“Yup,” was all he said.
“What's going on?” Samantha was at the front door, peering in around the doorjamb.
“Wild Magic is returning,” I said.
“Oh, fuck,” she whispered, then looked over her shoulder. “I'll keep the kids out here. Do what you gotta do.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
“Tima?” Lucien stood behind me on the stairs. “We've got people down there.”
By people, he meant girlfriends. Maybe boyfriends. I didn't ask. My lions were allowed to live their lives fully; however they wished and with whoever they wished. They didn't even have to live at Pride Palace if they didn't want to. And they were free to take jobs and lovers on Earth. As far as I was concerned, we were a family. We came together when needed and looked out foreach other. It had taken me a while to accept that I could never truly free them. Iallowedthem to be free, but they were still my lions. Without me, they'd go wild, and without their bond to me, they'd die. But I gave them as much leeway as possible.
“All right,” I said. “Go. If the Wild Magic appears, run. Get them to safety. If you can't do that down there, you may bring them here.”
“Thank you, Tima,” Lucien said, then nodded up at the other Intare who were gathering on the stairs. “Let's go!”
A stream of werelions ran past me to the tracing room. Some of them came in from outside and some from the dining hall. Most of my pride left. I stared after them hollowly. I didn't feel abandoned or alone. I wasn't either of those things. I was just processing. Still in shock. Another round of Wild Magic? Humans would band against us. They'd think the Faerie God had lost his mind. Again. We were fucked.
“V!” Torrent said and shook my shoulder. “Vervain!”
“What?” I blinked, wondering how long he'd been shaking me.
“It's not the Wild Magic.”
I blinked again.
“What did you say?” Odin asked.
“It's not the Wild Magic. Or, if it is, it's confined to Moonshine.” His stare went distant as he went on. “There are no other reports of Wild Magic rising. Not a single one.”
“What?” I whispered.
“Why would it only happen at Moonshine?” Trevor asked.
“Maybe it is Azrael, but not how we thought,” Odin said.
“Then how?”
“He could be dreaming about places he knows,” Morpheus, the Greek God of Dreams, said. “Dreams, especially god dreams, have power. And if Azrael isn't in control, the Wild Magic could seep through his dreams and into the reality of what he's dreaming about.”
“Yes, I was thinking something along those lines,” Odin said. “Although I'm not sure he's dreaming exactly. It could be that his magic was permeating his memories. Trying to find a way out.”
“Oh,” Morph said. “Yeah, maybe that.”
“Morph, you're a genius!” I grabbed his face and kissed his cheek.
He gaped at me. “I am?”
“Yes!” I spun and handed Trevor my phone. “Call Mom and tell her to be on guard but to stay put.”
“On it.” He hit some buttons and set the phone to his ear as I grabbed Morpheus and headed for the tracing room.
“Vervain, where are you going?” Quetzalcoatl asked.
“Into Azrael's dreams!”
Morpheus, who'd been staring at me in bafflement, declared, “Iama genius!”
