I have questions to ask of this king, and I broach him telepathically. He allows it and answers me honestly. Only then do I begin my descent. There are some people in a small town a little to the north of where we arrived through the portal, andmany of them see me, pointing and shouting as I become more clearly seen. I enjoy this for a moment before landing among our companions.
The males climb off, windswept but bright with exhilaration, and when I shift back into human form, Kai runs up to me and leaps, throwing his arms and legs around my neck.
“This is the most fun I’ve had in an age, Lord Xander!” he says as he climbs off me and sets his bare feet back on the ground. “Many thanks!” He runs back to Lord Raen, babbling about the height.
“You realise they’ll be able to shift into dragons now,”Aurelia says wryly.
I look at the way King Zale brushes his fingers along his wife’s cheek, smiling in a way that is all too familiar.“I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“We need to get back,” Scythe announces. “We thank you for what you could tell us.”
“I wish we could do more,” Altara says, taking my regina’s hand. “If there is more we can do, please let us know.”
“You’ve helped a lot,” Lia says. “We have more information…and more hope than we did before.”
“Do me a favour,” Zale says, with something that could only be described as a mischievous smile. “Be the Boneweaver queen of that world. I won’t have us not represented.”
Altara laughs. “Yes! And you must come again, cousin, when your world gets boring.” She pats her stomach. “This baby would love another aunt.”
“Can we, regina?” Savage asks eagerly. “For a holiday?”
Aurelia, her eyes glistening with what I’m sure are a lot of mixed emotions, cups her wolf’s cheek. “Anything for my mates.”
Chapter 99
Scythe
Aurelia is reluctant to return through the portal, her steps dragging as she looks back at her newly met kin. The Boneweaver royalty couldn’t be mistaken for anything else by the way their auras pulse like a heartbeat of pure power, unabashedly showing their strength. These are people who’d defeated their own demons and come out on top. These are worthy kin for my regina. It’s just a shame the information we received only leaves us with a greater problem.
We journey back the same way we arrived, through the tomb portal and back into the dark cavern with the gleaming archway. Then we venture back through the ocean’s entrance in the ceiling where Lyle blasts us through to the other side with such force that we don’t even see the monster within it, but end up winded and choking by the time we reach the air above.
Xander curses Lyle’s name as we recover, but everyone else is too preoccupied in getting back up to ground level. Panting and with weak legs, we all stumble through the door back into the library, where Minnie wakes up with a start.
She pushes herself up from the table she was resting her head on, revealing a pale Yeti sitting behind her. He’s almostthe same colour as his white hair now, but telling him about the other white-haired beast we’d just met would have to wait. His amputated foot is propped up on the chair opposite him, and a pair of crutches waits next to him.
“Welcome back,” he says with a smile. “Mace’s army just left their bases. They’ll be here by the late afternoon.” Henry shoots over to Gertie, Minnie’s orange nimpin, and they animatedly chirp at each other.
“What time is it?” Xander asks, picking up his phone where he’d left it with Minnie.
Pale light shines through the library windows on our left. “Almost dawn,” Minnie says. “You were gone a few hours.”
“Thank the Goddess.” Aurelia sighs heavily, pulling out a chair. “You’re not going to believe this, Minnie.”
Lyle, Savage, Xander and I leave our regina with the Devi pack. There is much we need to do before Mace’s convoy arrives. We start with assessing the perimeter of Animus Academy. Marduk joins us as we leave the library, and Beak follows us as we head outside to meet the rising sun. Swimming in the strange brine at the centre of the academy has left me feeling strangely sharp, just as if I’d swum in the ocean.
My sworn beasts gather in the stands of the Hunting Games arena where I address them. More have arrived since our journey to Boneweaver Island. “When I asked each of you to swear yourselves to me,” I begin, “I told you that we would fight for freedom. For many years, we have done just that. Freedom at any cost, destroying the enemies that got in our way.” I pause, looking each of them in the eye. “Now a new type of enemy comes for us. You have all seen the news; you know Mace Naga is coming for Animus Academy, but what you do not know is the weapon he brings with him.” I turn to Savage and nod.
Savage looks out at the beasts in the stands and broadcasts a single, moving image. A memory of Eugene’s: Ghoul standing inthe backyard of the Naga household, creating the darkest magic of our kind. My beasts, perhaps some of the hardest criminals I’ve ever known, jerk in surprise at this vision. A few of the more sensitive ones cry out, but most simply go pale and look at me, waiting for instruction. I’ve never led them astray before, and I do not intend to lead them astray now. They trust me.
“He will arrive this evening with the intention of killing us all. I trust you understand what this means.”
“So this is it,” Marduk says, observing me. “There is an answer in your eyes, shark-friend.”
Aurelia’s self-sacrifice will never happen. I will ensure that. And if that is not a solution to this problem, then there is only one other. “There is,” I say, deathly soft and yet every beast in the vicinity hears it. “Either Mace Naga and his militia die tonight, or we do.” An eagle lands next to me. “Beak has returned from his scouting of the enemy convoy. You will receive your orders now.”
Chapter 100
Aurelia
