I stared in dumbstruck shock at his retreating back, realizing with his words that the seething Vampire standing next to me, who turned to stare down at me to hide his utterly furious expression from anyone else, was jealous…of my biological father.
I blinked.
Just eww…I couldn’t help but shudder…gross.
“What the fuck, Lily?” he breathed in the quietest hiss so no others — even the Vamps — could hear him. “You said you knew him before…but just how well did you know him exactly? And why the hell are you inviting him to your tent now?” Violent eyes darted between mine, searching for an answer.
All right, I kind of wanted to laugh in his face, so I decided to let him in on the secret since it was just mean to make him feel this way…especially after last night. Lifting my fingers from the files, I pulled the closest pad of paper off a lower shelf, grabbed the pen on top of the filing cabinet, and wrote in a tiny scrawl: He’s my biological father. Handing the pad of paper over to Ezra, I gave up on finding the folders I was looking for and turned on my heel, leaving the frozen Vampire to deal with that little bit of information he was currently gawking at.
“I’m sorry, Elder Nelson,” I stated, taking a seat next to Antonio and kicking my boots up on the table. “I can’t seem to find the folders for the four individuals I had picked out to transfer here, but I can get you another workup on them by the end of the day.”
Elder Nelson glared toward Ezra. “That’s unfortunate.” But he nodded toward me. “And I would appreciate the additional time for you—”
“What’s unfortunate, Elder Nelson?” Ezra interrupted him, sitting next to his dad. I kept a perfectly emotionless face even when I saw him keeping the paper hidden as he scribbled out what I had written, his cheeks flushed, apparently embarrassed by his previous behavior with Elder Venclaire but not missing the look Elder Nelson had swung in his direction.
Elder Nelson’s jaw clenched at being cut off, but he stated calmly, “Elder Fergus and I have found a few of the Mages and Elementals you have as Commanders to be lacking in leadership skills, and we were informed Queen Ruckler had a few potential candidates to take their—”
“Ah, yes,” Ezra interrupted him again, and I peered at my boots to keep from laughing when Elder Nelson’s veneer cracked and his bronzed face flushed in anger, his mouth beginning to open, surely to bawl him out for being so ill-mannered to an Elder, but Ezra continued speaking, ignoring him. “Queen Ruckler did bring to my attention four possible candidates.” He bent and picked up a black duffle from the ground next to his chair, setting it on the marble table in front of him and unzipping it. “Their folders are in here somewhere.” He lifted a knife from the bag, setting it on the table, pointy end aimed at Elder Nelson. “I reviewed them yesterday, and I’ve found,” a gun was set on the table, also aimed directly at Elder Nelson, “that her…” He paused, lifting another gun, a shiny silver one not unlike my own, and waggling it at Elder Nelson, again aimed directly at him. “Damn, I’ve been looking all over for this.” That gun disappeared somewhere on his body in a blur. “Anyway, I’ve found that her assessment was correct,” he lifted out the folders, which were blatantly on top of the piled confines of his bag, “and we should transfer out the four here for these four new individuals.” He tossed the files on the table toward Elder Nelson, the Elder Mage’s face now carefully blank. “So it’s not so unfortunate, Elder Nelson, and I’m sure you won’t have any problems handling their transfers since Queen Ruckler’s already taken care of most of it, and with both of our signatures, the King’s and Queen’s, already on them, no one should hassle you.”
Oh, God. It took every ounce of willpower I had learned over the past year not to crack a smile in the silence that had trickled into our group. I mean, damn, he was good. Not only had he inadvertently threatened Elder Nelson with multiple weapons, but he had also put the Elder in his metaphorical place in the hierarchy. Although Elders had just as much clout in our society as Kings and Queens — most of the time more so — the Kings and Queens were the individuals to take the brunt of any current blowouts, and as such they were the true heads of our people…not to mention this camp.
“Are there any other immediate issues you wanted to discuss?” Ezra asked in his deep rumble, his tone pleasant as he held Elder Nelson’s gaze.
A golden eyebrow rose slowly. “No, I don’t believe so.” He glanced at Elder Zeller, then Elder Venclaire, murmuring, “It appears you two trained him well. My congratulations to you both.”
