“Idiot.”The beast prowled inside my head. “You never asked your soulmate what exactly happened there.”
Shocked. I stared at my soulmate's delicate profile and the way the sun outlined her beauty but it was her strength that ensnared me…the energy it took to hold the scars underneath at bay while calmly confronted her demons.
Gently Remnant added. “I didn’t want to believe it either, Penina.” She sighed. “Believe me when I say, I want her dead more than any of you do.”
“Do you?” Eshe interjected with a fearful snarl. “She was your mate, your lover! How do we even know that you're not working with her, that you didn’t lead that bitch straight to us!”
Shadows bursted out from Remnant and I jumped to face them, crouched low on the table, blocking Eshe from their threatening darkness and halting their attack on my foolish friend with a commanding gesture.
Gasps rose around us. I knew what they saw. A shifter controlling the power of the most lethal shadow fae to ever have lived but this wasn’t control. It was respect. Respect to not kill their mistress’ soulmate but even that was a delicate balance.
Keeping my arm outstretched, I snarled over my shoulder to Eshe.
“Sit back down slowly and refrain from speaking again unless it is helpful.” Gentling my voice I gave her a concerned look. “Your fear is driving your actions.”
Eshe’s eyes were frozen on the fierce shadows that blocked out every bit of sun in the room.
“Eshe.” I growled lower. After another long moment, she turned her wide eyes on me. “Sit down Eshe, please.”
Turning back, I could not see my soulmate through the cloud of terror but I could scent her anger and her pain. “Go to your mistress.” I purred gently to the furious shadows, stalking them slowly across the table until they snapped out of existence, and I could see Remnant's beautiful face once more.
Her chest heaved with a gasping breath as I slid off the table and turned her chair to look at me while everyone stayed stoically silent.
“You are thinking you don’t belong here.” I murmured, studying the wild emerald light in her eyes. “That you are a danger to us all.” I looked out across the table. “The truth is, everyone in this room today has felt that at one time or another. Yet we have all bonded together because of that danger, in spite of that alone feeling we have. Together, we honor the scars we cannot heal.” Then I shot them all a hard commanding glare. “I have never asked any of you to follow me nor have I ever expected you to agree with my decisions but what I do expect is the same amount of respect and understanding you have given each other towards General Dark. It takes great strength and vulnerability for her to share with you what she has today. Something you all would do well to remember.” I nodded to Penina. "Control your anger." Glancing at Eshe, I said softly. "Conquer your fear." Turning back to Remnant, I said sincerely. “Accept you are not better off alone and we need you here. I need you here.”
Her jaw clenched. “Perhaps, for now.”
Penina blew out a harsh breath. “I’d still like to hear why you think that bitch is alive?”
I arched a brow at my soulmate. “Would you like to explain, General?”
Remnant sighed, turning towards all of them. “I won’t presume to know all of your king’s reasons but from what I can piece together is that she used the Sanguine to escape me during Morta and fled to the lands of the blood fae where the gateway was sealed once she entered. She has been biding her time in those lands, gaining more power until the gateway opens again.”
Her brow arched at me and I responded with a grunt. “Yes. That is what I believe.”
Remnant nodded back and hummed. “Deirdre has the power of spirit at her disposal. A power that allows her to manipulate others through the dream world, and she has mastered the ability to project herself into the bodies of others. I believe this has allowed her to infiltrate the water fae courts even from the other side of the gateway. She has been using their leader in The Under to further feed the Sanguine power with blood crystals…it has been draining life from the ocean and all water fae living there. It feeds off them and becomes stronger each day.”
Penina clicked her tongue. “But the blood crystals were lost with the City of Atlantis. The crystals could not be harnessed and were destroyed.”
“I’m going to stop you all right there.” Everyone turned to look at my general with surprise while his finger pointed straight at me. “You were in The Under?” His teeth flashed with the feral grin he directed at me.
I groaned and wiped my hand down my face. "Now isn’t the time for this, Tyr. But yes. Our lovely shadow fae led us into a den of water snakes and a kraken.”
“That’s what took you so long?” Remnant’s brows raised when she looked back at me.
I smirked. “Impressed?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Not at all, shifter. I was too busy dealing with a water dragon.”
I gaped at her before I threw my head back and howled with laughter. “Of course you were! I should have known! Never mind that no fae has seen a water dragon since before the goddess left our lands.”
“A kraken. Was it him? Was it Cronin?” Penina’s eyes flashed with deadly intent, black bleeding into her brown. We had fought to imprison him together, she had wanted to kill him then but I resisted.
“Yes. But he’s been taken care of, permanently.” My voice was hard and she stiffened at the tone, and I waited for the soft brown to return back to her normally kind eyes.
Tyr rapped his knuckles obnoxiously on the table to pull everyone's attention from our assassin friend, keeping her secret safe. “We are losing focus. Tell me you didn’t pussy out?”
I wanted to rip his head off except I knew Tyr. Knew him better than any of the others here. The first time we had met was when we were just young cubs. Unknown to my parents, I had been recklessly exploring the Red Caps during the blood wars and found him paralyzed by the emotional turmoil the mountains contained from the death surrounding us.
