“Don’t do it, Dalton,” Jewel yelled. “Please!” Another slice down her neck made her lift her hand to cover the wound as blood slipped down. “Ow!” It wasn’t deep, but it hurt like hell.
“Fane and all his closest members. I’m not just talking about his closest wolves,” Celise said. “I’m talking about all the mated fae, the elf king and his female, the warlock queen and the traitor she took in with his mate and son, her general and his mate, the djinn and his white witch and all their offspring, and Andora. I want you all here, and you know exactly who I’m talking about. Anyone I don’t see means a slash to your female. If Perizada and her beast aren’t here, I will cut Jewel’s heart out of her chest while you watch, until the light fades from your eyes.”
“DON’T DO IT,” Jewel screamed. Not the children. Bloody hell, not the precious babies. What had she done? Her mom’s hand squeezed hers, meant to be comforting and, to a degree, it was. But it was also strange, a reminder of how she’d gotten herself and those she loved into this complete disaster.
“I’m feeling generous, so you have ten minutes,” Celise said. “Then I start carving up Little Dove.”
Celise ended the call and set the phone on the rock table where the book and all her other supplies remained.
The storm around Jewel was just background noise now. The rain was nothing. Thunder roared and lightning lit up the sky. The best thing that could happen would be for lightning to strike her dead because then Celise would lose her bargaining chip. She knew her mate. Dalton would never leave her behind. And she also knew Peri. The high fae wouldn’t back down, either.
“Shit, shit, shit,” she hissed. Jewel spoke multiple languages, but that was the only word she could think of.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Celise waved her hand nonchalantly, “I’m not going to kill them—not exactly.”
“What does ‘not exactly’ mean?”
“I won’t touch them.” Celise held up her hands. “None of their blood will be on my hands. I will, however, make their lives the living hell that Perizada made mine when she took my sisters from me. I will make sure they all feel the emptiness I haveendured—the separation and loneliness of having your world ripped away. Those closest to you who know your pain, your joy, your likes and dislikes—they will understand with complete clarity what it is like to live without them.”
Jewel’s eyes widened as the words sank in. What exactly was the sprite saying?
Celise shook her head. “Death is too easy for them. I will not gift them that.”
“Get Decebel and his crew here now,” Dalton snarled. The whole group had heard the conversation through the speakerphone. “Thad, Jezebel, Myanin, Gerick…” Dalton kept naming people, going through every person that Celise meant.
“We heard her,” Peri said. “We’ll get them here. Disir, Dain, Adam, and Elle are on it.”
Dalton watched as the sprite queen walked over, joining the group. She looked tired. “I have no idea if we can fight her,” she said solemnly. “With theNushtonia, and all the evil she’s been gathering…” She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”
“We’ll worry about that when we get there.” Fane looked at his watch. “One minute. We’ve got nine left.”
Suddenly, fae started flashing in with people and the group grew. Dalton’s mind raced as he pushed on the bond again. Finally, she gave him an inch. He couldfeelher. Her emotions flooded him and nearly drove him to his knees. His precious, foolish mate. Dalton felt the darkness in her, but it wasn’t ruling her. She’d been controlling it, letting some of it slip out when she needed, but there was only light guiding her actions. And now, there was complete despair.
“Does someone want to explain why the hell I was interrupted while ripping out a perfectly rotten vampire heart?” Jen’s voice rose above everyone else’s.
“Momma hell!” Thia squealed.
“It’sjustMomma, you little hellion.” Jen scooped up her daughter.
Fane jumped up on a table so he could see above everyone, and Dalton joined him. This was his mate. And he needed to be the one to explain as much as he could.
Suddenly he felt a push, and Jewel was there. His hand shot to his chest as her voice filled his mind.“She promised me she’d bring back my mom. It was stupid. I should have known better. I mean, I’m a damn genius, and regardless of magic, dead is dead. But I’ve just been missing her so much. I’d be okay and then it would just hit me out of nowhere that I wanted my mom. I don’t know why, and I felt stupid because it’s not like she died yesterday. It’s been a while. I should have processed it by now. And I didn’t want to burden you with it, or anyone because, hell, look at all the crap going down. Me missing my mom is the freaking least of our worries. But I did, and Celise said she could do it, that I just needed to help her with the spell, and my gullible ass believed her, and now I’m going to get all of you killed because I’m stupid, and I want you to stop. Don’t come. Please, if you care about me at all, you won’t come.”
Dalton growled.“You done?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure I have more to say, but I’m distracted.”
“Jewel.”Dalton savored her name on his lips and the feel of their bond being open.“Pack doesn’t leave anyone behind. No. One. Ever. For any reason. We are coming. We will face Celise and whatever evil plan she has, and we will deal with the consequences. Either in this life or the next. Now, let me focus. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”He didn’t want to stop talking toher, but Fane was speaking, and Dalton needed to hear what was being said.
“Maxim, you and yours stay here. Lizzy, you and Finn as well. She doesn’t know about you. Let’s not put you on her radar. As far as I’m concerned, she’s not talking about any of the other packs. But I do think she’s speaking about the healers.” Fane looked at each of them. “We have no idea what her plan is, whether to kill us all or something else. So we go with this core group, and we face it head on.”
Dalton looked out at them, his eyes filling with tears. “Thank you.” He choked on the words.
“No thanks are needed.” Kara spoke up. “Jewel would do it for us in a heartbeat. Shehasdone it for us. She has sacrificed for us. And we will do it for her.”
Dalton glanced down at the healer’s stomach, which now was slightly rounded. His heart shredded a little more. If they came out of this alive, Jewel might never recover from putting her family, her pack, in this position. “I’m sorry about the pups,” Dalton said, because he didn’t know what else to say.
“Titus and I will stay close to the younger ones,” Torion, Skender and Tenia’s boy said. His voice sure and strong.