“I assure you, Elder Nelson, I’m well past my training-wheel days.” Ezra placed his weapons back into his duffle, zipping it up. “And, although they did teach me plenty, I think you’ll find I have a unique style all my own they had nothing to do with.”
Golden eyes watched him, intelligent gaze evaluating. “You’ll have to excuse me while I reserve my judgment on whether your unique style is to be taken seriously or not.” After that cool putdown, he lifted the files Ezra had tossed on the table before him. “And if Elder Fergus and I agree with what you and Queen Ruckler have decided is best for King Shadow, then I’ll handle the details of having them transferred.”
I bristled at that, my attention honing in completely on him. “Put the files down.” I had two guns aimed at him instantly. “Now, Elder Nelson.” When he only froze, again raising that eyebrow at me, my grin was pure icy bitch as I stared at him. “The gun in my right hand has silver bullets.”
And…the files were slowly set on the table.
I put the gun in my left hand away, which didn’t appear to make him too happy as he stared at the one with the silver bullets still aimed at his heart. “Now, while that whole little battle of testosterone was really entertaining, I have to admit that, even though I do respect you as an Elder, I’m even more intrigued by the fact you think that you have final say over signed documents by the two ruling individuals of King Shadow, which, if you aren’t aware, are myself and King Zeller.” I raised my own eyebrows. “I would love to hear your explanation because, if you are also unaware, King Zeller and I — again, the ruling individuals of King Shadow — are fully within our power to reject anyone in this camp if we see them unfit for any reason, such as insubordination…not excluding Elders.” A few ticks of silence went by, and I nodded my head at him. “Please, don’t let me stop you.”
Oh. He was mad. Or maybe more like enraged as he stared back at me, his cheeks rosy red. I even began to feel the tingle of Mage magic prickle at my skin.
My eyebrows rose even further. “You are not that stupid.”
He stood with such force his chair fell to the rug behind him, but I did feel the intimidating Mage magic retreat as he leaned over the table, fists supporting his body as he inched forward. “I had heard the runner-up Queen Shifter had become a frigid bitch, but I hadn’t believed it until now.”
My lips twitched even as I saw a few of the men stiffen at his words. “If you were meaning that as an insult, then you need to work on it since I am the runner-up Shifter Queen, and I am a frigid bitch to those I don’t like.” I pointed at the files with my free hand. “I want a simple yes or no from you. Are you going to handle the transfers regardless of what you think of our picks?”
Fuck, the man could really glare. “If I say no?”
Simple. “Then King Zeller and I will discuss your importance here at King Shadow and decide whether you’re really needed.” I paused, then stated truthfully, “If you hadn’t pulled that higher-than-thou bullshit, I never would have questioned your loyalty to us…in fact, I would have probably asked for your input for any future recruits. But you did test us, so now one of the two Rulers with the final say — not you — is asking you a damn question, and she wants a fucking answer.” I paused. “Please.” A little sugar with the spice never hurt.
His reply was seriously a long time coming, in fact, it was so long my trigger finger began to cramp in the hostile quiet, but eventually he stated, “Yes, I’ll handle these four transfers as you
and King Zeller have designated, despite any misgivings I may have.” Truth. I nodded once and watched as he picked up the files, moving woodenly. “And I…apologize for acting as I did,” borderline truth, “It will take some getting used to not being in charge as the four of us have been for the past year at our previous camp.” Truth.
“Thank you, and I accept your…apology,” I stated evenly, holstering my gun.
He turned to leave, but suddenly I felt a wave of Mage magic brush along my right side, floating out from Antonio’s lazy position on his chair, and Elder Nelson froze in mid-stride. He visibly flinched, held his position for a few moments, then glanced over his shoulder as the pulse of magic abruptly stopped. His gaze found mine while he said steadily, “And I’m sorry for that little stunt I started to pull.” Truth.
I nodded once, watching as he glanced at Antonio before exiting the conference room. I tilted my head in Antonio’s direction, our gazes meeting, and his lips curved cruelly, belying any of the laziness he was pretending so beautifully. “Do I want to know what that little tingle of magic would have done to me?”
