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“You can’t tell a single soul, Seth Capella. No one outside of our group. If the rebels find out it was her, they might not understand. And the Councillors, they could-” “Want her dead,” I finished in a rasp. “They’ll want her dead if she poses a threat against us like that.”
Tory nodded, terror making her cheeks pale as she laid a hand on my shoulder. “I believe when she regained some control, she ran to protect us, and that Orion is with her keeping her safe. Either that, or he managed to drag her away from the battle somewhere.” “So we can’t go looking for her?” I asked with a sad whimper, horrified about what she must be going through. “We’ll find her. But she can’t come back to the rebels until we can figure out how to get that fucking monster out of her.”
“She told you?” he guessed. “Is anything ever going to be okay again?” I whispered, not wanting to voice it too loud in case the stars listened in and took it as a challenge to make things worse. Caleb let out a low sigh, his head falling forward and a few curls tumbling into his eyes. “I don’t know, Seth.”
“Not to worry, Jimbob,” Geraldine said as she caught up, clapping me on the shoulder hard enough to send me stumbling forward a step. “All will be right in the end.”
“No, you’re not, you’re trying to bury it. Don’t you think you’re getting too old to keep hiding away from everything real about you?” “Oh, so now I’m not real,” I scoffed. “Thanks for the pep talk, Max. Why don’t you go hang out with your new royalist girlfriend? That’s where you really wanna be right now anyway.” I gestured for him to walk ahead of me, but he didn’t go anywhere, his dark eyes boring into mine. “Just because I love her, doesn’t mean I love you any less. I’m not abandoning you by wanting her.” I let out a doggish whine, glancing at him and trying to confirm that from his
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“We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “You can’t promise that,” I snarled. “Darius promised the same thing once. Besides, if we win this war and actually survive it, we aren’t going to be us anymore. Everyone will head off to build their own lives, to find their happy place. And she’s your happiness. You’ll get married and have babies, and Caleb will want that too eventually. Who do you think he’s going to pick?”
The rebels were finishing the last of them, and my gaze fell on a Nymph they hauled from the ice as he shifted into his Fae-like form, naked as he was tossed to the ground at the feet of my mother. He was a slim man with a gaunt face and black, thinning hair. “Wait – please!” he cried, his voice touched with an accent. “I wish to speak with the Vega Queens. I am not your enemy.”
moved forward, holding my roughly forged sword out and pressing it under the Nymph’s chin as he gazed up at me in fear. “What’s your name?” “Miguel Polaris,” he said. “Did you know Diego?” I asked in surprise and he nodded quickly, grief filling his eyes. “He was my son,” he croaked. “Please, have mercy. I can help you with your cause.”
“We’ll ask Tory if he’s worth keeping,” he said. “You cannot truly think it is appropriate to seek council from a Vega, Caleb,” my mom said in horror. “Holy shit, is that a falling star?” Caleb gasped, pointing to the sky and Mom whipped around to look. Caleb shot away with Miguel in his arms, and I snorted a laugh, exchanging a grin with Max. “Argh, that boy,” Mom said with a huff as she realised what he’d done. “Go round him up, Seth.” I headed away from her with Max, having zero intention of doing what she said but happy to use the opportunity to escape.
Geraldine came running back to join us, wiping a line of sweat from her brow, before swinging the handle of her flail up to rest on her shoulder. Miguel looked up at her from the ground in awe. “I know of you. The Nymphs call you Sentina Laquorian. It means the Sentinel of the Royals in the shadow language of old.”
“He’s Diego’s father,” Tory explained. Geraldine gasped dramatically, throwing the back of her hand to her forehead. “Our gentle, hatted friend. What kind of father were you to he?” She demanded of Miguel. “Speak loud and clear, for these next words might be the last farthings that ever fall from your penny purse.” Miguel swallowed tightly. “Not the one I wished I could be, Sentina,” he choked out, bowing his head to her in shame. “I was held in the power of the shadows. My… wife Drusilla kept me under her control, and I was subdued for many years, a walking pawn at her and her brother’s side.
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I looked to Caleb, trying to catch his eye but he was firmly looking at Geraldine even though I knew he could feel my eyes on him. Hmph.
“You are but a whelk at a dolphin’s door,” Geraldine proclaimed, pointing from Miguel to Tory. “How are we to believe these preposterous titling tales?” I snorted at the word titling, but no one else joined in. Tough crowd.
“That is not enough to prove his innocence, my lady. He could have been trying to wandangle us, to lure us into trusting him before. He brought an army of Nymphs to our door,” Geraldine said passionately. Tory looked to Max. “What can you feel?” “It feels like the truth to me,” Max said thoughtfully. “Though that doesn’t confirm it. I’d have to look deeper to be sure. It could take some time. I’d need to hear him speak more about his time in Lionel’s army.”
