Emika breaks into a smile and Theo sits taller. “Yes!”
Elijah tugs at his sunglasses, removing them for a short moment.
I’ve never seen Elijah’s eyes. He kept them covered during the whole time I was protecting him, but even across this distance, I feel the depth of his power.
For an unnerving moment, it seems as if he looks across the distance at me, his soul far older than the boy whose body it occupies.
And for another second, his focus also slips to Anarchy.
She protected him, too.
She tips her chin at him.
He returns his sunglasses to his face.
Across the distance, I hear Emika’s whisper. “I love your eyes.” And then to Theo, she says, “Your wolf might bite, but I love him, too.”
My heart resumes beating a moment before Ryuji nudges me, forcing me to drag my attention away from the children. “It’s time.”
“Okay.” But I pause, suddenly realizing something. “Huh.”
Ryuji arches his eyebrows at me. “What is it?”
My voice is soft. “Your daughter has red wings.”
He gives me a look as if to say, ‘what of it?’ before a proud smile passes his lips. “Her wings are the same as those of one of the greatest dragons in our history.”
“Right,” I whisper.
As I turn away from the children, I meet Anarchy’s eyes.
Red wings, indeed.
I shake it off as I follow Ryuji through the trees and into a small clearing that he must have prepared in advance. It doesn’t take long for the influx of power within the trees to tell me that the other powerful beings he invited here have all arrived one way or another and are now approaching my location.
I step into the center of the clearing while the dark elves fan out a few steps behind me. Ryuji and the other dragon shifters fan out behind them. Again, this is what we discussed.
We’re taking every precaution to make it clear that we’re only here to talk.
The beings who are meeting me are all powerful creatures of light magic, elemental magic, and old magic. They’re extremely strong, but I don’t expect them to come close to me or even to reveal their faces to me. In fact, I fully expect them to use magic to conceal themselves.
I need them only to hear me because my people depend on it. My people are dark creatures who never expect to experience love or support and want merely to survive.
Even if I want more for them.
I wait a moment, then glance at Ryuji, who gives me a nod. “They are all here now.”
I lift my voice. “It is a mark of trust that you’ve brought your children with you. Please know that they’re safe in my presence.”
Far safer, actually, than they are without me. No dark creature would even dare to step foot on this island while I’m here. Except, of course, my dark elves.
“Even so, I sense your discomfort,” I say. “So I will keep this brief. I am the Ultima Nostra. I stand above all other dark houses, clans, and packs. I make the rules by which they live, and I deliver judgment should they break my rules.”
I cast my gaze around the clearing at all the shadowy faces.
“I believe you will have noticed the peace I have brought.”
This is the moment when they could scoff at me. They could step forward and tell me that, yes, a greater peace may have occurred, but there are wars ahead of us.
