Once the plan was laid out, we all agreed that Harvey should stay back with Grace instead of joining us to break into the Eldoris kingdom. There was no way Grace was coming, and none of us felt comfortable leaving her alone at this stage in her pregnancy.
Harvey hasn’t left her side in months, and even if he came with us, we knew he’d be constantly worried about his mate.
Hazel was offended when they tried to apologize for not coming along. In her mind, it wasn’t even up for debate. She’d risk us losing rather than putting them in danger.
Grace has already done more than enough by helping us with the potion. And the only thing I want from Harvey is to keep my daughter and grandchild safe.
“Your turn.” Grace nods, and all attention shifts to Hazel as she pulls out her dagger.
While we were planning a strategy, I suggested we could sneak in easily; we just had to be stealthy. Hazel laughed at me until she was blue in the face.
Apparently, you can’t just swim down to the gates and expect them to open. You need merblood in your veins to enter. So Grace and Jackson spent days figuring out ways to trick the protective barrier around Eldoris.
I didn’t expect this much effort because usually, I just teleport wherever I want, but the dome around Eldoris blocks magic. Hazel assured us that once we’re inside, we’ll be able to access our Divine again, so at least I won’t be fighting someone with sticks and stones.
Hazel grips her dagger and slices her palm without hesitation.
Jackson slides a brass bowl under her hand to collect the blood, chanting spells as he soaks a cloth in her blood.
When he’s done, I take her hand, wiping away the dried blood before pressing a kiss to the healed skin.
Jackson closes his eyes, chanting under his breath as he drags the blood-soaked cloth across each of our wrists, forming a thick ring. The air hums as I feel her magic settling into me.
The area where he swiped the cloth starts tingling, and the blood ring fades, replaced by a red symbol on the inside of our wrists that swirls with different patterns.
I clear my throat. “You sure this doesn’t make us blood relatives?”
Jackson laughs, while the other try and fail to hide their amusement.
I’m such a good man for making everyone laugh and relax at such a stressful time. They should give awards to people like me.
“The blood is on your skin, Dean. Not in your veins,” Jackson says.
Since there’s too much to do in too little time and everything has to be synced perfectly, we split into two groups. I’ll go with Anxo and Seiji, swimming to the depths of the oceans until we reach the place Hazel escaped from, and force our way through that abandoned corner of the kingdom.
It’s been ten years since that memory, so we don’t know what we’ll find there, but it’s a risk we have to take so the second group can do their part.
Despite every argument I made or how many times I begged her, Hazel is in the second group with Jackson, Nevaeh, and Khatri. I know she’s the key to their entrance, but it feels wrong to send her into that place alone.
I promised her I’ll be with her when she faces her past, and it guts me to break it.
The second group will walk straight into the lion’s den by going through the proper channels, posing as Timor’s soldiers returning with their prize.Hazel.
We’re counting on Hazel being enough of a distraction that no one notices that there’s something off with their scents.
Since Anxo and I are crowned Horsemen, and I’m the Grim Reaper, Grace and Jackson couldn’t mask our Divines no matter what potions or chants they tried.
After a lot of trial and error, they managed to mask Khatri and Hazel. And with Nevaeh already suppressing her Divine since she was a kid, they’re the only ones who can pass as merfolk after getting stamped with Hazel’s blood.
Seiji and Nevaeh could’ve switched places, but I need my daughter with Hazel. When shit goes sideways, I trust my unhinged spawn and her equally crazy Divine to get them out safely.
If everything goes according to plan, my scythe will be at Tiberius’s throat before anyone can inform him about Hazel, then Eldoris will fall.
Hazel glances at Anxo, unease written all over her, but he meets it with a steady, reassuring smile.
She shakes out her arms, trying to burn off the restless energy, humming softly as she steps toward Anxo. She hesitates for a second before pressing a kiss on his forehead, sealing the protection that will let us swim faster and breathe underwater.
When she turns to Seiji, he immediately backs up, hands raised. “Whoa, lady, at least buy me dinner first.”
