“Because I am.”
The truth of that statement shook me to my core. “Ash hasn’t said anything to me.” I paused, dread clotting in my stomach.
“He doesn’t know.”
My eyes slid shut, and I leaned forward, running a hand down my face. When I opened my eyes again, he was back to watching me. “I’m going to take a guess that Keyla doesn’t either.”
“That would be correct.”
God damn him.
“How are you even able to keep this from them?” I asked, pressing my lips together.
He simply smiled. “Being the Alpha has its benefits. Much like my son, I can choose to appear any way I desire.”
I blinked, and his entire appearance changed. The hair that had been thin and lank, grew long and thick and shiny. His cheekbones filled and his jaw, while still sharp—looked healthy. His physique filled, and with it so did my dread.
He looked like Ash.
But it was all a lie.
Another blink and the illusion was gone.
“Why would you tell me this?” I asked.
The teacup rattled as he tried to place it back on the saucer. His movements were growing weaker by the moment. Using his power had clearly taken its toll.
“The same reason I brought you here.” When I didn’t respond and only gave him a half-attempted glare, he let out a chuckle. “So that you understand. Time is of the essence and Katherina whispers to me from the veil. I stay because he’s not ready—and because I don’t want to pass on a people at war. I saw the signs of what Ivan the Cruel was up to for years and chose to do nothing. The kidnappings. Paranormals being turned against their will. I was so deep in my grief and anger toward the Supernatural community that I, and many others, let it happen. My complacence is unforgivable. As is the other leaders, but it doesn’t change the fact that if we don’t do something very soon—we won’t have a choice. Go to the Witches. Go the Fae. If you manage to convince them, others will come forward, and we may be able to stop this before it starts.”
I stared for a moment, taking in his words. Thinking on what he said. When I went to stand, my mind was made up. I walked to the door, pausing with my fingers on the handle.
“I’ll do what I can, but coming from someone who lost both parents at a young age, you should talk to him. To both of them, before it’s too late.” I didn’t wait to hear what his reply might be. The broken cough and scent of blood that followed me out said enough.
Chapter 148
Frozen blades of grass crunched beneath my boots. I clenched my hands inside my pockets as I approached the edge of a pit where Alexandra sparred with Ash on one side and Johanna on the other. Gathered together, Amber and Tori stood with Alec and Oliver, watching as the flaming whip snaked through the air with deadly accuracy, keeping them both at bay.
Her form was improving. The increased speed made up for the subpar footwork, and what she couldn’t dodge with that she met head on with a strength that could take any Shifter in this yard.
I walked around the edge of the pit, coming to stand by Blair. She stood alone in the elements; her light blonde braid tucked into the hood of her jacket. Her hands were stuffed in her pockets and her expression bleak as she watched the fight taking place below her.
She was good, I’d give her that.
No one, not even Alexandra, would have noticed the way her gaze occasionally darted to the side. A flash of alarm and brutal gust of wind later and she straightened out.
Being out here was hard for her. Then again, everything was these days.
“Cousin,” she said by way of greeting without looking up.
“How are you doing?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“I’ve seen better days,” she replied. It was the same thing she’d said every day for the past week. I let it slide. “How are you?”
“I’ve seen worse,” I answered grimly. The corners of her lips turned upward at that. Just slightly, but they did.
Below us the fight grew fevered. Alexandra spun on her heel, the whip twirling like a streamer around her in a blaze of fire. Johanna, who had been diving in for a cheap shot, froze as Alexandra was consumed in a pillar of flame.
Both her and Ash took a step back, and the hands that reached for them were as red as the flame they came from.
“You never went running today,” Blair said. Her eyes were still on the fight, much as everyone else. While they were watching the light show below, they wouldn’t be thinking to listen in on what I had to say.
“No,” I nodded. “I didn’t.”
“You told Aaron you were going running. Amber went looking for you and then showed up here shortly after without a word.” Her analysis of it was cut and dry.
“I was summoned,” I answered. Her eyebrows drew together slightly. Anyone looking at that moment would mistake it for her being worried about how carried away the fight was getting. Half of Alexandra’s sleeves had burned away, and those tendrils of flame were still climbing when she grabbed at their clothing with hands hotter than an iron plucked from the fire.
“Summoned?” Blair breathed.
“By the Alpha,” I answered in a hush just as Alexandra caught Ash. Her hands seemed to burn straight through his jacket and shirt in seconds flat. I flinched, waiting for the yelp of pain. Holding my breath for the second that she overstepped and branded his skin with her palms.
But it never came.
The whole training yard stilled as she slowly looked up, one eye black and one eye brown. Her copper-colored brows drew together in surprise.
His hands grabbed her wrists despite the fact they were on fire.
Ash smiled and then pivoted, tossing her into the side of the pit—a three-foot thick wall of concrete.
I cringed. That was going to leave a mark.
“She hesitated,” I said.
“She overplayed her hand,” Blair replied. I lifted both my eyebrows, and when I glanced back at her she wasn’t watching the ring at all. Her sharp gray eyes were locked on my face. “Why did the Alpha summon you?”