“You’re acting too predictably, you tantalising trout.” “Yeah, Maxy boy,” I taunted as Geraldine leapt forward, shifting into her Cerberus form and picking up Miguel with one of her three mouths, while taking her flail into another.
“Right now, I can’t even see a glimmer of happiness in my future.” A whine slid through my lips at those words, and he released me, his breaths coming heavily as he rested his hands either side of my head. “Oh, you’ll find your glimmer. Your feathery little glimmer,” I said icily,
“I had it,” I said, meaning for it to come out as a growl, but the words were weakened by the concern in his eyes. “I know,” he muttered. “But I wanted revenge for what it did to you. You’re my…Source. It makes me protective.” He
“If I’m still your Source, why haven’t you had a drink from me in days?” I asked, my voice rough as Caleb let go of my ankle and looked to me with his jaw ticking. “Because sometimes your blood makes me…” He trailed off and I mentally filled in the end of that sentence. Makes you wanna casually fuck your best friend, before you prance off with someone you could have real feelings for. “Got it.” I shoved to my feet, going stone cold on him.
Max fell from the sky, leaping off of a Griffin’s back and landing on Seth’s, taking him by surprise and nearly knocking him over. Max howled like a madman and Seth echoed it, picking up speed as Caleb raced along at his side. I watched them go, thinking of my brother and how he should have been a part of that group. The loss of him left me raw and I worked hard to force that thought from my mind, knowing that if I dwelled on it now, I’d break all over again.
Hadley’s Vampire fangs were out, and he had a glint of excitement in his eyes as he looked to me. He was so like Caleb in ways, but his dark features gave him a brooding look that matched his personality to a T.
Athena’s twin brother Grayson ran into view in his Wolf form which resembled a giant husky – just the same as his sister’s.
I’m superior to you in every way.” She smirked as she saw that jibe rile him up, his eyes flickering darkly. “Then you should have learned how wrong you are by now, Capella,” he bit out. Sometimes it seemed like those two were obsessed with each other, and other times it was like they wanted to murder one another. I guessed it was a power thing. But when I thought of how my own power play with Tyler had turned out, I wondered if there might be something more brewing between them.
Lilac glitter tumbled from my mane, the wind rushing over me and making me feel more alive than I had in days. Darius’s death had left my heart numb, but right now I was awake again, seeking out something good beyond all the tragedy, if only for a moment.
Tory’s wings were a blazing beacon of fire, trailing embers through the sky to mark our path and guide everyone on ahead of us all. It felt so good to be doing something at last, taking action even if it was as simple as finding a sanctuary for everyone. It definitely beat sitting around in the ruins waiting for my father to find us.
Dante’s Storm Dragon form
I sighed, turning to look at the sea while Tory Vega circled down to perch on the shoulder of the huge brindle Cerberus that was Geraldine.
“I dare you to be nice to Athena for a week,” I said, and Hadley whirled on me. “What?” he snapped. “You two would get along if you stopped being so competitive,” I said with a shrug, knowing there was more to their relationship than they let on to the world. I’d seen it myself. And I’d seen what had happened to my brother when he’d continued acting like he hated Tory Vega for so long. He could have had so much more happiness in his life if he’d just…if he’d…
“Cast with me?” she offered, and I nodded, relieved to do anything but remain in this moment of agony. “What do you want me to cast?” I asked. “We’re going to carve ourselves an island from this land and float out to sea.”
More and more earth Elementals rushed to help us, Caleb and Seth standing shoulder to shoulder as they cast together while Geraldine shifted out of her Cerberus form to join in, standing naked and proud at Tory’s side. The chasm ran deeper and deeper, a roaring noise filling the air as we cleaved the land apart and created a huge island for us to take as our own.
“You are not even a sworn-in member of the court of the true Queens,” Geraldine chastised. “And I am known for my wonderous and most apt namings of all things.” “Just let her do it, Seth,” Max murmured, and Seth whined in protest, but I didn’t bother to join the debate – none of us here were going to win in an argument with Geraldine when it came to this anyway so what was the point? “The choice is yours, my Queen,” Geraldine said, looking to Tory who didn’t even seem to be listening. “About the name thing?” she asked and Seth tried turning the puppy dog eyes on her, but she didn’t seem to
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“R.U.M.P.?” Seth demanded furiously. “So now we’re all just asses on the rump? I told you she’d do this. I said that she’d-” “Pish posh, Seth Capella, green does not become you. Perhaps once you bend the knee upon this fine land of R.U.M.P. and become a true member of the A.S.S. you shall stop attention seeking so blatantly.”
I could perceive that would stop Lionel Acrux from gaining access to my visions through the use of his Cyclops servant, Vard. As soon as my mental defences fell, he would make it into my head and pick through every vision I had foreseen within these walls. I would hide what I could, but there would be no way to conceal all of it and with access to my visions, only the worst could come of Lionel’s plans.
