“Carson! Jane! Xavier!”I spun in my grandfather’s kitchen, looking for any of the other high mages, but it was my aunt who grabbed me by the shoulders.
“Nai?” Sariah looked me in the eyes, her brow creased with concern.
“Where’s the other portal on this side? The one that leads to Daybreak lands on Shifter Island?” I asked, my voice breaking as fear wrung my chest, the vise so tight my heart jumped into my throat. “Rage is on the other side. The vamps—”
“The butterfly atrium,” my aunt said. “This way!”
We charged out of the castle as if our very lives depended on it, for there was a good chance they did. If the queen and her inner circle got away, this would only be the beginning.
‘We’re coming!’ I shouted to Rage and then glanced down at Honor, who kept pace at my side. ‘Tell Justice to meet us at the atrium.’
He was no longer my shield, so I couldn’t mentally speak to him anymore.
‘You’ve got it. Noble had him stay in the library until we knew…’
Noble was the king of organization.
‘Nai, hurry!’ Rage yelled. ‘We’re getting decimated!’
The predatory shifters became beasts as we raced toward the glass building. As we passed the library, Justice and a couple hundred warriors from Team A moved to join us.
Oh Mage!
If Justice had that many … what was Rage left with?
We arrived at the glass structure. Its doors had been burst wide open, the glass in pieces on the ground. The entire front half of the building was likewise gone—only the metal frames that had once held the glass panes remained, a few jagged shards jutting out like broken teeth. As the group fanned out, filling the ruined room, Carson and Jane stepped to my side along with their shields, Rue and Mele. Julian and Xavier were behind them, a show of unity for our new council.
“There’s a weeping willow in the back,” Jane said, and I noticed her dark hair singed on one side, the rest of it a tangle of knots from all the wind she’d used. She led us through the trampled flora where the blood mages had come through when they’d first invaded High Mage Island. She pointed to a majestic tree. “We just need to walk through the branches, and we’ll cross back onto Shifter Island.”
I pushed into the throng of warriors so that I could help save my mate—when Justice grabbed me and hauled me back.
I whipped around, glaring at my brother-in-law. He rested his hand on my shoulder as he looked me in the eyes. “The queen wants powerful blood—and that’s the high mages. We need to give you a fighting chance to kill her.”
But …Rage. I was tempted to reach out to him again, but I didn’t want to distract him if he was in the middle of a battle. I glanced at Honor, who nodded.
“Fine,” I huffed, trying to rein in my panicky need to go to Rage. “You want to plan? Then what’s on the other side of that willow? Where are we going?”
“It’s a huge mountain bluff overlooking the ocean, on the northwestern tip of the island,” Justice said.
“I know that location well,” Ozark said, stepping up to join our group. “Selkies will go first.” He waved his people to the front as he spoke. “Send the other shifters next.” His men and women disappeared in small groups. “Once our group is strong enough to overwhelm the enemy—” Ozark met my gaze. “—you’ll need to come in with your magic.”
“But—”
Ozark disappeared, and Adrianna of the lion pride nodded to me before disappearing behind him.
“Go,” Justice said as he joined the contingency of leaders and barked to the others.
While Justice spoke, the lions, hawks, and bears disappeared from this realm.
“Lower mages and fire users, we go in blazing,” Justice said, looking around the group. “Jane…” He glanced at the high mage of air and continued. “I’d like you to help us direct the flames.”
She nodded and joined his group.
Then Justice turned his attention to me and those still around me. “Nai needs to take out the queen, which means the rest of you need to do whatever you can to support that and protect her.” Then he looked me straight in the eye. “She’ll come to you—she wants your blood. Bad.”
“Be careful,” I told him.
He marched to the front of his line. “No. I’ll choose justice over careful … every time.”