“We had a little talk,” I replied, glancing back to the pit as Alexandra pulled herself from the smashed-in concrete. “I know what needs to happen next.” Shifters hollered and laughed. I narrowed my eyes.
“Oh?” she asked, tilting her chin. “Care to share with the class?” I ignored the sarcastic edge to her tone as both of Alexandra’s eyes bled black.
Shit.
“We’re going to be taking a field trip,” I told her.
“We?” she asked, and I could tell that she was pointedly looking at me now. Purposely avoiding what was happening down below. It must be setting her demon off. Well, that makes three of us, then.
“Yes. We,” I answered, taking a step closer to the ledge. I tilted my head. Watching. Waiting as her demon peered out at them.
I reached in, using only my mind and plucked both Ash and Jo from the pit. One moment they stood there, looking uneasily between the two of them, and the next they were sailing over the rim as I stepped over the ledge, landing on the frozen sheet of mud.
It cracked under my feet, and Alexandra slowly turned her head in my direction as the Shifters took notice. My demon itched to come forward, and I let her.
“Careful, sister,” I called.
Her demon blinked. She held out one hand and with a snap the flames that wisped off her skin turned black. Hellfire.
“He should have burned,” she hissed. “But he threw me instead and they dare to mock me.” Flames sprung from the frozen earth, melting the sheet of ice while simultaneously evaporating it and burning the ground itself. I stepped forward, keeping both hands at my sides.
“They aren’t mocking you,” I said. While they laughed, I didn’t think their true intention was to insult her. Not that she would realize it. “Were you guys?” I called over my shoulder.
A few grumbled noes were the answer.
“They’re disingenuous,” she replied. Her hand rose, and with it the fl
ames did too.
Her eyes thinned into slits.
Everyone held their breath—and then a thud landed beside me.
I looked over at the five-foot nothing blonde that stood with her back straight.
“Alex,” Tori said softly. It appeared she’d learned enough over these last months to know not to shout. “They didn’t mean anythin’ by it.”
My lips parted as I opened my mouth to ask her what the hell she was doing.
“Don’t,” Ash’s voice whispered through my mind. “Let her talk.”
“They see how you control the flames, and that makes them scared,” she said. Alexandra blinked, eyeing Tori with doubt. But the girl continued, for better or worse. “It makes them feel powerful if their Heir can stand up to a demon. It gives them hope.”
Both my eyebrows reached for my hairline at that. Alexandra narrowed her gaze. Tori took a step forward, though, and those flames that danced perilously close twisted away from her.
“Don’t,” Alexandra said. Emotion colored her tone now as her demon started to lose sway. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
The wind funneled over the pit, sending Tori’s shoulder-length hair back behind her. The ends were singed, but not burning. I wasn’t sure if she noticed or not, but I did nothing to stop her as she took another step forward and the flame retreated further.
“You won’t hurt me.”
Alexandra shuddered. “You don’t know that.”
Tori smiled, taking another step, then another. “But I do.”
She stood directly in front of my sister. The blonde ends of her hair smoking. Tori lifted a tan hand over my sister’s. I’ll be damned. Alexandra put the fire out. All of it.
Every flicker of black flame disappeared from sight as Tori twined their fingers together. Tears dotted the corners of her eyes as Alexandra exhaled sharply.
“I knew you could do it,” Tori whispered, leaning forward.
Alexandra stuttered, at a loss for words the first time in her life as Tori’s face loomed only a hairsbreadth from hers. Her eyes skated over the shorter woman’s features, and I could see the choice weighing on her.
She looked to me for a brief second, as if I had some words I could give her. Like I could possibly tell her what to do. All I could offer was a slight smile and a nod of encouragement. She bit her lip—then she kissed her.
Both hands came up to cup Tori’s cheeks. Tori let out a gasp and pulled back a fraction to simply stare.
Then the biggest smile I’d ever seen bloomed on both their faces as she kissed her back. The Shifters broke out in cheers, the tension from only minutes ago forgotten. That was the way with the paranormal world, though.
We could fight one minute and be kissing the next.
I shook my head, sensing that the danger had passed as I leapt out of the pit. Ash and Johanna stood off to the side by Blair.
His shirt had been torn. Holes burned into the chest where her flaming hands had touched. The outline of a handprint had gone straight through the fabric, but his skin was unmarred.
“Signasti,” my demon whispered through my mind. Rarely did she separate our voices, but for this she did.
“How long have you known you’re fireproof?” I asked him.
He smirked back. “About ten minutes.”
I shook my head, fighting a grin.
Blair’s cool gaze caught the corner of my eye, and I knew our conversation wasn’t done. Tonight I would have tell them about the summons and the plan.
But today, for this moment, I was going to enjoy being alive.
However long that might be.
Chapter 149
I clasped my hands together, rubbing them to make friction as I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. We sat in the same suite we’d taken up when Anastasia got away and Lucas was brought back. Paper plates of half-eaten food and aluminum cans of orange Fanta lay scattered about as we all settled in to talk about what the Alpha had told me.
“He thinks the Witches and the Fae could get behind you and stop this from becoming a war?” Alec asked, prodding the fireplace with a poker. Blair stood off to the corner, stoically not watching him—or any of us—as she stared out the fogging glass into the field below.
