“She explained that.” Dad squeezed me harder. “She had her suspicions that I was your dad, and I confirmed it for her yesterday. She offered us a place to stay at their shop.”
“I'm sure Rowan would give you a place to stay here,” Rhett said.
“I believe my mate and the rest of the humans would be more comfortable outside of an academy built for war on humans.” He let out a strained laugh.
“I understand.” I hesitated as we pulled away, and my heart swelled. “Faith, your mate… I like her. She seems full of love.”
“You and Faith have made life worth living again after losing your mother.”
“I can imagine.” I glanced over at my mates. They did the same for me.
TWENTY-SIX
Wren
IsatonRowan'slap in his chair while the rest of my mates stood behind us.
Drecken had come to the academy on behalf of the rest of the council. Blair, Tabitha, Trixie, and Norman were here as well. Surprisingly, Rebeka had also come. Dad and Faith were here on behalf of the human faction as well.
Rowan's office seemed so small with this many people gathered in here at once.
Drecken ran a hand through his green hair with a sigh. “You're telling me there are actual humans who don't want to kill supernaturals?”
“That's exactly what I'm telling you.”
“Why is that so hard to believe?”
“Perhaps because there's only a couple of hundred in the faction. They’ve been staying on human territory next to Fate Hollow in a remote cabin village,” Rowan explained.
“Of course they have.” Drecken pinched the bridge of his nose. “It's great that there are humans noble enough to want equality.” His sharp gaze turned to Faith. “However, your species has far superior numbers of those who are malicious against us.”
“We believe those humans should be wiped out if that's the case,” Faith supplied, squeezing Dad’s hand.
Rowan ran a heated hand up and down my spine. My ears and tail sprouted as a yelp left my lips.
I hid my face in Rowan’s neck. “It's your heat,” I blamed.
He chuckled. “Arctic shifters.”
“Yes, but an interesting pair you make.” Drecken smirked as the rest of the room chuckled.
“Here is what we know about the dragons.” Rowan took pity on me and changed the topic. “They have crushed every single known human facility other than two. These two facilities are huge, and there’s a great chance that the relic is being kept at one of them. The dragons know this. Human numbers have dwindled thanks to the dragons, and the only reason that the human faction rooting for equality hasn't been hit is because nobody knows about you.”
Faith nodded. “Yes, we know this.”
“Why stay silent? Why not pair up with us sooner?” Drecken fired the questions at her.
“We didn't think we'd get the chance to talk to you, but Cooper was fiercely ambitious about seeing his daughter and assumed that since she mated someone powerful…” She stared at Rowan and me before shifting her gaze back to Drecken. “Maybe you would give us a chance to explain ourselves.”
“Calculating but smart,” Rowan mused. “Rebeka, explain to us about the necromancer.”
She stepped forward, wringing her hands together. “First of all, I want to apologize for disappearing twice. It wasn't my intent.”
“Well, you disappeared a lot through the years,” Drecken huffed. “Just explain yourself.”
“Right. Well, my great great grandfather is a necromancer or rather was before he created the relic. But his main goal is to retrieve his soul from the relic, and the only way that can happen is if the relic is destroyed. So yes, he is working with the humans—but he was only working to destroy the relic. He has contacted me and told me which facility the relic is at, and he's told me how to destroy it.”
“Which facility?” Drecken interrupted.
