The procession continued, and Vale and Talia were brought to the other side of Cypher with high fae remaining while the rest of the formidable fae warriors rode their horses to join the closing circle. They had to layer themselves in order to leave room for the others joining them.
Next came the other packs who had fought in the Keep battle. The Coldspring pack alpha, Jeff Stone, walked beside his fallen wolf who was laid on a floating wood slab, just like the others with the moonflowers. The entire pack, Peri counted twenty-five, followed behind, their heads lowered in respect for their fallen pack mate. Jeff and the fallen joined the group in the center, while the Coldspring pack continued the circle.
The Missouri pack was next. Tyler led with two of his fallen wolves on wooden biers. His entire pack of fifty followed behind. They wore dark grey uniforms, much like the black ones that the Romania pack wore. On the front of their uniforms was the emblem of a moon over a wolf with his head bowed. Tyler joined the others in the center with the two fallen warriors. His was the last of the fallen.
The last to proceed down from the forest where everyone had been flashed and onto the battlefield were the djinn. Thadrick and Jezebel were in front, with the elders following. And behind them were the rest of the djinn race. Peri estimated there to be around seventy-five. She wasn’t surprised that there weren’t more. A race that powerful should not be allowed to have great numbers. The djinn were dressed in what Peri assumed must be their battle gear, though it wasn’t like any of the others. Their fighting clothes were called shinobi shozoku and made them appear as an army of ninjas. The only difference was that the elders and Thadrick did not wear the head or face coverings. Peri was not sure if this was their typical fighting clothing, as she’d never seen Thad in anything that resembled it, or if it was a special uniform for this occasion. As the djinn joined the circle, the elders, Thadrick, and Jezebel remained in the front while the other djinn gathered behind them, standing in straight horizontal rows. Peri met Thad’s eyes, and he bowed his head to her. She acknowledged it with a respectful head bow of her own.
Now, they had to wait for the fae who had been sent out to gather those that would stand with the Great Luna in this fight. Peri glanced up at the moon, which was almost completely red. They would be cutting it very close.
Just when she was about to say something to Dain, hundreds of fae appeared, each one withCanis lupusor sprites in tow. Moments later, Adira and the pixies loyal to her also appeared, the only other kind able to travel in a similar fashion as the fae. She saw Ciro, Italy’s alpha, with Stella at his side. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the field. Not far from their pack was the Ireland pack. She saw Kale and his Alpha, Angus. The female next to the alpha, holding his hand, was no doubt his mate. Holding on to Kale, with her head tilted as though she was listening to everything she could, was Heather.
Peri let her gaze roam over the area, looking for the rest of her new healers. She found Nick and Kara. The Canada alpha, Drayden, was motioning for his pack to gather up. Nick began yelling out orders, helping his alpha, and Kara seemed to be trying to get the female pack members, probably the un-mated ones, to form lines. Next she saw Gustavo, the Spanish alpha, with Anna tucked close to his side. He, too, was giving his pack orders, and Anna was standing tall as she motioned to some of their she-wolves.
With one last sweep around the field, Peri saw that Dillon’s pack was also getting organized. Dalton was there with Jewel. She was working with Tanya to get their female members organized. Peri tried not to laugh as Dalton attempted to help his alpha but also keep an eye on his mate who was at least twenty feet from his side. Peri had contacted Dillon and asked if he wanted to bring his pack early. Despite not having been in the Keep battle, his daughter had lost her in-laws, and Dillon had been connected to the Romania pack through Jacque. But he’d declined, expressing that he knew Jacque had enough to worry about, and he didn’t want her to feel obligated to share her time with him, especially when her mate needed her. Peri had respected the Denver alpha’s selflessness when she knew he no doubt wanted to at least hug his daughter and allow his wolf to have that much-needed pack touch to assure his child was indeed safe.
Peri let out a breath as she once again glanced at each of the five healers she’d come to care for and thanked the Great Luna that all her girls were okay and appeared to be handling themselves well in their new packs. That eased a tiny amount of her tension.
The other packs on the field were Hungary, and Poland. Dragomir, the alpha and his mate, Agnes, of Hungary, were waiting patiently. Both alphas looked tense, and Peri noticed that Agnes kept glancing over to where Vasile and Alina lay. Agnes’s grief was quite clear. The Polish alpha, Artur, looked especially stressed. His pack was one of the smaller ones and had few mated males. No doubt they would be feeling the discomfort of being around so many dominant mated males.
