“Artistic talent,” Wadim scoffed. “The last time I saw her she was shoveling slime in her mouth.”
Chuckles filled the room, but Jen just lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Okay, I didn’t say she was the smartest crayon in the box. But she’s my crayon, dammit, and she’s definitely the cutest.”
“Once we hit the ground,” Fane continued without missing a beat. The dude was seriously good at ignoring the interruptions that just came with the territory of their group. “We engage immediately.” He looked at the djinn. “Can you bring the mountain down?”
“We can,” Clarion said. “But only one of us will use our power. It will be difficult to keep from completely collapsing more than just that mountain. There’s a reason we don’t use our power in such a way.”
“There are no other humans for miles and miles,” Boain offered. “If you bring down more than the mountain, there won’t be any other casualties.”
“Perhaps not,” Clarion agreed. “But it will most likely draw the attention of the humans.”
“An acceptable risk,” Fane said. “If it becomes more dangerous to leave it standing, then the compound comes down,” he stared at Clarion. “No matter what.”
“Even if we have people inside?” Peri looked directly in the alpha’s eyes. She wanted to tell him to be careful of what he ordered. There was no coming back from innocent deaths on your hands.
His jaw clenched. She could see the war raging inside him. The need to protect his pack and the need to protect the rest of the world from the evil they didn’t even know was in their midst. “If the danger is greater to leave the mountain standing, then it comes down. I realize it’s not what you all want to hear. But Alston needs to be stopped. The Order needs to be stopped, and sacrifices might be made in order for that to happen.” Then he looked at several of the fae in the room, Peri included. “Can you all use your magic to make our blades strike true?”
“Of course,” Peri answered, hearing the implied ‘duh’ in her voice. She shouldn’t have been offended by the question, but then she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Fane didn’t trust her to use her magic, considering what she’d used it for in the not to distant past. Then again, maybe she was just being paranoid.
“Lilly.” Fane turned to the warlock queen. “Have you seen anything that could help us?”
She shook her head, her lips pulled tight across her face. “I wish I could tell you yes. But my mind has been blank, and I’ve not felt anything ominous …orpromising. At least not yet.” Frustration laced her voice, as it often did when she spoke of her unpredictable power.
Peri figured that Fane didn’t bother to ask Andora about the seer sprites because he knew there were rules that the sprite queen would not break. No matter what.
“We will meet outside this hall, weapons in hand, at dusk,” Fane said. “I wish I could tell you that we will all return unharmed, but I cannot promise that.”
Jen groaned “Please tell me you arenotending this fellowship meeting on such an abysmal note.”
Fane’s lips twitched. “How would you have me end it, Jen?”
“I told you we should have just called it good when Peri gave her awesome speech,” Jen pointed out. “But as usual, no one listens to me.”
“Oh, we listen,” Jacque said. “We’ve just learned to take most of what you say with a grain of salt. It’s safer that way.”
Lorna cleared her throat, and all heads turned to look at her. At first, the she-wolf seemed to wilt under their eyes, but then she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “I’d like to say that I’ve never experienced such a loyal group, dedicated to such a noble cause.” She glanced around the room. “I will admit that I was very apprehensive about coming here. I’ve had few positive experiences with packs of my own kind, or other supernaturals, for that matter. If anyone has a chance at defeating what’s left of the Order, I would wager it is this group because you are clearly of one accord.
“I can see that you care for one another and respect each other, even though you are not the same. Wolves, elves, fae, djinn, even warlocks, working together? It’s unprecedented. Perhaps you do not see it, but to those of us who have lived separate from the supernatural world, this cooperation is inspiring.” She took a deep breath and her lips turned up in a small smile. “I’m honored to be a part of it.”
“Now that”—Jen pointed at Lorna—“is how you finish a battle strategy meeting.” She gave Boain’s mate a thumbs-up. “Welcome to the pack, Lorna. Expect to be invited to girls’ night, and be prepared to endure endless sexual innuendos, drink spiked hot chocolate, and stuff your face with Oreos.”
“Spikedhot chocolate?” Decebel turned to look at his female.
Peri shook her head. “Busted. And by your own admission, Jen. I’m disappointed.”
“As if he didn’t know.” Jen shoved at Decebel’s chest. “He just wants to have an excuse to spank—”
“And that concludes our meeting.” Jacque spoke over her friend. “No need to scare Lorna off with your kinky bedroom exploits this early in our relationship.”
“Good call, Red,” Jen nodded as she pursed her lips. “We should ease her in slowly. I inducted Zara and Bethany so fast that they became freaks. Now they’ve canceled twice on girls’ night because they allowed their men to seduce them away. Or maybe they were just tied to the beds and won’t admit it.”
“Bloody hell.” Decebel breathed out and took his mate’s hand. “We’ll see you all in a few hours.”
“Girls’ meeting in an hour,” Jen called out as Decebel tugged her behind him. “If you’re a no-show, I will cut you.”
“No, she won’t,” Decebel assured them. Peri wondered if Jen’s mate had finally locked away all their knives.
Jen sighed loudly. “Spoilsport.”
