Daxton stepped forward. His voice was quiet but edged with death. “If you’ve come here to finish what you started—”
“Oh, no,” she interrupted, eyes flicking to Skylar. “Our war has just begun. Tell me, where is your beta, Alpha?” Skylar stilled. “North, I believe?”
Oh, shit.
“You bitch!” Skylar roared.
Minaeve clicked her teeth. “Foul language for a proper queen.”
Talon and Rhea snarled, jumping in front of Skylar, baring their teeth.
“Your time in Valdor has come to an end. Seize them!” Minaeve roared, conjuring a bow made of shadows. Like a wraith, her eyes darkened, narrowing on Skylar at the heart of our group.
Mages and hunters sprang from corridors along the side with blades drawn and magic curling in their palms. Bow strings sounded with a thud as arrows released, magic surrounding us, with the promise of death at our doorstep.
I watched in horror as Minaeve summoned an arrow and a bow made of pure shadow. There was a flash of her pale skin as she drew back, releasing the string faster than I could track it.
Daxton and I used our magic to create an ice shield beside Skylar’s flames, but this arrow was otherworldly. The howl of a wolf’s cry shook the walls as a blur of black and auburn lunged before Skylar.
Before I could think of a plan, I felt Daxton grab my arm as Skylar fell forward toward Rhea and Talon, with Daxton’s fingers still intertwined with hers.
And in a blink, the throne roomdisappeared.
Chapter Sixteen
Shaw Black
Skylar and Daxton would reach Zircon City by tomorrow, and while my thoughts should be on our mission in the north, I was concerned for the safety of my alpha queen and king.
The sea was calm tonight. It rolled beneath the ship, gently splashing against the hull, the current guiding us toward the eastern horizon. I gripped the railing and let the spray hit my face, tasting the salty sea. Ahead, the landmass bled into the mist. The coastline of the shifter lands resided beyond my line of sight.
Home.
Although it didn’t feel like it anymore. Not after everything that had happened over these past weeks.
Behind me, I heard the softest shift of boots on wood as an undeniable ache built in my chest. Her movements were so quiet, cutting through silence itself—my little shadow.
“Overthinking things again, I see?” Zola’s voice drifted to me, low and smooth, like the deadly blades she wielded so viciously.
I didn’t turn. “Someone has to devise a contingency plan if we run into trouble. We can’t all fade into the shadows and disappear without a trace.”
“I prefer to think of this endeavor as an opportunity.”
That earned her a glance. She stood a few paces back, half in shadow, where she seemed to belong. The faint glow of the ship’s lanterns caught on her dark leathers and the midnight patterns along her tawny skin, the glint of a dagger’s hilt at her thigh.
“Opportunity?” I repeated, with a scoff. “We’re returning to a war zone, Zola. The humans have pushed us from Solace and overrun the Satellite pack lands. We have no idea what other strongholds lie south of our borders.”
She shrugged, as graceful as the tide, meandering to the railing. “Then we’ll find out. That’s what this mission is for, isn’t it?”
She said it like she was discussing the weather, not the possibility of death. In the short time I’d known her, I’d realized that this was simply her way of things. She was detached, unreadable, and dangerous, the spymaster of the High Fae king himself, bound to me by a mate bond neither of us asked for.
However, beneath her hard exterior was a loyal and true heart—one who wouldn’t hesitate to defend those she deemed worthy enough to enter her inner circle.
“I’m grateful Skylar allowed me to come with you,” I said.
A cocky smirk played at the corner of the mouth I longed to taste once more. “There’s no one else better suited to keeping you alive.”
“Careful, my little shadow,” I said. “It almost sounds like you care about me surviving this war.”
