Perifinally lifted her head.The storm her power created raged around her. Thankfully, it was filtered through her mate, the Great Luna bless him. He’d no doubt saved the lives of their warriors. When she looked up, she saw drops of sleet frozen in the air, like sparkling clear stars come down from the sky. Her eyes shifted. Elle, Adam, Cyn, Nissa, and Riven held the frozen rain in place. The strain of the effort was clear on their faces. Her gaze moved past them, and she took in the destruction she’d caused. It was nothing compared to what the Order had done. And it was nothing compared to what she would do because of their crimes.
She heard footsteps and turned her head to see Gavril carrying Vasile’s body. Gravril’s eyes were filled with tears, and his jaw was clenched as though he was trying to hold back his emotions. The man’s back was ramrod straight, and his chin was held high. But as he lowered the fallen alpha to the ground and carefully laid him next to Alina, his head bowed, and he whispered in their native tongue, which Peri knew well.“By your great sacrifice, you have earned your eternal rest in the Great Luna’s court.” Then he took Vasile’s hand and wrapped it around Alina’s. Gavril knelt down on one knee then, placed a hand over his heart, and bowed his head. His mate, Rachel, did the same. One by one, the supernaturals who had fought side by side took a knee and showed their respect.
The warriors formed a circle around them. Cypher’s body was carried over by Jareth. Beside him, Riven carried the king’s head as reverently as Lucian had carried Alina’s heart. Then the king of the warlocks was laid beside the two fallen alphas, and his head was placed where it should be. A king as honorable as Cypher should not go into the afterlife remembered the way he had fallen. Lilly knelt beside him, her shoulders visibly shaking as her head bowed. The warlocks who had fought so bravely with their king knelt in a circle behind their king and queen, their swords held firmly in their hands as they laid them across their hearts.
Her gaze continued to travel. Prince Thalion and Cyn were in the same position as the others, kneeling. They’d both laid their blades down in front of them, a symbolic gesture that they would die fighting for the cause that Vasile, Alina, and Cypher had given their lives for. Cindy Morgan, the woman who had, no doubt through the seer sprites, known that Alina was in trouble, was wrapped in her husband’s arms. She wept so hard that her sobs could be heard above the storm.
“Set her down, beloved,” Lucian said softly, drawing her attention back.
Peri didn’t want to let Alina go. She didn’t want to let any of them go. But death did not ask her what she wanted. She carefully lowered Alina’s body to the ground so that her shoulder was touching Vasile’s. After several minutes, Lucian stood and pulled Peri up with him, his hand wrapped tightly around hers.
“You kneel out of respect for them,” Lucian said, his voice full of strength despite the pain she could feel through their bond. “But now you must stand so that you can avenge them.”
The warriors rose to their feet … all except Lilly who would not take her eyes off her mate. They looked around and saw the same thing Peri did. Vasile, Alina, and Cypher had not been the only losses. The bodies of other warriors were littered across the battlefield.
Lucian spoke again, understanding through their bond that Peri needed his strength. For once, Peri’s pain was greater than her seemingly inexhaustible fortitude.
“Vasile and Alina would want us to honor our fallen as we will the alpha pair and the warlock king.” He tilted his head back and let his wolf out. The howl that rumbled up from her mate’s throat was nothing like one that would come from a human. It filled the air and no doubt carried for miles. The other wolves among them joined their howls, and those who were notCanis lupusraised their voices as well as their weapons in a battle cry. Not one of victory or of a call to arms. But one of honoring those who had given the greatest sacrifice: their lives for that of another.
One by one as the voices died down, the circle broke, and those who’d survived began gathering their fallen warriors. Peri and Lucian helped. The first two bodies they came to shredded her heart even further.
Peri wasn’t particularly close to the other elders on the fae council, but she’d known them a very long time, and thosestillthere had remained faithful over the centuries. Their kind wasn’t especially maternal, but there were always exceptions to the rules. Talia and Vale, warriors who had volunteered to join them, lay side by side, their eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky. Both were children of high fae council members. Disir was Talia’s father, who adored her. Dain, Vale’s father, spoke very highly of his son’s accomplishments as a warrior.
