“Only if you don’t dry them properly. I’ve watchedMountain Menfor years, so I know what I’m doing," he said, frowning at Jesse, as if feeling insulted.
Sly cleared his throat. “This is getting off topic.” He walked up behind Adelaide and leaned down, kissing her neck. “We’ll be ready with or without the council. I’m going to get our daughter back from thatbitchno matter what it takes.”
“No matter what it takes,” I repeated vehemently.
True to his word, Randell contacted us exactly an hour later. The news was surprising because they had decided to help us defend the base.
“Maybe Randell isn’t on the side of the DF after all,” Adelaide said after we got the news.
“As far as I’m concerned, everyone is suspect until proven otherwise.” I turned to my brothers. “Jet, can you contact Josh and have him meet us?”
“Yes.”
Always a man of few words. I liked that about him.
“I’ll get Damien and Jasmine over here, too. We need to let them know that Deshawn is in Aurathia.” Sly ran a hand down his face. “Jasmine will be thrilled with that situation.”
After Damien escaped Aurathia and reunited with his family, it was quite a scene. Jasmin had assumed he was dead, and Damien still believed his son was missing or had perished withJasmin’s sister, Rose. Saying they were all pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
Poor Deshawn was confused by everything. Jasmine thought it was best to hide his heritage from him, even going so far as to change his name. Damien still referred to him as Blaze most of the time. After all that had happened, she just wanted to keep him safe. I can’t imagine the scene she caused when he joined the military.
Deshawn, for his part, adjusted pretty well. Jet helped with that, but when he met Chloe, his fate was sealed, and he became more concerned with wooing her than giving his mother shit for lying to him.
It took several days to coordinate everyone, but I felt we were ready for anything the DF threw at us.
At least I hoped we were.
Our Faction had used the time wisely and trained extensively with our new abilities.
Well,theyhad. I hadn’t gained anything new, but my abilities had grown stronger.
Exponentially stronger.
Our ability to communicate with animals had been seriously underused, and tonight we were determined to change that. John generously offered us tips on developing this skill, and with his help, it could become the secret weapon that turns the tide in our favor.
We hadn’t been using everything at our disposal, and that changed tonight. In the past few months, I had held back, tryingto be diplomatic and handle things the way my family has for generations—but that was over.
Behind-the-scenes plotting worked well for my father, but he was evil, and evil thrived in the dark. My love for Reverie was meant to be in the light, and from now on, that's where it would live.
I needed my Nexus backyesterday.
The council had sent several strong Factions, but they’d been less than cooperative. I was afraid that this would be the case when they agreed to help. I felt Randell was truly on our side, but I knew of at least three who couldn’t be trusted.
“I’m in place, but so far there is no sign of the enemy.”Mira’s voice sounded in my head.
“None here either,” I replied, using my invisibility to hide from anyone who could see the ridge I was on. I heard each of my brothers respond similarly.
Sly had suggested that they stay behind to protect the Aurathion towns near the base in case the DF attacked. It made me proud that he trusted us to find and bring Reverie back. I knew the decision was difficult for them, but ultimately, it was the right one. Even without their fifth member, Adelaide’s Faction was still one of the strongest in this realm, missing abilities or not, and would guard our people well.
Our Factionwasthe strongest, and as much as they loved Reverie, we lived for her. If she were to die, none of us would remain in this world for long.
There was a flash of lightning, and I saw a large shape in its light. “Is that a relay tower?” I mumbled in confusion. “What the fuck?”
Chapter 16
Jet
The base wastooquiet.
