Jack stared. His words were curt. “Why should I believe anything you’re saying?”
I rubbed my lips together, then I pointed the vials at Pearl. “Queen Cooper, will you please place a truth spell on King Zeller and me while we’re inside this room?”
Instantly, her eyes flashed in fury and she snapped her fingers. “Done. Now say everything that you both just said all over again.”
Patiently, Ezra and I did as she had ordered, our vocals pulling the truth from us.
Silently, I placed each vial on the conference table, then I gently pushed them toward our best friends. I watched as they rolled silently to their hesitant hands. “Trust me, you want to drink it.”
Jack’s eyes flared. “Do you know why the memory wipe happened to me?”
Ezra nodded. “We do.” He paused, then he stated evenly, “I had a letter that I found inside my closet at King Shadow. All of my effects were already there when I arrived. When I had a Mage inspect the closet, he told me it was a Mage space. I believe it was Elder Farrar’s work. Nothing inside the space could be affected by Elder Harcourt’s spell. It was exactly as I left it the night my memory wipe occurred at King Cave. The letter was from Queen Ruckler, but she hadn’t left a name on it. I tried accessing some of the safe homes she had listed on there, and even tried a,” he glanced at me, then back to them, “post office box, but each location was protected by the same Mage space — the magic exact. Elder Farrar’s.”
I blinked. “The letter I wrote you when we were finding the Prodigies?”
He nodded, his lips quirking. “It was an interesting read.”
That was how my husband had known that I loved him completely. The letter was personal and extremely intimate, along with all the information I had written down. “Oh.”
He chuckled quietly. “Yes…oh.” Gradually, his attention altered back to our silent, watching best friends. “Did you have nothing like that in your closets?”
Eventually, they shook their heads, still studying us.
“Maybe that was for the best,” I whispered. “All I had was the shirt I was wearing,” I smiled gently, “and a pregnant belly.”
Pearl’s eyes instantly narrowed. “You were pregnant?”
The mother in me shined out in my grin. “Yes, I have daughter.” I paused, then my vocals urged me to state, “King Zeller and I have a daughter together. Her name is Isa.”
Their blinks were ever so gradual. No shock. No questions. Just the chill.
“Queen Ruckler and I are married.” Ezra lifted a cool black brow, unfazed by their silence. He pointed to the vials. “As are you two. You should probably drink those to remember how that happened.”
The first crack in stony countenance occurred.
Both jerked on their chairs, their gazes snapping toward each other.
Pearl’s jaw bobbed.
Jack’s blue brows rose…as his gaze lowered, and he eyed her cleavage. “Huh.”
I snorted softly. “Drink the damn vials.”
Instantly, Pearl uncorked her vial with shaking hands. She drank.
Jack watched her closely as she placed her head on the table as memories slammed her.
Her skin shimmered in a stunning gold. Quietly, she sniffled, not lifting her head. “Drink the bloody vial, Jack.” Though she did reach across the table, blindly holding her hand out to me.
I instantly grabbed it with both of mine, holding it tightly. “I missed you.”
Another sniffle. “Understatement.”
Jack’s gaze still had not left her, but he did lift his vial. Uncorked it. Drank it down.
His head tipped back, and he closed his eyes as his vial fell from the tips of his fingers to the conference room tabletop. The clink was loud in the silence as it landed, then it rolled off the table to the floor. Jack’s neck bobbed as he swallowed heavily. “My God.” When he lowered his head, there was an emotion flittering behind his eyes that I could not catch. Quickly, he hooded his gaze, peering at the back of Pearl’s head. “We’re married.”
Her face still stuffed against the crook of her arm, she nodded. “Yes.”
Ever so slowly, he lifted one of his hands and placed it on the back of her head.
Pearl shuddered at his touch…and started bawling.
My eyes widened, and I glanced at my husband. “Maybe, we should—”
“Yep.” He was already standing from his chair. “We’ll leave you two alone to catch up.”
I squeezed Pearl’s hand one more time, then I released it.
She damn near tackled Jack, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.
He swiftly dipped his head and held her tight. “Shh. It’s all right. I’m here.”
I pushed from my own chair and hurried to follow my husband out of the spelled room.
We made sure the door was locked.
Chapter Nineteen
Two days later, I was driving in my Hummer — having almost arrived at our intended destination — and my cell phone rang. I dug it out of my pocket while Ezra took the wheel, steering for me. Jack and Pearl were cuddled in the back seat, sleeping quietly. Our private lives had finally returned to normal, even though our professional lives would never be. The perfect indication of this was our current assignment of the President. Our intel had showed us his whereabouts, and he was our purpose for this road trip. It was time to end this war.
“Hello,” I answered, allowing Ezra to continue steering.
“I found her.” That was all he said. It was John Smith.
“Bring her to me,” I ordered.
“You won’t garner any information from her. She was dead when I found her.”
My wolf growled quietly. “Bring me her head.”
He was quiet, then he muttered, “It’s kind of burnt.”
“Is she recognizable?”
“Yes.” He paused. “Half of her face, anyway. Her body was in the carnage at King Hall.”