“He does,” I said and nodded.
“It’s a smart plan,” Johanna said, taking a swig from her soda. “They’ve both been oppressed by Supernaturals and preyed on by Vampires. If I were a betting woman—I’d wager the one thing they hate more than your kind are the bloodsuckers.” She ran a hand over her braid.
“The Witches will not be inclined to trust us,” Oliver said.
“No,” Johnna agreed. “But if there’s anyone that could convince them to come out of hiding, it’s her. She holds the soul of the Mother, and for that, they would be willing to do a great deal.” She swished the can, tipping its contents back. I licked my half-frozen lips and reached for the glass of water on the end table.
“And what of the Fae?” I asked, twirling the glass thoughtfully.
“They’re going to be the harder won alliance,” Amber answered from the other side of Ash where she sat with her feet sprawled over his lap, busy finishing off an entire fried chicken. “Cade’s mom is full Fae and one of the three still reigning queens. His father—her husband—was a Shifter that was murdered by the Supernatural Council as punishment for conspiring against them.” She frowned down at the chicken as if not feeling it anymore, set it aside, and wiped her hands clean.
“How?” I asked.
“Beheading.”
I grimaced. That was unfortunate.
“So we’re better starting with the Witches,” I surmised. Amber nodded, her curly copper hair falling forward to obscure some of her face as she drew her legs up to her chest. She leaned forward and wrapped her hands around them, resting her chin on her knees.
“The Fae will be more likely to join if we already have the Witches loyalty,” Ash said. “They tend to choose the side they think will win the war. It bit them in the ass a few times when they chose too early, but with the Witches, the Shifters, and a decent portion of the Supernatural population we would be almost unstoppable.”
Almost.
I didn’t say it, but my brain snagged on that word. Twisting and turning everything over in my head.
“And if the Witches don’t join?” Scarlett asked, her ice-blue eyes settling on him expectantly. Ash returned the stare without shying away.
“Then we hope that the Fae find us to be the winning side regardless,” he responded. Her nose scrunched together like she found that answer distasteful. Scarlett leaned forward.
“And if they don’t?” she asked.
His jaw tightened as his lips pressed together, but Ash didn’t have an answer.
“Cade may be able to convince his mom,” Amber started slowly, and Scarlett shook her head.
“That’s not a plan,” she hissed.
“Scarlett—” Liam started, putting his hand on her knee and trying to get her attention. It wasn’t easy to do when he had to reach around his other arm that was still in a cast.
“No,” she snapped. “Convincing them could take weeks—months—and that’s time we might not have. What if they say no? What do we do then?” she asked, her voice rising an octave. No one had an answer. “Well?” She turned to look from one side of the room to the other, stopping on me. “What did the Alpha say he’d do then?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I answered without flinching. She narrowed her eyes.
“You sound just like her. Making up bullshit excuses already,” she said.
“Scar—” Johanna started to reprimand.
“No!” she yelled. “Don’t you ‘Scar’ me, Johanna. This all started when we tried to break out of the Fortescue mansion, and you lost the balls to kill the bitch when you had the chance.”
I blinked as Oliver turned a withering glare in her direction. “That’s enough, Scarlett,” he said. “We knew the risks and w
ent ahead despite that. This isn’t on her.”
“Oh?” the Graeme heir said. “It’s not?” She tilted her head, and that blonde curtain swept forward over her shoulder as she glared back. “If we hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have gotten caught and sentenced to that school. Sebastian wouldn’t be missing, and—”
“I’m sorry your brother is missing,” Jo said suddenly. “I am sorry for hesitating as I did, and I will regret it for as long as I live.”
“Regret doesn’t bring him back,” Scarlett replied.
“And your bitching doesn’t solve anything,” Blair said bluntly, finally drawing attention to herself. “We’ve all lost things. Some of us more than others, but holding it over each other’s heads won’t do us any good.” She turned a fraction, leveling Scarlett with an apathetic stare. “So let’s get back to the topic at hand, shall we?”
“I’ve yet to hear what the plan is if this doesn’t work,” she said stiffly, settling back in the loveseat but angling away from Liam. He sighed and looked to the ceiling, readjusting his cast as he settled back beside her, resting his hand on her knee and gently squeezing.
Scarlett didn’t budge an inch.
I downed the glass of water and put it back on the wooden side table with a loud clank. Getting to my feet, I stood to face the fireplace with my back to the rest of them.
The warmth of it would never be enough to reach the chill inside me, though I tried. Standing only a foot away with my pale fingers curling and uncurling in the flames, I sighed softly.
Then I spoke.
“If all else fails, there is us.” Silence was only so absolute when the beating of hearts and rush of oxygen was a sound unto itself.
“You can’t honestly think that we could take on the High Council alone,” Scarlett answered.
“I can,” I said, facing the fire as I planned to face this war. “I do.”
My fingers clenched around a wisp of flame, trying to hold onto that warmth even as the cold settled inside me.
“That’s insane,” she said in a hush.
I lifted my head and stared into the mirror over the mantel. Our eyes met, hers and mine, as I answered, “Is it?”
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