The Romania pack which had been joined with the packs from Bulgaria, Denver, Missouri, Coldspring, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, and Poland. Eleven total. Once upon a time, there had been twelve, but since the Serbia and Romania packs merged only eleven remained to stand with the Great Luna. Peri had to wonder how many hidden packs there were, and would their numbers overwhelm the legitimate packs?
Bringing her attention back to the matter at hand, she held up her hands and sent out a spark of light that shattered into the night sky. This grabbed everyone’s attention. “Please join the circle,” Peri said as she pointed to the remaining space. “Alphas, line your packs up. Andora,” she said to the sprite queen who stood with the entire sprite race, which had to be over four hundred strong, “could you please organize your people and move them to join? If we need to spread the circle back to make room, then do so.” Peri turned to Adira. “Thank you for coming.” The pixie had thirty others with her.
“I’m sorry there isn’t more,” Adira said. “You know how pixies are. They won’t commit if they don’t know who is going to win.”
“We appreciate you all being here,” Peri said to Adira’s pixies.
They bowed their heads. Some of them Peri knew because they’d worked with her before, and she was glad to see they were loyal to this cause and not their crooked king. Adira moved her group to join the growing circle.
The minute the circle was closed, the ground shook beneath their feet, and a blinding light flashed. A second later, every single being on the field fell to one knee at the exact same moment.
The Great Luna had arrived.
Chapter 21
“This life is but a blink to the humans. A short life is a giftmychildren do not have. With long life comes the opportunity to make many more mistakes, experience more grief, more heartbreak, more loss. But what my children have that the humans do not are the unique powers that allow them to be a force for good in the world, a force that can take on the evil that is minute-by-minute attempting to crush anything worth fighting for. At times, they will stray. At other times, they will stand fast. Through it all, they will have me as their ever-present help.” ~The Great Luna
Warmth rushed over Fane. Next to him, Jacque leaned in closer. The ground was covered in leaves that crunched beneath his knee. Summer had faded, and fall had quickly taken over. Why he even noticed that was lost on him. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to think about why he was in the middle of the field in the first place. He closed his eyes and focused on the peace flowing through him. For the first time since that morning, he felt like he could breathe.
“This is not the end, Fane Lupei.”The Great Luna’s voice filled his mind.“This is the beginning of what must happen.”
He didn’t know how to respond, so he simply remained silent and focused on breathing.
“This is a sad day,” the Great Luna spoke out loud. Her voice sounded as if it could be heard for miles. The power behind it was soul-jarring. “But it is also a day of celebration. We come to mourn those we love, my children, who I created and have loved since before they were born. Each of those who lay before us are mine. I feel your pain, and I hurt with you. I understand the grief of loss more than you know.
“But we also must celebrate the lives they lived. Each of them was willing to put themselves at risk for others. They died because they were willing to make the greatest sacrifice for all of you, as well as those who will never know what they gave. Each has a place with me, but there are two who have earned a special place in eternity.
“Vasile and Alina Lupei never allowed the darkness to take root in them. They fought bravely for centuries.”
Fane choked back his emotions as he listened to their Creator speak so highly of his parents. He’d thought he would be able to hold it together, but there was no chance he wouldn’t shed tears as he told his parents goodbye for the last time.
“They have loved one another faithfully,” the Great Luna continued. “Which might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But to be faithful in the small things means you will be faithful in the big things, and they have proven that over and over. Vasile has led his pack with respect for each of them. He has been a sacrificial leader, never commanding a task that he himself would not also undertake.
“Alina, with her gentle heart and ability to love despite how unlovable one might be, gave pieces of herself to everyone she encountered. She was a light that shined everywhere she went. Many nights she spent telling me about her worries and asking for me to watch over their pack, her child, her child’s mate, her grandson. She pleaded with me to protect those that she’d claimed as her own, and she cried out to me when she needed strength. This is what it means to be a child of mine. To know I created you to be mine, to be a part of my family. You can see the fruit of living with communion with me through the example of Vasile and Alina. And I hope that you each learn from their lives.”
Fane felt his mate shaking beside him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. The bond between them had been wide open, and it was comforting and overwhelming at the same time.
“Fane Lupei, son of Vasile and Alina, rise with your mate and child.” The goddess’ voice came both audibly and within his mind. Fane released Jacquelyn but then took her hand and pulled her to her feet. His eyes were still downcast when he saw the flowing, white robe that glowed so brightly it was painful to look at.