The only small mercy I had was that Lionel Acrux couldn’t crack into my head with Dark Coercion, and it had been a fucking pleasure to see him lose his mind over that. The power of the Phoenixes thwarting him once again was a beautiful damn thing and I thanked the stars for the Phoenix kiss which marked my ring finger, protecting me from becoming little more than a vessel bound to his will.
The cuffs on my wrists held my magic at bay, even if I’d had any power left to use, so I had no defences to draw on, I was simply a slave to The Sight. This ability of mine could be a curse in life. I’d had to bear witness to countless deaths, seeing my wife and family all succumb to bloody fates time and again, whilst trying to think clearly enough to find a way to avoid it.
I saw an island of land floating in the ocean and my heart clenched with need as I saw the faces of the people I adored. They were still alive, exhaustion in their eyes, but determination too.
“I love you, Gabriel. You’re my little star, my guiding light.” The words felt like a long-forgotten memory stirring from the recesses of my mind, and they gave me the comfort of a boy in the arms of a loving Fae, because some part of me knew who they belonged to. My mother.
“Well, I’m wearing this cunt of a t-shirt and it’s not even the right size. So I’d say I’ve seen better days,” he said, clasping my arm as he frowned. “What hell are they offering you?” “They want my visions, of course,” I muttered. “They’ve taken all I’ve seen. I held up my mental shields for as long as I could, but I…” I dropped my gaze as guilt stole through me and Orion gripped my arm tighter. “You did all you could.”
It killed me to know Darcy had gone through that, and now Orion was offering himself as a sacrifice to save her from this atrocious fate. “I’ll stay here until the three moon cycles are up,” he finished darkly. “I have no plan except that, but with every passing day, I fear the Shadow Beast lays a deeper claim on her. On her magic too.”
“Yes, I’ve seen them. They’re together, though thankfully I can’t see the direction they’re taking or their plans. My family are well versed in how to avoid me predicting their moves when they want to, so I hope they’re teaching all the rebels to keep every decision random.” “Leon will be great at that,” Orion said, cracking half a smile and I mirrored him, releasing a breath of amusement. “He’ll be driving everyone mad with his acts of randomness,” I said.
“If I see anything that can help us, I’ll place it here and keep it from Vard,” I spoke to Orion through the connection of our minds.
The lasting moments in the visions showed Orion with a book in his hands, the cover woven from bronze feathers, and the look of hope in his eyes gave me more hope than I’d had in weeks. When this moment arose, I could sense the time he would have to find his way in and out of that mysterious place before anyone came searching for him. Hours. Three at least.
The building had nothing on the size of The Palace of Souls, looking more homely than imposing, though I guessed it would still house plenty of Fae. “There aren’t words for this,” I said in a low voice as Geraldine took my arm and drew me forward, marching at a fierce pace.
Max tried to follow us inside, but Geraldine barked at him to remain yonder while she escorted me around my new abode and threw her magic at the drawbridge mechanism to make it slam in his face while he shouted his objections at us from beyond it. Geraldine sighed like she was some long-suffering wife, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, then casting a silencing bubble to block out Max’s shouts. She gave me a rueful smile and patted my arm before tugging me further inside.
“Max?” I asked and she nodded gravely, her brow furrowed. “I have so tried to tempt my Lady Petunia away from his fine hose. But alas, her mind is set upon him and…I fear my heart may have followed in her wake.”
“Geraldine,” I said firmly. “If Max is it for you, then let him be it. This war, this doubt and uncertainty we live in has only confirmed one thing to me, and that’s how brief life can be and how quickly it can be stolen from us at any point in time. So don’t waste any more of it simply because he hasn’t knelt for me and Darcy. I don’t give a fuck about that anyway.” I swallowed against a lump in my throat as I forced the next words past my lips. “Darius never knelt for me either, but I didn’t want him to. Not in the end. All I really wanted was for him to be mine, and I had far less of that
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“I just want you to go out there and grab that fish boy by the balls and tell him he’s yours, bad choices in politics be damned.” “I…” Geraldine glanced towards the drawbridge like she might be about to do precisely that, but she raised her chin and gave me a rueful grin instead. “I may just do that, my lady, but I think I’ll allow him to flounder out there a touch longer before I do.”
Geraldine’s mouth parted in what might have been shock, or horror, or some combination of the two, but when it came down to it, if we ignored the Speedos and overly tactile behaviour, Washer was actually half decent.
“I shall have an order sent to the wigglesome worm himself post haste,” she said firmly.
“Who else would you like to be officially enrolled into your court?” “Dante Oscura and his family have been loyal to us from the moment we met them,” I said as I thought on it. “I doubt they’ll want to serve the crown long-term if we win this war, but I value their input enough to want them with us while it lasts at least.” “Say no more, my Queen, I shall see it done.”
“There is a training area on the roof with targets and practice dummies, all manner of things for you to train with, whether with weapon or magic, should you so wish,” Geraldine was saying, but I was finding it hard to hear her.