He shrugged a careless shoulder. “It wouldn’t have done a thing.” Truth. Again, his lips tilted at the edges just the barest bit.
“Well,” Elder Kincaid stated, breaking the silence everyone else was still under, “now that the fun time of redirectional reigning is over, how about we try to figure out why the fuck Elder Harcourt is placing so many damn chiefs under this one roof, which as was just shown is never a great fucking idea.” He spread his arms wide. “Why the hell bring us all here? It doesn’t make sense to have so much power in one place. And Kansas? Did I miss the memo where this state became a huge threat to the worldwide war?”
Elder Jacobs blinked a few times then held up an envelope. “I may have the reasoning for that right here.” Again he blinked, then he glanced at Ezra and me, ignoring how everyone else was staring at him avidly. “That was very nicely done, you two.” He nodded a few times. “I’m pleasantly surprised with how you both handled him.”
Ezra and I stared at him, and I was the one who eventually muttered, “Thanks.” I mean, really, his commentary on our leadership skills wasn’t absolutely needed right now. I pointed to the envelope, trying to redirect him. “What is that?”
“Hmm?” he hummed absently, still staring at us, but he kind of jolted at seeing the letter, as if he had just noticed it in his raised hand. “Oh, yes. This is from Elder Harcourt.”
“And?” I prompted.
“You, King Zeller, Elder Merrick, Elder Farrar, Elder Zeller, and myself will be striking the last Beast farm tonight,” he explained. He grinned. “After we rest up, our same group will be heading to Chicago — recently dubbed King Mile — the city most recently taken here in the United States. We’ll be meeting there with Elder Townsend, Elder White, Elder Bridges, Elder Samson, King Collins, and Queen Cooper. They’re all getting their directives today to change locations. We’ll be discussing how to finally put an end this war.”
Holy shit.
Parking ten miles away from our destination — the last Beast farm — our group exited from the vehicles. I took my coat off and pulled my hair into a ponytail, then I methodically began strapping on my weapons. My gun spelled with a never-ending supply of silver bullets went into a thigh holster, while knives and a few other guns were placed sporadically in holsters or sheaths along my body. My Cizanos, two short, deadly curved swords made of steel and silver and spelled specifically for a Shifter’s strength, I strapped to my back, their handles right above my shoulders for easy access. I noticed absently that Elder Merrick also had a pair. Bonnie and Clyde, my Vizoac and my husband’s, both having behaved decently in the back of the SUV we rode in, jumped from the interior and automatically went to either my side or Ezra’s. But they weren’t going with us on this mission; their duty was to stay near the SUV and make sure it was here when we got back.
After everyone was suited up, we stood in a circle around Antonio. His eyes flared bright as a golden, transparent sphere encompassed our group. From the outside it was invisible, hiding us, but inside we could see the golden shimmer of the sphere. Elder Jacobs’s eyes flared, and suddenly the wind picked up and aimed directly at us, shoving our sphere forward. I braced my legs but still fell back against Ezra at the sudden speed. His palms landed on my hips, steadying me as his heat encompassed me, his hands only releasing me when I found my footing. I watched as the scenery blurred by, all of it country, as our speed increased to over a hundred miles per hour, meaning we arrived at our destination fairly quickly. I was rocked again as if I were on a roller coaster as the wind blew our sphere straight up into the night sky over the twenty-foot tall metal fencing with rounded, wicked barbwire at the top.
“Oomph,” I exhaled sharply as all of us, not just me, almost fell to our knees.
Ezra’s arm was instantly wrapped around my waist from behind, even as he placed a quick bracing hand on the bottom of the sphere, keeping us from falling completely. He barked over his shoulder, “What the fuck? Are you trying to injure us all?”
“It was needed,” Elder Jacobs said softly, staring at the distancing ground as the wind pushed us from underneath, his arms aimed low. “You’d better brace yourself for the landing.”
“You’re a damn Elder!” Ezra shouted over the howling wind. “Where the hell is your control—” He abruptly cut off as we started to descend…or fall from the sky, more like.
