“Wooooo!” Sage cried out, but I shushed her with a light elbow to the ribs.
“Fey could be tracking us,” I murmured behind her.
“Buzzkill,” she grumbled at me.
I looked out at the giant expanse before me and gasped.Wow. It was so beautiful up here. You could see the little brick walls demarcating the territories like spokes on a wheel. It was sad, actually, that everyone was so segregated. Because I could see how all of Magic City, as a whole, was so incredibly beautiful. The lands ranged from rich, thick, green forests to the open plains of Troll Village, which were burnt orange and yellow.
Pearl flew over Light Fey City with its black asphalt roads and glass buildings topped with solar panels, and a powerful magic came over us. I could smell the scent of burnt wires as she pulled up some type of shield. It was like I was looking through a plastic bag. Clear, but hazy.
“Okay, she says we are invisible! She’s got the cloak up,” Marmal screamed behind her at Sage and I.
Okay,thatwas going to be super freaking useful in getting Sawyer out of prison. But I knew the key to having this really go off without a hitch was to be able to communicate with both Sage and Marmal mentally.
“Girls!” I shouted, and they both spun around to face me.
I swallowed hard, and tried to convey the seriousness I felt stirring inside of me. “I want to make you both pack. Paladin pack. My pack. I’ll claim you, and that way we can talk into each other’s minds…”
Both of their mouths popped open at the same time. “But I’m a troll.” Marmal sounded as if she was in complete disbelief.
I nodded. “And you would be accepted as family. Cherished. Loved. Protected.” I knew that if I approved it, Rab and the others would as well.
Her eyes grew misty and she nodded. Then I looked at Sage, prepared to put up a fight, prepared to tell her she wasn’t really leaving the city wolves behind, she was just joining a blended family.
“I’ve been pack with you for a while now, Demi. Let’s make it official.” Sage extended her wrist, knowing what was required, knowing what I’d done to claim Astra.
I inclined my head, tears filling my eyes as I thought of how much I’d been through with this girl.
Reaching out, I removed my left wrist cuff and felt my teeth lengthen, then I dipped my head down to her forearm and nipped her, until I tasted blood.
‘Mine. Pack.’My wolf surged forward as my alpha power blanketed Sage. I felt our bond deepen as a surge of consciousness joined mine and I sensed Sage so strongly, her worry for me and Walsh and Sawyer, her protectiveness, loyalty. Then she faded into the background with the rest of the pack.
‘Testing, testing,’I tried.
She grinned.‘That’s cool. I’ve never done that without being in wolf form.’
A smile pulled at my lips.‘Welcome to the pack.’
Marmal was next. She extended her arm timidly; she didn’t know me as well as Sage did, and she sure as hell didn’t know wolf ways, yet still she trusted me. After drawing blood, I claimed her and her consciousness surged with mine. There was a frantic panic in her energy and her eyes widened.
She clutched her chest. “Ifeelyou.”
I nodded. ‘I feel you too. You’re family now. Pack,’ I finished with a smile, slipping the cuff back on my wrist.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish out of water, and then a single tear slipped from her eye. I shouldn’t have pressed her but I did; I pushed into her emotions just a tiny bit to see what was wrong, and then tears were lining my eyes as well.
She wasn’t alone anymore. Her sister had died in the farm fires last year, and she hadn’t realized how lonely she was until this moment that she felt our bond.
I reached out and pulled her in for a hug, in which Sage had to lean over and clutch on to Pearl and out of our way.
‘You’re with us now,’I told her.
‘Happy to be so,’she responded.
We all flew in reflective silence for the next twenty minutes when the cluster of buildings signaling downtown Magic City, the capital of Light Fey City, rose up into view.
It was stunning. A giant river ran right down the center of the city, spanned by a huge bridge so that cars could go to each side. The river was almost like a lake it was so wide. As we flew closer, I noticed there in the very center of the wide rushing river was the tallest building in the entire city.
Magic City Prison.
