Nissa turned her gaze to the djinn. "Well, no fae who has ever used the spell in the past has been bonded to aCanislupus.”
“How does that change things?” Myanin asked.
The fae shrugged. “Who can say? The true mate bond is powerful. Even between wolves, it is mysterious in many ways. But between two separate species? The fae wolf pairs can attest that the mate bond has altered their magic in ways they don't understand. We have no idea how the bond can affect different aspects of their individual magic.”
“Exception to every rule,” Myanin murmured as she considered the high fae’s words.
“Perhaps it would be better to continue this conversation with the other leaders,” Lilly offered. “I’m assuming they’re all at the sprite stronghold?”
Nissa nodded. “Most of them. Some have gone out on a hunt for the Canadian beta’s mate.”
Lilly turned to Gerick. “Put your second in charge of the mountain while we’re gone. I won’t ask you to be separated from Myanin right now.”
Gerick nodded, pulled out his phone, and tapped out a text. “Done.”
Nissa held out her arms, and each of them placed a hand on her. They flashed and a moment later reappeared in a room filled with chairs that created a barrier around a bed. Each chair was occupied by a different female. Their heads turned in unison and their eyes blinked.
“That’s a bit creepy,” Myanin said to the group.
There was a soft laugh from the bed, and Myanin saw Jacque with a grin, albeit a pained one, on her face.
“Being together for two weeks straight has turned them into a hive-mind collective,” Jacque said. Though the dark circles under her eyes and pale skin made it apparent the alpha was anything but well, her voice was still strong.
Lilly walked over, and several girls stood and shifted their chairs out of the way so the queen could get to her daughter. “I didn’tseethis.” She brushed Jacque’s hair back from her face.
“You aren’t omniscient, Mom,” Jacque chastised. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Regardless, it doesn’t make it any less frustrating that I have a gift that doesn’t allow me to help.” Lilly stood up straight, and Myanin watched as her demeanor went from that of a concerned mother to a pissed-off supernatural ruler. “We will figure out a way to fix this.”
Jacque nodded with a confident smile. “We always do.”
“So,” a blonde girl with bright blue eyes said as she rubbed her hands together, “I see that you brought the murdering djinn with you. Does that mean we’re going on a killing spree while the men are away?”
“Absolutely,” Myanin said. In unison several other voices called out, “No!” Gerick’s included.
“Damn,” Myanin and the blonde female said together which made Myanin inwardly smirk. She was going to like this female. That irritated her because liking someone meant caring for them. She refused to care for anyone else.
“We have much to discuss,” Lilly said. “Nissa, could you please ask the sprite queen, and anyone else she feels might be useful, to join us?”
The high fae nodded and then flashed from the room.
Myanin glanced around and then back at Lilly. “Could we make some introductions so I can stop thinking of them as ‘the blonde chick,’ ‘the lost-in-space-looking chick,’ ‘the greenish-hue chick,’ and so forth?”
“Please tell me that you called this one”—the blonde chick pointed to a female who also had blonde hair—“the ‘lost-in-space-looking chick.’”
“I would think that was obvious,” Myanin said. “She looks about as with it as a drunk pixie.”
The first blonde cackled.
Lost-in-space-girl didn’t seem offended in the least. “I’m Heather. I’m blind, and I often allow myself to get lost in thought because otherwise my brain cells begin dying. Which, I should warn you, is a consequence of hanging out with the blonde chick for longer than a minute, tops.”
Myanin waited to see if the blonde would react, but she simply waved Heather off. “Pull up a chair, CT. Let’s get to know one another.”
Myanin’s head tilted as she asked, “CT?”
There was a combined groan from the entire room, including Lilly.
“Cutthroat,” the blonde answered. “It’s your road name.”