“Then I want her head.”
“I’ll bring it to you.” He hummed. “Have you ever heard of the Harcourt Division? I received an interesting letter from the Elder.”
“No. And I don’t want to hear that name again.” I blinked. “And you work for me.”
He snorted. “I do what I want.” His sigh was heavy. “But I will continue accepting assignments as you have them, my Queen.” His line went dead as he hung up on me.
“Aggravating ass,” I muttered, pocketing my cell.
“Who was it?”
“None of your business.” My wolf growled, but I smirked. “Elly’s dead.”
Ezra eyed my profile. “Nice.” He grinned. “What are you going to do with her head?”
“Let rats eat it.”
He nodded. “Sounds about right.”
Sneaking onto the property where the President hid was much easier than it should have been.
The four of us were dressed in black fatigues and had enough firepower on us to take the White House down…if it hadn’t already been burned to ash during one particular amazing Mystical win. But instead of firing our weapons, we kept them holstered. The darkness provided by the heavy cloud cover hiding the moon was wasted. The reason we had not had to fight anyone yet was because of all the Com guards that we were currently stepping over where they lay unconscious on the ground.
Jack’s brows furrowed. “Did one of the Elders get here first?”
Pearl shook her head. “We’re the only Rulers designated for this particular Com leader.”
Ezra grunted, stepping over another Com. “Well, someone beat us here.”
“We don’t want the damn man dead,” I grumbled. “At least these guards aren’t.”
All four of us stopped abruptly, squinting as our eyes glowed softly, when a black fog seeped out of the front door, right through the crack. It wasn’t a fire, the air smelling clean. Instead, the dark fog crept down the white patio stairs and into the grass…and disappeared.
My lips pinched. “What the hell was that?”
<
br /> Pearl lifted a finger. “I’ll admit that was a little frightening.”
Jack stated, “Maybe it was a shadow.”
All four of us glanced up to the sky. The moon was barely seen. We peered to the house.
“I’ll go with the shadow theory,” Ezra murmured, even though it made no sense.
I shrugged. “I haven’t eaten yet today. I’m going with blurry vision.”
“I’m about to be on my period,” Pearl grumbled. “I’m going with PMS.”
I gurgled deep in my throat, trying not to laugh.
“That’s viable,” Jack stated. Lie. “Ezra, do you hear anyone in the house?”
“I think it has a privacy spell on it.” His head tilted. “I can’t even hear a bug in there.”
I grunted. “He probably has a Mage tied up in his basement.”
But when we opened the door, the four of us felt corked Mage power.
Elder Harcourt’s magic was the privacy spell. Figured. Asshole.
“He obviously doesn’t want him dead,” Jack grumbled. He motioned for Ezra to lead the way. “Let’s go tell the President who’s boss.”
Ezra didn’t hesitate. He didn’t even walk lightly. Apparently there were no threats here.
We followed him into an office that reeked of cigar smoke.
The President sat behind his desk. His face was ash white as if he hadn’t taken a breath in a few minutes. He blinked ever so gradually as he noticed the four of us standing inside the room. As he stood, a half-hysterical laugh erupted past his lips. “I’ll be with you four in a second.” He lifted a small, red velvet bag from his desk and placed it in a safe behind his desk. He sat heavily on his chair then waved a hand. “Have the Mys Kings and Queens come to shoot me?”
I shook my head. “No, we only came to talk with you. Though someone did render all of your guards unconscious. Not us, by the way.” I eyed him, the color coming back to his cheeks. “Any clue who did that?”
He laughed again, this time more calmly. “I didn’t catch their name if they did.” Truth.
Ezra hummed softly. “You know the Coms are losing this war.”
The President sat quiet for a full minute. He rubbed his forehead. Nodded. “I do.”
Jack rolled his finger in the air. “We’re here to tell you what the Mysticals’ next step will be if the Com leaders of the world don’t back down and sign a new peace treaty.” Blue liquid rose from his hand, hovering. “The Com’s water supply? It will be gone.” The water burst and disappeared.
Pearl shrugged a shoulder. “Your crops will begin to die.”
Ezra chuckled quietly. “Your innocent people will find themselves insane.”
I smiled. “Your livestock will suddenly stop eating, and die.” I lifted a brow. “This war is done and you’re the man to make it happen with the Com leaders.”
Once more, the President didn’t speak, staying silent. He turned his attention to the window, staring out for long minutes. He lifted a cigar from his desk and lit it. “The Beasts…”
“The last farm was eliminated,” Ezra stated easily.
“What’s to stop it from happening again?”
This was…painful. But the Elders had agreed upon it yesterday through spelled letters, even after Antonio’s four had explained in truth that hybrids could perform an Awakening — not giving their contact away. The world just wasn’t ready for them after the Beasts. “The Executioner will stay.” I swallowed heavily. “Also, to make sure that no pregnancies occur, the Law forbidding mixed faction sexual relationships will continue.” Even with the four of our votes, it hadn’t been enough to change the ruling. “The Mystical community is taking every precaution to keep this from ever happening again.”
