“However, this information about Vasken is new,” Locke added.
Darian rested his head on his hand. “You came from the island that Queen Izla escaped to, darling,” he drawled. “It wasn’t hard for us to guess how you could be part fae.”
“And none of that…bothers you?” I questioned, wondering how they were so relaxed about it all.
Asher snuggled in closer. “Nope. Queen Izla was loved before the curse. It was King Adrien who fucked everything up.”
“And even if you had been descended from the king, we don’t choose our blood relations,” Kade growled.
Locke’s black eyes were on me, and even though he didn’t voice the words, I knew he was thinking about Warrick and Perene. I only hoped he knew the same thing applied to him.
CHAPTER 27
~ Raine ~
Twomorenightspassed,and the celebration hadn’t done much to improve the monsters’ morale and ability to get along. My monsters and I had been in the dining hall, finally having a meal after spending the first part of the night training, when Nic materialized beside Asher’s chair.
Instinctively, Asher drove his fork into the wraith’s abdomen, but the cutlery passed straight through Nic’s incorporeal form. The chunk of steak on Asher’s fork fell to the ground between the wraith’s legs, and Nic glared at him unimpressed.
“Fuck. Ever heard it’s not good to sneak up on monsters like that?” Asher grumbled as he tossed his fork onto the table.
I pressed my lips together to try and suppress my grin, but Darian smirked. Before my siren could make a smart comment, Nic addressed all of us. “There’s an emergency meeting in the hall. All are to attend, especially you five.”
“What’s this about?” Kade asked, but Nic had already disappeared.
My stomach dropped, and I pushed my plate away, suddenly not interested in shoving more meat and cheese into my mouth.
“Anyone else think we’re about to get some bad news?” Darian commented before drinking from his goblet.
Locke pushed back his chair. “Let’s go. It’s about time we heard something.”
When we reached the hall, the room was already filled with monsters. Lyr, Dean, Nic, and Soren stood in the middle of the space, and Locke led us to the only unoccupied armchairs that were left. Dropping down, he pulled me onto his lap, and Darian sat beside us, crossing one leg over the other.
Lyr smiled when she spotted us and whispered something to Soren. Soren stretched out his large red wings before tucking them in again. “Everyone quiet!” he shouted.
When a few of the alphas continued to chatter, Nic growled, “Shut the fuck up or you’ll be the first in line to fight against the outliers if it comes to it!”
At that, there were grumbles around the room, and the chatter finally ceased.
“Now, that’s how you demand attention,” Darian said with appreciation, and I grinned. The alpha’s liked to show they were tough, but when it came to it, no one wanted to fight Warrick’s outliers.
Lyr took a step forward, her blue eyes scanning the crowd. “As you no doubt have guessed, the fact we’ve called you here is a sign that things have changed. I wish I could stand here and tell you otherwise, but the fact is we knew this was coming.”
“So, it’s true,” a wolf shifter from a lower house called out. Ure, I thought his name was. “The fae are here!”
All attention went to the tiger shifter.
“It is,” Lyr replied, her brows dipping low. “Last night one of our own followed a fae scout from the city. The fae didn’t return through a portal as expected but trekked through the forest to a rocky space between the mountains.” She licked her lips and took a breath, as if she hated what she had to say next. “Thousands of fae are already in Katakin.”
“We believe they’ve been amassing there for the past two nights,” Nic added, before the monsters could call out questions. “It’s as if they’re using some kind of illusion magic to hide themselves. You can’t see the camp unless you pass through the magical barrier they’ve created and are within a few yards from the first tent. So anytime our scouts have circled from above, they’ve seen unoccupied land.”
At that, cries went up around the room, and Lyr yelled above the noise. “But we’re in the best position we can be! With both Warrick and King Adrien in our custody, a small party of us will go to the fae and propose a peace treaty as planned. As far as we’re aware, since Warrick was rendered unconscious, the outliers have remained mostly dormant not attacking in the city unless provoked. If we can foster peace with the fae, there’s a chance we may never head to battle.”
There were snorts of disbelief, and angry chatter from the monsters, but Lyr kept going. “We need at least ten to volunteer to go to the fae camp.”
The room finally quieted as all of the monsters stared at one another, waiting to see who would be the first to step forward. Lyr’s gaze swept around the room, and it wasn’t until Kade began growling that I realized she was staring atme. Oh, fuck.Locke’s arms tightened protectively around my waist.
“I’ll go,” called out an orc alpha, drawing the attention to him. Kenric was the leader of the high house of Axeran, and one of the few monsters who always seemed to be smiling. He jerked his head and elbowed the female standing beside him. “And so will Jade.” I stared at the female who was a head shorter than her alpha, with thick ginger hair, and a mace at her side. I’d seen her fight and take down most of the orcs in their house, so I wasn’t surprised when she shrugged her agreement.
