A perfect opportunity to find out what had happened while we were gone, even if it had only been for a few days.
Riding up to the inn and surrounding campgrounds took my breath away. It was a true work of art for these Fae to have constructed such a well thought out and efficient site in such a short amount of time.
We quickly dropped off the horses at the stable and made our way to the main dining hall in the tavern. The army ate outside, surrounding their individual campfires or at long tables they’d constructed themselves, but thankfully William allowed our group to eat inside so we could plan away from the others. Or perhaps he was still too wary of Vivienne and Cassandra and didn’t want to be alone with the seers and their magic any longer.
Settling around the back table of the tavern, Storm, Kalliah, Raya, and Corbin joined us with plates of food in hand. Kalliah even managed to find a carafe of wine, which paired perfectly with the tomato-sauced noodles piled on our plates.
As we all shoveled in the delicious meal, the questions were endless about what we’d learned. Kalliah’s eyes remained wide the entire time as her gaze split between me and Jax, who continued his habit of exaggerating every minor detail.
“You should have seen it,” Jax explained, his hands in the air. “There were about twenty strox flying in the air, attacking us from every angle and that was before the fifty razorven lined up like a battalion, ready to eat us for breakfast.”
Corbin raised his brow and studied Jax. His face practically screamedyou’ve got to be kidding me.
Determined to convince everyone at the table, Jax continued, “But you know, my super shifter abilities kept them at bay.” He blew on his nails. “These paws are lethal.”
“Right, Jax,” Ian mocked. “Definitely how it all happened.”
“I can’t believe you found the journal,” Kalliah murmured as she took a small sip of the earthy liquid. “And you battled a strox? Sounds like an adventure I’m glad I wasn’t a part of.”
Jax leaned forward across the table, “Oh beautiful, I would’ve protected you.” He winked, lifting her hand and kissing it. “You have nothing to fear when I’m around.”
Kalliah rolled her eyes, taking her hand back before she continued to swirl the long noodles around her fork, ignoring Jax’s shameless attempt at flirting.
“You know the man she’s not-so-secretly in love with for the last three years is likely being held hostage somewhere, right?” Ian asked.
Jax shrugged. “I could save him too.” He grabbed the bowl of noodles from the middle of the table and proceeded to serve himself another giant helping.
Kalliah blinked at Jax a few times before shaking her head and returning to her food.
Despite the hunger pains I’d felt earlier, I couldn’t help but stop what I was doing. There was something Evelyn said that I couldn’t wrap my head around. My head rested on my palm as my fingers tapped my brow.
“Tell me what’s going through that head of yours, Little Rebel.” Kade nudged my side as I sat there in silence.
Pausing, I lifted my head to look at him and the others at the table. “How are we possibly going to destroy all the darkness? We’d have to know where every dark one is, the location of every place Thames has infected. It feels impossible.”
Kade shifted in his seat, turning to face me, and placed his hand over mine. “Impossible? Never. With you, anything is possible.” He smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Just look at you now, you’ve got magic after all.”
It still amazed me that after twenty-three years, after years of torture and suffering, I could finally say I had magic. There was no more hoping and praying. No more hiding in plain sight, terrified to be discovered.
I was a true Fae. An heir to the royal throne of Brookmere. I would be queen.
And I had magic.
I couldn’t help but feel every step was just a little bit lighter. Every sound crisper. My vision even felt clearer. The cut I’d gotten yesterday during our battle, and the one from slicing my palm, had both already healed.
I was never one to believe in the prophecies by our seer, but perhaps I should’ve heeded more of her words over the years.
As if they knew I was thinking about them and this Fates-forsaken prophecy, Vivienne and Cassandra descended the stairwell and joined us at the table.
“Did you discover what you needed to learn?” Vivienne asked casually as she placed her hands in her lap. “Did you meet someone along the way?”
“You could have warned us,” Jax tried to shout through a mouthful of noodles. “We almost died.”
“Oh right, Mr. Super Shifter,” Kalliah mocked. “I thought youtotally had it?”
Raya snickered. “I knew I liked you, Kalliah.”
Cassandra and Vivienne stared at each other, chuckled, and Cassandra turned to Jax. “Yet here you are, still alive to tell the tale. Honestly Jax, when did you lose your sense of adventure? One would think you’ve reverted to the teenage Fae I caught hiding in the stables after being chased by a simple fox.”
