This is real.
I smile, imagining Lanlin sitting at this table and preparing himself for the peace treaty ceremony, maybe feeling as nervous as Daire and I did before it.
After all, he had been the one to surrender in the terms.
He had just as much to be anxious about as we did. He was the one who had to prostrate himself in front of Aurelius. And now, he’s the one who has had that treaty betrayed.
He’s the one who is lying unconscious.
What’s wrong with Lanlin?
Concerned, I turned to scrutinize him.
Lanlin’s impossibly long, dark lashes fan onto his waxy, white cheeks.
He is barely breathing.
He looks like the life has been beaten out of him.
Perhaps, Lanlin is a killer, but he could have blamed Daire and me for what happened, especially in his feral state.
Instead, he protected us.
As dangerous as my situation is, I can work with someone who is as devoted to his mates as this Bat King is.
I survive. It’s what I do.
I square my shoulders.
Despite the tremor in my legs, I turn to Daire. “Don’t you think it’s strange that the guards and servants just let us through?”
Daire cocks his head. “Our two demonic lion friends here are clearly the King’s bodyguards. It is interesting that only I can charm them. No one here wants to risk having their knots savaged. What’s strange, however, is that the entire palace has seen their King return injured, but not a single servant is fussing over the bastard. Plus, where are the…?”
“Healers.” My gaze shoots to Lanlin’s crown, which is partially covered by his tangled hair. I reach out to tidy his hair, revealing his gleaming bat crown. “Does he truly hold the power in the Blood Court?”
“He’s the outcast King,” Daire replies like he’s remembering something that he’s read. “A tool for some, a weapon for others. A killer always. But he isn’t the deadliest person in the Blood Court, love. There are powers at play here, which will make what we just witnessed look like bloody child’s play.”
“Could you have saved that for when I’m not just about to keel over?” I mutter. “I do want to sleep tonight without nightmares.”
“I’ll frighten the nightmares away.” Daire gives a sharp grin. “Plus, it looks like we’ve gained demonic lions as bodyguards already.”
“Or guards.”
“Who’s giving us nightmares now?”
“Why is he like this? We’re fucked if he doesn’t wake up soon.”
Daire lifts his wing from Lanlin’s back, before gripping him firmly by the shoulders to make sure that he doesn’t fall.
“Primal magic like he used — the type that comes deep from your soul — drains you.” Daire’s expression becomes anguished like he’s remembering something that is tearing him up inside. He stares at Lanlin with a type of understanding and kinship that makes my inner Omega purr. Our shared frustration and trauma were meant to befaketo make Lanlin fall for us, but somehow, it has already become real. It has made Lanlin pack. I can sense Daire’s connection to the Blood. “It has a cost. I learned that in Rune Forest. Being tricked into using my elemental magic, after my best friend was killed, was how the dragons captured me. It was…”
He breaks off, looking away.
“Daire,” I say, softly.
“Dove,” he corrects me. “Here, help me get our bat-faced King onto the bed.”
Daire grabs hold of Lanlin, hoisting him off Devil. I rush around to join Daire, slipping one of Lanlin’s arms over my shoulders to help drag him to the long, elegant bed, which stands at the back of the room.
