Shade clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding together as he forced the thought away. He didn’t have time for this. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions cloud his judgment. And yet, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the memories from creeping in. Myanin’s laugh, the way her eyes sparkled when she was excited, the way she challenged him, pushed him, made him feel like he could be more than the rage and power that defined him.
He hated her for leaving, but he hated himself even more for still wanting her back. But he’d made her a promise. He’d come for her one day, and that day had come.
“Raith,” Shade muttered. His eyes scanned the clearing. “Where the hell did he run off to this time?”
Edric, one of his three companions, snorted, his black eyes gleaming with amusement. The dark-skinned djinn leaned casually against a jagged boulder, his arms crossed as he watched Shade with a knowing smirk. “He claimed nature called. Convenient timing. But are you surprised? Raith’s impulsive. He’s probably off throwing himself into some ridiculous situation, as usual.”
Shade huffed, his grip on theNushtoniatightening until his knuckles actually hurt from the pressure. He didn’t have time for Raith’s antics, not now. The djinn warrior was reckless and contrary, always pushing boundaries, but Shade needed him here. The veil wouldn’t open without all of them working together.
“Focus,” Shade snapped. He turned to Edric and Valin, the latter standing quietly off to the side, his expression grim. “Raith’s not here, and I’m not wasting time chasing him. We have work to do.”
Valin nodded, and his dark hair fell into his eyes. “What’s the plan, Shade? TheNushtoniais powerful, yes, but we don’t know how it will interact with the veil.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Shade’s emotions were dangerously close to the surface, and he struggled to keep them in check. He couldn’t afford to let his thoughts drift to Myanin again. Not now.
But his anger found another outlet, one that burned just as fiercely. Thadrick.
The name was poison in his mind, a reminder of betrayal that still cut deep. Thadrick, once a trusted brother, had turned his back on their people. He’d chosen Jezebel, a white witch, over Myanin, one of their own. Shade’s hands tightened around the book as the rage bubbled to the surface. He had trusted Thadrick. Respected him. And the other djinn had thrown it all away for a witch.
“Shade.” Edric’s voice pulled him back to the present. “What’s the plan?”
Shade exhaled slowly, forcing the anger back down. It wasn’t the time for this. He couldn’t let his emotions rule him now, not when they were so close. “We’ll use the blood-binding spell from the first sealing, but we’ll modify the words to unbind instead. TheNushtoniahas to be the key. We just need to figure out how to turn it.”
Edric raised a brow, pushing off the boulder. “And you’re sure this won’t end with us trapped in some void between realms?”
“I’m not sure of anything,” Shade snapped, his patience thinning. “But do you have a better idea?”
Edric shrugged, but his expression hardened as he stepped closer. “No. Let’s do this.”
Together, the three djinn stood before theNushtonia. Shade began to chant, reciting the ancient words of the binding spell, his voice steady despite the weight of the magic pressing down on him. Edric and Valin joined in, their voices weaving together with his, creating a harmony of power that resonated in the clearing.
The book pulsed in Shade’s hands. Its pages glowed faintly as the runes seemed to shift and writhe. He felt a sharp pain in his palm as the book demanded his blood, and without hesitation, he pressed his hand to the page, letting the crimson droplets seep into the parchment. Edric and Valin followed suit, their blood mingling with his. The magic intensified as it soaked into the book.
The air around them crackled, heavy with energy. TheNushtoniabegan to hum. Its light grew brighter, more blinding. Shade’s heart pounded in his chest as he adjusted the chant, changing the binding words to those of release.
And then, the veil began to ripple.
Chapter 8
“Sometimes there is no good choice. There’s only a slightly less bad choice. And sometimes any choice is just FUBAR.” ~ Tyler
The Romanian pack mansion was as imposing as Tyler remembered it, though the memories it stirred were bittersweet. The last time he’d been here, Alina and Vasile had still been alive, strong, commanding presences who could calm even the most volatile alphas with a single look. They’d been the heart of the Romania pack, the foundation for so much of the supernatural world’s unity. Their deaths had left a void that still hadn’t been filled. The thought of them brought a pang of grief and a wash of fondness, and Tyler pushed the emotions down. There wasn’t time for sentimentality. Not now.
The great hall of the mansion was a storm of energy, crowded with wolves, fae, elves, warlocks, and djinn. The tension in the room crackled like a live wire. Dominant wolves, especially alphas, didn’t do well in close quarters, and the air was thick with barely restrained aggression. Tyler stood at the head of the long oak table, his dark eyes scanning the room as the alphas argued, their voices rising and overlapping in a chaotic symphony of frustration.
“You’re not listening,” Jeff Stone, the Coldspring pack alpha, growled, his blue eyes flashing as he slammed his palm on the table. “The humans are panicking. Celise is tearing the world apart, and we’re sitting here arguing about what to do instead of actually doing something.”
“And what exactly do you propose?” snapped Antonio, the Spanish beta. His dark eyes burned with frustration, his sharp features tight. “We don’t even know where to start. Our alphas—our leaders—are gone, and you want us to fix the human world, too? Our packs are hunting and fighting vampires and hybrids. We barely have the resources to hold our packs together!”
“Enough!” Drayden, the Canadian alpha, interjected, his deep voice rumbling through the room like thunder. He leaned forward, and his massive frame radiated power. “We’re not doing this. We’re not going to tear into each other while Celise burns everything we’ve built to the ground. We need to focus.”
“Focus on what?” Victor, the Bulgaria alpha, asked, his gray eyes narrowing. “Because so far, all we’ve done is talk in circles. Until we figure out how to deal with Celise, we’re just spinning our wheels.”
A low growl rumbled in Tyler’s chest, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was about to step in when a soft, but firm, voice cut through the chaos.
“Enough,” Sadra, his mate, stepped forward, her voice clear and commanding as she placed herself between the arguing wolves. Her dark brown hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and her hazel eyes flashed with determination. “You’re allies, not enemies. Start acting like it. Dominant or not, none of you are going to solve anything if you can’t even have a conversation without tearing each other apart.”
The room went quiet, as the alphas shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Tyler swelled with pride and gratitude for his mate. She’d always had a way of cutting through the noise and bringing calm to the storm.