“We need to be expecting a visit from my council,” she told Lucian in a quiet voice. Then she used her power to raise their prone forms and move them toward the other dead.
By the time they’d gathered everyone who had given their lives up in the fight, there were a total of twenty deaths, not including Vasile, Alina and Cypher. Drake clung to life, though the sprite healer was still working on him, and no one held out hope that he would make it.
“Nissa,” Peri said as she motioned to Rachel, Drake, Diedre, and Lanora. “Please take them to the healer’s area in the Keep. And then please get Bethany to her mate's side.”
Nissa nodded. “Of course.”
Lucian suddenly stumbled, and Peri helped steady him. “What’s wrong?” she asked, looking all over to see if he was injured.
“Fane,” Lucian said through gritted teeth.
Peri looked at Cyn, who was walking past. “Where is Fane?”
Cyn glanced at Lucian and her eyes widened. “He’s with the Colorado pack. He and Decebel requested to stay in the States because their mates and children are there.” Cyn motioned to Peri’s mate. “You should take Lucian there. Thalion and I can take care of things here.”
Lucian shook his head. “Decebel is with him. I may be his uncle, but he doesn’t really know me. And this is where I need to be.”
Peri could feel through their bond that, despite his words, Lucian did want to check on his nephew. “Once we get things settled here, we will go to Dillon’s pack together. We will need to set up the celebration of life for Vasile and Alina, as well as the others. And Fane will need to be involved in that.
“We will need to ask Lilly and the warlocks how they want Cypher’s funeral handled. If they want it separate or with Vasile and Alina.” Peri thought about Lilly and couldn’t even imagine how she was going to cope with what she was facing. Then she thought about how badly Fane must be hurting. His mate and child were in the hands of the enemy, and his parents were now dead. Dillion would be lucky if he had a house left standing by the time Peri and Lucian arrived.
“We’re all going to get through this, beloved,” Lucian said gently.
Peri wanted to believe him. She wanted to have hope, but for the first time that she could remember, she felt nothing. Just nothing.
* * *
Lilly heardpeople moving around her. She could hear their voices, though she didn’t know what they were saying, nor did she care. The wind no longer whipped around her, and the rain had stopped, but inside of her, the storm raged just as powerfully as it had moments ago. Her eyes were focused on her blood-covered hands resting on her mate’s chest. She couldn’t bring herself to look up and see his face. She didn’t want to look into the unseeing eyes of her lifeless male. She didn’t want to see the space between his neck and his body where his head had been horrifically severed. So instead, she focused on her hands and imagined his chest rising and falling with his breaths. She imagined that at any moment he was going to wake up, take her face in his large hands, and tell her how much he adored her. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t tell her. They’d had a bit of a rough start, but he’d turned out to be one of the best things that had ever happened to her, next to her daughter and grandson, both of whom were in the hands of the ones who’d taken the life of the warlock king, her mate, and best friend. And for what? What was their end game? What purpose did Cypher’s death serve? Lilly vowed to find out, and then she would do anything she could to make sure the Order’s plans did not succeed.
“Your death won’t be for naught,” she whispered as she finally let her eyes rise until she was looking at his handsome face. Jareth had closed the king's eyes and part of her was glad, but part of her mourned not seeing the unusual bright yellow orbs. “I love you, Cypher. You weren’t only the king of the warlocks. You were the king of my heart as well. I will forever be your queen.” Her tears fell as she leaned over him and pressed her lips to his. As soon as they touched, Lilly felt power rush into her. It wasn’t the sprite magic she’d become accustomed to. It was warlock power. Then her mind was flooded with images—memories that weren’t her own. There had to be hundreds of memories filling her mind. It wasn’t until she saw her face and heard a voice speaking—Cypher’s voice—that she realized she was seeing his memories. She choked on a sob as she saw herself through his eyes. She felt his awe, love, and complete devotion for her, and it was more than she’d ever realized.
Suddenly, Cypher’s voice wasn’t just filling her mind. It was audible to her ears, and she could feel his presence as if he was with her. She lifted her head and saw him shimmering, translucent before her.“It’s my spirit, love.”He reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. She reached for his hand, and to her surprise, she was able to hold onto him.
“How is this possible?” She squeezed his hand tighter, somehow hoping she could keep him there with her.
