that anymore. Just because the family had come here to keep a low profile didn’t mean that certain local leadership couldn’t be courteous to the Fae royal family in exile.

I shook my head, my brunette shoulder-length curls bouncing a little beside my ears. Lili had always been so much better at this part of the role than I had. She’d learned at an early age how to impress the right people and build bridges rather than burning them down. I tended to be a fight first and ask for allies later type of person.

I watched as Mia took over pushing Sadie on the swing. The two were chatting about something that had the little girl smiling and engaged. Damn it, this wasn’t fair. I wasn’t the one who was supposed to raise the next Fae queen, Lili was. She’d reveled in the challenge and welcomed it. Now she was gone. I was all Sadie had left, other than her human Uncle Chip, that is.

A slight commotion behind me at the front door drew my attention away from Sadie again. A few people clustered around someone who’d just entered. One of them bobbed their head in a bow and one woman curtsied in an archaic and unusual show of respect when out in public like this where normal humans were around. It had to be the arrival of my Aunt Allura. She insisted on the proper protocols from the supernatural community and most people obliged her. Indulged her was more like it.

The matriarch of the family, my mother’s younger sister pushed through the cluster of fawning funeral goers by the door and searched the room until her eyes fell on me. I noticed them narrow a little and then she jerked her head in a way that left no doubt in the command it carried. She stood off to the side in a black satin dress with a matching pillbox hat that had a black lace veil hanging down to the tip of her nose. The lace was thin enough such that her stern eyes were still plainly visible to all who looked her way. Allura’s toe started tapping almost immediately, typically impatient when her requests weren’t fulfilled immediately.

Hurrying over to her, I nodded a slight bow, ignoring the slight frown at my minimal deference. “Aunt Allura, I saw you at the graveside, but you left before I could come see you.”

“I had some business to attend to on my way here.” She waved her hand at the surrounding house and sniffed to show her disapproval at the lifestyle Lili and Bobby had chosen for their home. “Where is the brother? The Counselor will be here presently with the documents and talisman.”

I nodded towards the rear of the house. “He’s out back with Sadie at the moment. That’s a good thing because I wanted to talk with you—”

“I will not go against your sister’s wishes in this matter, Rose Aldreth Eldersdottir. Our family has followed the strict protocols regarding our charge to carry on the royal lineage for almost five hundred years. Now that the time is near to crown a new queen, you will not destroy that legacy because of your own foolish pride. Why weren’t you here when Lilian was killed? That was your opportunity to do your duty and you failed it.”

I tried to keep my eyes from widening even though the heat rushing to my face revealed my anger. She’d said it all aloud for everyone in earshot to hear. The cluster of fawning mourners by the door gasped, then began whispering amongst themselves.

Gritting my teeth and forcing a half-smile on my face, I said, “Aunt Allura, you know as well as I that following up the lead on that artifact in Iraq had been important. It could have proven dangerous if someone unprepared had found it before I did.”

“But that’s always your excuse, isn’t it?” Allura sighed and reached up to lift the black lace from in front of her eyes, folding it back across the top of her hat. She lowered her voice and said, “Rose, I know it wasn’t your fault. In hindsight it’s obvious the reports were a lure to get you away from your sister so this attack would succeed. But it’s all about appearances, my dear. Appearances are that you ran off to fight a demon over an archaic gemstone rather than stay and do your duty. Now we must show that we understand that duty even more. The people who support the family must have faith that we will follow the old ways and customs so that the new queen will take her place and restore the Fae to their rightful place at the head of the Unusual community.”

The old woman wasn’t wrong, at least in how it all looked. Didn’t she know I was painfully aware of all that? I’d take it all back, give up my powers and more if I could make it so that Lili and Bobby hadn’t gone out for that drive. No one even knew what they were doing out on that back country road alone in the middle of the night. They’d left the children alone at home when they did it. Why? None of it made sense.

The mystery of it all caused me to glance across the room to where Warren stood with a heaping plate of food. Even though he was across the crowded room, I knew his enhanced werewolf hearing could make out everything Allura had said. His eyes met mine and he gave a quick nod. He knew I was counting on him to find out who was behind all this. He set the plate down on the credenza, took the overstuffed sandwich from his plate, wrapped it in a napkin and headed for the front door.

Good, he’d taken the hint and started doing what he was being paid for. His exit wasn’t lost on my aunt.

“You hired that wolf shifter to track the killer? Are you sure he’s up to the task?”

“He’ll do what needs to be done. All he has to do is identify them. I’ll take care of the hard part.”

“You can’t just kill them, Rose. You must make sure you know who sent them and why.”

“I know why. They came to kill Lili.”

“Yes, but why didn’t they come for the children as well? There’s more going on here than we understand. That is why, when the Counselor arrives, you will do everything according to protocol and your sister’s wishes. I want no interruptions that would sow doubt in the Guardian’s mind about what must be done. It will be hard enough to get him to take on the task before him.”

“I’ll do what is necessary, Aunt Allura.”

I knew the vagueness of my statement wasn’t lost on her. But she didn’t press the issue. The front door opened and the crowd in the entry foyer spread apart to allow a short, squat man with a long gray beard and shiny bald head walk into the living room. His head swiveled from side to side until his eyes settled on Allura and me. The gnomish attorney lifted up a brown leather briefcase and looked around the room.

Allura gestured down the hallway by the stairs and started that way herself. “Go and fetch the brother. It’s time we got this over with.”

She continued with the Counselor towards the study, leaving me to go get Chip in from the yard. I took a deep breath and headed out to do my duty. I could kill a four-hundred-pound tarantula demon with nothing but a battle axe. What did I have to fear from a New York stock fund manager?

Not. A. Thing.

📖 Loved Chapter 3? Keep going — get Unlikely Guardian on Jamie Davis’s site:

jamiedavisbooks.com/books/unlikely-guardian/