When the President stayed silent, Ezra explained, “We need you to back this treaty.”
Finally, the President nodded. He puffed on his cigar, then he stated, “I’ll do it.”
Chapter Twenty
Jack, Pearl, Ezra, and I stood on the lawn of King Hall. I held Isa in my arms. Our Vizoacs were lounging in the sun, their presence seen even less now because the violence had stopped.
MCWWII was officially over. It had taken six months after our private meeting with the President, but a new treaty had been signed. The world was still wary, but new strict laws had been established against Com violence against Mys, and vice versa. It was safe to say that if you were now going to pick on someone not of your kind…you should do it in private.
And bury the body so no one would find it. It was a good thing we excelled at that.
Though I had not buried Elly’s head.
I had held true to my word and let the rats munch on it. While I watched.
Now the four of us stood side by side, gazing at the rubble that was left of our school.
Ezra sniffed. “We can do this.”
Jack snorted. “We made the Elders understand that the four Rulers under one roof made sense for a more united front.
Our first new home was now under construction. We were going to call it the Manor. There would be four of them worldwide, each of us picking a location. I had picked Choep, New York — where we had first met. We would all be living together, traveling every so often to the other locations, but Choep was going to be our home base.
Jack waved a hand at the administration building. Specifically, the departed Mrs Jonas’s office. “Some of it’s still standing.”
I laughed outright. “It’s the only thing standing.”
Pearl shrugged, putting her hair up into a ponytail. “King Hall will live again.”
The four of us nodded. We were going to rebuild our school. Together.
After all, our Prodigies had to go to school somewhere.
There was no better place to watch over them than in our backyard.
We were the Kings and Queens that broke all the rules.
We would not expect any less from our Prodigies.
Even if we led them to believe otherwise.
Epilogue
Julia sat on a tree stump on King Hall’s property, watching the Mystical Kings and Queens from afar. The gigantic mosquitos were out in full force here. She slapped as another tried to take a bite out of her. One day she wouldn’t mind bagging a hundred of the pesky insects, then releasing them inside a certain golden cloak. Glancing over her shoulder, she glared at the man finally arriving. “You’re ten minutes late, Mage.”
Elder Harcourt chuckled softly. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Lady.”
She huffed, fully irritated with his non-sorry expression. “I almost left.”
“I would have found you.”
Julia rolled her eyes and stated sarcastically, “Your ego is hurting my teeth.”
“Perhaps they need brushing?” With ease, he sat on the grass beside her tree stump.
“You’re an ass.”
Elder Harcourt merely grinned. “Enjoying the view?”
Julia whacked another mosquito. “Did you enjoy the view while you played your game?”
The Elder Mage cracked his neck. “They were becoming reckless. I did what I had to.”
“They hate you.”
“So it seems.”
She hummed, lifting a red brow. “You allowed Bindi more access for the DNA test.”
His lips gradually curved…until he snickered quietly. “She always had the access.” His slow blink almost appeared amused, like he had been dealing with halfwits, not powerful Mysticals. “When I cast the spell, they were inside my magic. The Shifters couldn’t scent what was a lie and what was the truth. They only knew…that I am me.”
Julia stared. Blinked. “Well, that’s interesting.” She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing she thought that was genius. If Bindi had believed the most powerful Elder Mage had restricted her…then she never would have tried. Not until she could help it, anyway. After all, Bindi was a healer, so finally having Ezra and Lily in the same room would have been too much temptation. Julia was not even going to ask what hea
d games the Mage had played on the other four Elders. She was not entirely sure she wanted to know.
Though, she did have one question. “How did the world stay sane when the Rulers didn’t?”
Elder Harcourt’s resulting grin was pure evil. “I could have taken away the blank spots and given the Rulers pretty memories to fill the voids, as I did the rest of the population, but then they would not have realized anything was off.” He paused. “They also wouldn’t have learned the lesson they so badly needed.”
Julia snorted, watching the Kings and Queens keep a safe distance from each other.
Elder Harcourt made no move to speak, his quiet patience bothering her further.
She eventually stood from the stump. “I brought what you want.”
“I know.”
Her glare was a force unto itself. “Can’t you even pretend like you don’t?”
His deep snicker was devious. “Of course I can.” He raised his hand where she stood over him, and wiggled his fingers. “I’d like it now.”
Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a black bag. “I’ll need it back.”
He nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”
Grunting softly, she tossed him the gift. “Just make sure I have it back before I need it.”
“That I can do,” he murmured, and opened the bag to stare down into it. A pure white light shone up onto his face. The glare made him squint. “That won’t do.” He hurried to close the bag and stuffed it into his own cloak. “I’ll have to work on it.”
Julia tittered quietly and stalked away. “Just return it as it is now.”
Elder Harcourt didn’t watch her go, his gaze steadfast on the Rulers.
Only a golden eagle in the sky saw the wicked smirk that curved his lips.
Thanks for reading KING TOMB. I hope you enjoyed it.
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King Tomb (Forever Evermore) Page 26