And yeah, I screamed as our bodies literally lifted from the bottom of the sphere, floating a bit as I stared down at the swiftly approaching unforgiving ground, the dead grass most definitely not enough to cushion our fall.
“Shit!” Ezra shouted, his arm tightening around my stomach painfully, his chest pressed against my back as he stared over my shoulder down at the ground. He was able to thrust his legs down and touch the sphere, and he jerked hard, twisting us roughly so now his back was to the approaching ground while we stared up into the overcast night through the shimmering gold. It didn’t help my fear, not at all, and I screamed again at the freefalling weightlessness, but I still heard Ezra mutter near my ear, “Fuck, this is gonna hurt.”
A sudden brush of wind caught the sphere, slowing it, but we still landed way too fucking hard. Ezra grunted loud as his entire backside slammed against the ground, my body on top of his and crushing his front as gravity smashed me into him. His breath released against the left side of my face, even as all the air rushed from my own lungs, my arms flying past his body on either side to smack onto the ground. All the Elders next to us were lying on the bottom of the sphere, the same as us, sprawled every which way. No one moved, or like me, was probably able to breathe, all the air just gone from my lungs as I stared blurrily up at the sky in a daze.
Dizzily, I lifted a bruised and shaky hand and pounded on my chest a few times until I wheezed, coughing hard as air filled my jarred lungs. I felt a gentle squeeze on my hip, the barest pressure, and I shook my head hard, remembering I was lying on top of my husband. I rolled, sadly not quickly because the world kind of spun, and heard some of the Elders begin to stir as they also coughed air into their lungs. Moving like a drunk over Ezra, I stared down at his face. He was blinking repeatedly, like he couldn’t see, and his wide lips were beginning to turn blue. “Aw, shit.” His chest wasn’t moving, and if anything, it looked like some of his ribs might have broken from his body cushioning mine. “Antonio, a little help here!”
Instantly, I tilted his head back and pressed his chin down, opening his mouth wide. I sucked in a large breath and lowered my mouth to his, blowing out hard, pushing air into his lungs. And yeah, he had some broken ribs, the way his chest lifted with the air. “Antonio, goddammit! Get over here and fix him!” His heart was still beating, but he wasn’t breathing yet, his eyes starting to close, so I blew more air into his lungs. “Fucking breathe!” I pushed more air in, and I shouted, “Ezra!”
Antonio’s glowing hands were suddenly on Ezra’s chest, and I heard
popping sounds erupt inside him. Ezra’s eyes did fly open then, and after I blew air into his lungs once more, he inhaled sharply and started coughing hard, groaning a harsh curse when I heard a particularly vicious pop. I grabbed his hands and held them down, having to use quite a bit of my Shifter strength to keep him from knocking Antonio away from his work, but I kept my face directly over his and pressed my Shifter soothing power into him.
He calmed some, staring up at me and muttering breathlessly, “Elder fucking air Elemental.”
I nodded, and my lips pinched as he grimaced. Apparently not just his ribs were broken, because Antonio moved down his body. “Yes, you can kick his ass once you can walk again.”
Ezra blinked slowly. “I suppose you’re correct.” Another slow blink. “Walking would probably be the minimum requirement for kicking someone’s ass.” He jerked at something Antonio did, but he didn’t try to fight my hold. Then, amazingly, he chuckled a little, sounding drunk. “Did you give me mouth-to-mouth?” He licked his now red lips. “Yes, I believe you did.” His resulting grin was sloppy, his words slurred. “Can you do it again while I’m coherent?”
None of the Elders was really moving to stand. In fact, Elder Zeller still appeared to be out. He appeared badly injured, but if he wasn’t dead, his unconsciousness was a blessing.
I met my husband’s gaze. “Shh. Don’t talk.” I glanced back to Antonio. He had dried blood down the side of his cheek, but other than that, he didn’t appear to be harmed. “I think Ezra may have something wrong with his head. Possibly a concussion.”
“He’ll be fine in a few minutes, if it’s only that,” Antonio muttered, eyes on his work. “And besides, he’s talking and awake, unlike his father, who I need to check on.”
“What’s the matter with my dad?” Ezra griped loudly, sounding a bit better.
King Tomb (Forever Evermore) Page 19