He takes a deep breath and brings my palm up to his lips, then hands me over to Hawthorne.
Picking me up, Hawthorne simply holds me in his arms, feet dangling, for several minutes. His face is buried in my neck as he breathes in and out. “Leaving you in that alley was the hardestthing I’ve ever done. Good thing Gatlin was there, or our plan would have fallen apart.”
Our plan had been two-fold. Exposing Bennett and figuring out which vampire had the panels. Then drawing our enemies out into the open and defeating them. We knew our only shot was using me as bait, but none of them were willing to risk it outside of a controlled environment. We anonymously notified the vampire guards that a meeting was being held so they could intervene at the right time.
I wince. The plan backfired. None of us expected Bennett to boomerang my curse and take me out. Nor did we anticipate the trial and exposing me to the world. But like all good plans, pivoting is critical, and a good distraction and allies are worth their weight in gold. Marjorie didn’t actually stand us up at the coffee shop. Instead, she slipped us a note on the receipt when she handed us our coffee. It included the location of the panels and an additional note explaining how she was ordered to open the portals in Greece which set off all those bombs. She swears she didn’t know but the guilt of all those deaths were killing her. All she wanted was to leave Frederick’s new vampire-first world.
Mathias wanted to get the panels right away, but Jamison needed a couple more days to gather our forces. So we stayed. But it worked in our favor. By forcing us to attend the death matches, Frederick moved the security to the arena to watch us. All of us. After all, not only were Mathias and I in attendance, but so were Jamison, Hawthorne, and Gatlin. It gave Mercer and Caron the perfect opportunity to slip into the vault and steal the panels.
None of the men thought Mercer and Caron would be willing, but I made them a deal. We pay Mercer to steal the panels, and if the tide turns against us, she and Caron can give them to Bennett. A win-win either way. They agreed. And with theirnetwork of spies, it didn’t take them long to get the combination to the vault. In and out in five minutes.
Hawthorne finally sets me down, and I get a good look at the army they’ve amassed. Hawthorne recruited elves. Daegan, the dragon councilmember, brought an army of shifters. A surprisingly large number of council security agents and mages answered Jamison’s call.
I look over and see Gatlin standing with twelve men who are roughly the same build as him. His gryphon family.
Marjorie’s eyes meet mine, and I smile. We sent her a note to let her know where we were meeting our army in case she wanted to join us. Guess she did. And she brought a few vampires with her.
The smell of brimstone tickles my nose, and I turn around to find Maverick, Charlie, and Agos, along with a pretty wicked-looking demon crew. I smile.
Charlie walks over. “Who would have thought a spy for the gods would bring about the next revolution?” He’s fairly vibrating with adrenaline.
“Revolution?”
“Osian, the elven councilmember is out. Ousted by Hawthorne days ago. Lord de Vere is out. Vampires have already gone rogue and pulled out of the council, although I’m not a fan of Frederick’s little plan to take over the world. Hopefully, we’ll take care of that problem today,” he drawls to my astonishment.
I hadn’t heard all of this yet.
“You look surprised,” he remarks with a twinkle. “We’ve been busy while you were on vacation.” His expression turns serious. “All the cards are on the table. We can’t keep pretending we’re not existing in the same world. It’s time for a new order. One that encompasses everyone, including humans.”
Full transparency. That’s an unnerving concept, but it’s time to stop pretending that the only ones with power in theworld are gods and the supernatural council. There was a time when stability and control were necessary, but this world has outgrown that structure. Equality and rights for all is the only way to move forward. Charlie’s right. It’s a revolution.
34
PHAEDRA
“Scouts put them here,” Jamison says, putting a pin in the map. “Mercer and Caron have the panels, and they’re leading the vampires straight to us. If Frederick and his army continue to follow Mercer’s tracks at their current pace, they’ll be here in two hours. Let’s go over the plan again.”
“What’s the count?” I murmur to Mathias.
“A little over a thousand compared to our eight hundred.”
I shiver, and he pulls me in front of him and wraps both arms around me.
For several minutes, I listen to Jamison and the other leaders detail the plan. Flank positions. Aerial. Tactics to break up the hordes vampires tend to attack in. The best use of those with magic.
“Where am I?” I ask when he finishes.
Gatlin taps his chest. “Aerial with me. You’ll be the eyes in the sky, helping Jamison and the others shift resources whereneeded. Let’s say, Daegan is surrounded. We relay that to Maverick, and he moves in a team of demons to help him.”
“And you need everyone with magic or superior strength on the ground fighting,” I summarize, realizing I’m one of the weakest links here. That’s hard to admit, but compared to those gathered here, my ability to fight off a horde of vampires is limited.
He grimaces but cautiously nods as if he expects me to throw a fit. When I don’t, the three of them collectively let out the breath they’re holding. Right now, it suits me to wait and see where I can help instead of forcing them to put me into the field at the start.
“Where’s Hawthorne?” I ask, surprised he’s not here.
“Running an errand,” Mathias murmurs.
Jamison flicks a look of annoyance at the two of us, but when he sees how we’re standing, he raises a questioning eyebrow. I smile. I guess Mathias hasn’t gotten around to telling him we worked things out between us.
