Rage nodded. “They’re twins. Dammit!”
“So does that mean Kalama is in charge now?” I was trying to get as much information to work with as I could.
Rage chewed his lip before responding. “We don’t know anything at this point. We’ve detained Kian’s son, and I was hoping you and the other high mages could give my men permission to question him.”
“No. I’ll do it with you. And … we should probably ask the other high mage heirs … er, high mages—” I stopped as I remembered that those heirs who tried to kill me not so long ago were now my fellow high mage councilmen. “We should ask them to come too. We need to work as a team.” I stood, and my legs felt only slightly wobbly. “Where is Julian?”
Rage’s green gaze bore into mine. “Are you sure?” he asked. “The guy’s a—”
“I know,” I said. I needed to do something productive or I’d lose my mind. “Please, lead the way.”
Gramps was dead. Orion, Snade, and Heath were too. The high mages got decimated, butconveniently, Kian was still alive. This was highly coordinated, which meant Kian must’ve been meeting with the blood mages for a while. If his son had seen or heard something, we needed to find out.
I stepped out of the tent, taking in the barrage of people, shifters, and mages as well as the sounds and smells of the crowd.
“I’m going to check on our pack,” my father said, stepping away. “Come see me later.”
I waved and nodded before scanning the throng of displaced peoples. Wolf, bear, hawk, and the other shifters were crowded throughout the space in a mishmash of lost people, including various mages from High Mage Island. There were fewer shifters than I would’ve anticipated, but many had probably returned to their previous homes. I shook my head, thinking of all of the work they’d done to move—and then they’d lost most of it by joining the wolves.
“Nice of King Ozark to allow us to stay,” I said to Rage.
“Yes, he’s been a great ally, but I fear we won’t last long here. There isn’t enough infrastructure to host this many, not to mention the issues we’ll have with a limited supply of food and water.” Rage weaved in and out of the crowds as we walked toward a meadow and a small garden shed that sat nearby. The meadow was full of tents where others slept on bed rolls, and some people even slept on the ground.
I swallowed hard. “Maybe we could go to Montana for a bit and regroup. There’s a water well and corn crops—”
Rage stopped, and I almost smashed into him as my body jerked back from his. He caught me and then, reaching out, cupped my chin.
“Nai.” He peered into my eyes, his gaze burning into my soul. Through our bond, I felt a deep sadness… “We are the leaders of our people now. We can’t hide. Nor can we let this stand. We won’t go down in history as leaders who allowed their people to be slaughtered, our lands stolen, and we didnothing.”
His words shamed my petty fears. But more than that, they stirred something deep inside my heart—inside my soul. He was right, of course. I didn’t knowhowwe’d take back the island, but I knew we would. We wouldn’t allow this injustice to stand. “We’ll find a way. Together.”
Rage nodded, brushing a kiss to my lips, and then he led me to the shed where the three other high mages who’d tried to kill me were waiting outside.
Well, well. This had a 99.7% chance of being extremely uncomfortable.
None of the high mages were heirs anymore. We were all high masters of our element, and we’d each just lost our father or grandfather. There was a somber weight in the air, but this group seemed to be encased in a cloud of gloom. They sat against the shed’s wall with their heads hung low.
I looked at Rage and tipped my head to the trees.‘Give me some time with them.’
He nodded.‘Julian is inside the shed, awaiting questioning for his involvement.’
‘Thanks.’ I took a deep breath and crossed the distance to the group.
“Your fathers were heroes.” Might as well start off with an olive branch. “They saved everyone.”
Jane raised her chin, her black hair framing her face. She swallowed hard, and her eyes glistened with tears. “So was your grandfather.”
The other two boys chimed in with their condolences as well. The seconds dragged on until we reached Awkwardville.
“Look, I know we’ve had our differences.”Like when you tried to freaking kill me yesterday.I kept the latter part to myself assomeoneneeded to take the high road. “But … we’re the High Mage Council now, and, I figure,we—” I pointed in a circle to include each of us—“can choose to do things differently than our predecessors.” My announcement was greeted with silence, so I stated the obvious. “We probably don’t want to start the next thousand years or so with a feud.”
One by one, I saw understanding dawn on each of their faces.Yep, that’s right.We were going to live and reign for a long-ass time together.
“Sorry about … the attack yesterday,” the girl with black hair said. “Not that it makes it okay, but Julian put us up to it. I think … I think it was his father’s doing.”
Shocker.
“Anyway, I’m Jane, high master of air.” She knew I knew her name, but she reached out her hand like she was hoping for a fresh start, a new first impression.
