Cora smiled, ethereal and knowing in that way fae had. "I'll leave you to it then. Tell Callum I'm at the Griddle and Grind when he's done with his errands."
After she left, Dante settled into the chair she'd vacated, studying Maeve in the firelight. Her short black hair was mussed from sleep, her features relaxed in a way they never were when she was awake. The bandage on her shoulder showed white against her skin, a reminder of how close those rogues had come to doing real damage.
His lion growled possessively.
Mine. Protect. Keep safe.
"I can feel you staring." Her voice emerged rough with sleep, eyes still closed. "It's creepy."
"You should be resting."
"I am resting." She cracked one eye open, the gold in it catching the firelight. "What's wrong?"
"What makes you think something's wrong?"
"You smell like snow and old wood. You've been outside the Veil." Both eyes opened now, sharp and assessing despite the lingering exhaustion. "What did you find?"
There was no point lying. She'd see through it immediately. "Evidence that Hector's planning something bigger."
She sat up slowly, wincing as the movement pulled her injured shoulder. "How much bigger?"
"Big enough that we need to prepare quietly." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Trust me on this, Maeve. Trust that I won't let anything happen to your town."
She held his gaze. "If you're asking me to sit this one out?—"
"I'm asking you to let me handle the coordination." He caught her hand, pressed it against his face. "You've been fighting alone for so long, Cub. Let someone stand with you for once."
Her dark gold eyes searched his, looking for weakness, for deception, for anything that would justify pushing him away. Whatever she found must have satisfied her because she nodded slowly.
"Okay." The word came quiet but sure. "But I want details. All of them."
"After you rest more."
"Dante—"
"After. I've got people to gather, plans to make. You've got healing to do."
"Bossy lion."
"Stubborn lioness." He smiled despite everything. "Perfect match."
Her snort followed him to the door, but so did something that sounded suspiciously like agreement.
An hour later,Dante stood in Lucien's private study above the Book Nook, surrounded by the people who would help defend Hollow Oak. Moira had cleared her worktable, spreading out the rogue's map alongside her own detailed charts of the town's layout.
"Protection wards here, here, and here." Freya pointed to the square's three main entrances, her copper-auburn hair catching lamplight as she leaned over the table. Her hand rested protectively over her rounded belly, Kieran a solid presence at her back. "I can weave them into the existing decorations. No one will notice until they're triggered."
"How long will they hold?" Emmett asked from his position by the window, Katniss beside him reviewing her own notes.
"Long enough to give warning and slow them down." Freya's green eyes met Dante's. "But they won't stop a determined attack. We'll need physical defense too."
"That's where we come in." Ryker spoke up, the auburn-haired wolf's emerald eyes intense with focus. "Sonya's visions showed fighting in the square, but the outcome kept shifting. Too many variables. But she's certain it happens at the Solstice."
"Then we make sure those variables shift in our favor." Dante straightened, addressing the group. "Emmett, I need your best fighters positioned as crowd control. Keep civilians safe first."
"Done."
"Lucien, Moira." He turned to the panther shifter and his mate. "Research and take notes from Maeve, Callum and Dante. I need to know everything about Hector's pride structure, his alliances, any weaknesses we can exploit."
