Chapter 27
Altair
We’d been back in the Realm of Mages for two weeks now, and even though I felt like we would never be fully ready, I also knew we had to act soon.
A mage we hadn’t been introduced to before had come by just after breakfast and told us we were needed at the meeting place; another location where we could all gather for meetings. It seemed our time for training and having fun was over.
“Stop worrying,” Tino said from behind me. I had just finished getting dressed for the day, figuring it would be best not showing up in my pajamas for the meeting. It could be important and I wanted to seem like the leader they needed and wanted, not this scared young man I truly was.
“I can’t seem to stop,” I admitted, not wanting to hide my true feelings from my best friend.
He sighed. “Me neither. This just feels… final, you know?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, swallowing my unease as I got my arms into my sweater.
It had gotten colder these last few days, making the leaves cover the ground around the compound in different brown, yellow, and red colors.
It was my favorite time of year, but I found myself unable to truly appreciate the smell and look they offered.
“Come,” he said, taking my hand in his and pulling me behind him. We met up with the others in the living room. They looked just as wary as we felt, and since Xari could feel emotions, it had to be way worse for him.
“You all ready?” Xari asked, frowning as he trailed his gaze over each of us, then quickly hid his expression behind a forced smile. “We can do it, right? I mean, we’ve trained for this. We were born for this.”
Damn, if Xari, the oldest one of us, was this nervous. It really showed just how young we all were, and we had the future of the Realm of Mages to think of. It was all on our shoulders.
“Maybe this is just a random meeting,” Silver suggested hopefully.
“Or maybe, we’re heading to war,” Niam said, his tone serious as he walked towards our front door, not waiting for us to follow him before walking through. Shit, if Niam was this certain, then it couldn’t be good.
“Mom? Mother?!” Xari exclaimed, his surprise stalling our movements as we approached the meeting ground.
Following his gaze, I found council leader Leah and her wife Nikki.
This truly couldn’t be good. But damn it was hard being mad seeing them when Xari was so obviously pleased at finally seeing his mothers after all these years apart.
“Our big boy!” Nikki squealed before engulfing him in a tight hug. She let go only to grab his arms and look him over. “You've gotten so handsome!”
“I happen to agree,” Niam said, looking just as teary eyed as Xari and his mothers.
While Leah grabbed Xari for a hug next, Nikki watched Niam with wide eyes. “You’re his soulmatch.”
“I am,” Niam replied, and then Xari pulled him closer to where he and Leah were still hugging.
The rest of us shared a look and decided to leave Xari and Niam with his mothers. They needed a bit of privacy and we didn’t mind walking ahead to where Willow and Nujik stood.
“Is it bad?” Silver asked, done waiting it seemed.
Nujik seemed unsure how to answer that. “I’ll explain as soon as everyone has gathered here.
Don’t want to repeat myself.” He winked at Silver, then tugged Willow with him and gestured for us to follow.
Like with the camp site, they’d made us thrones, this time with space in front for our familiars.
We’d left them behind at our house, thinking we would focus better with them not with us, but seeing how they’d made space for them had us calling them forth, surprising a few mages who stood close by.
Gilbert and Kitty had bonded with the others easily, and if the book was to be trusted, they remembered each other.
“Should we sit?” Tino asked, as unsure as me about what to do without Xari and Niam with us.
“We might as well,” Wilston said, sitting down on one of the thrones. King stood beside him, proving how he’d gotten his name as he exuded authority. Silver sat next to him with Shamus cuddling up to his legs.
Tino and I joined them, Kitty snuggling up to me like Shamus had done to Silver and Gilbert had decided to slither his way up the throne, perching behind Tino. It looked a bit comical, since Gilbert was way too big for it to fully work, but he at least got half his body to rest on it.
Xari and Niam joined us without his mothers, who’d stopped next to where Willow and Nujik stood, conversing, but it at least seemed they were in agreement on whatever they were discussing. I knew logically that we could trust Leah, but having one of the council leaders here was unnerving.
As soon as Snowflake and Leon had placed themselves next to the thrones, them being called as soon as Niam and Xari saw our familiars were with us, Nujik began speaking.
“Everyone, I know most of you know what Leah’s presence here announces.
” There was utter silence as Nujik looked over the crowd of mages.
“It shows that she has left her position as leader. That her loyalty lies with these young men behind me.” People started cheering, not all of them but some.
“But it also means we’re out of time.” Dead silence.
“Leah assures us that the council leaders don’t know our location, but how long that’ll last is a question we don’t want to test.”
I felt like squirming in my seat. Was it too late to back out?
“We leave tomorrow. For war.”
Shit.
After that shitshow of a meeting, we’d gone back to our house to freak out, or that we needed rest to prepare like we’d told Willow and Nujik.
We weren’t resting, though. Silver was pacing the floor.
Wilston had begun washing dishes, declaring they needed to “shine” more.
I wasn’t faring any better, having showered for over an hour before Tino dragged me out of there, muttering curses at how wrinkly my skin had gotten.
I hadn’t even realized it had been that long, too deep in my own thoughts.
Niam and Xari had gone to their room and closed the door, and if they were having sex right now, I had to admit I was impressed.
I wouldn’t be able to get my dick up with the fear of war tomorrow. But whatever worked for them.
“Do you mind living together after this?” Tino asked, and weirdly enough, I noticed he was looking at Silver when he said it. Silver seemed to notice too and frowned at the question.
“Me?”
“You and Wilston, yes. And hopefully Niam, Xari, and Julie too.”
“You want us to share a house like we are now?” Wilston asked, walking into the living room. He’d clearly overheard the conversation from the kitchen. I was sitting on one couch with Tino on another, while Silver had stopped his pacing and was watching his bonded.
“Yes. I would prefer to live together with you all in the future. I rather like having you around all the time.” It was a great subject change, since it showed we had something to look forward to after the war, and it seemed Silver and Wilston were in on the idea, since their faces turned happy at the thought.
“I love that idea!” Silver gushed. “We could live in the castle.”
“That huge castle?” I asked, not really liking the idea of living in a place that held such awful memories.
“Yes, we could make it ours,” he suggested.
“Maybe it would be best to live somewhere where we don’t also have to work?” Wilston supplied. “I’m more inclined to buy some land close by and build our home just as we want it.”
“I’m on Wilston’s side. I would love for us to pick everything,” I said, feeling lighter now that I could picture our future more clearly.
“Fine,” Silver relented. “Maybe it would be best, since we could plan for our familiars, too, securing their happiness and needs.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tino grinned.
“What plan?” Niam asked, entering the living room with Xari right behind him.
“We want to all live together after the war, like we do here,” Silver replied, shooting them a wink.
“Oh,” Niam said, surprised. “I would love that!”
“Me too,” Xari grinned.
The front door opened and a tired Julie appeared a few seconds later. “Ready for tomorrow?” she asked, trying, but failing to hide her fear.
“No,” we replied in unison.
And then we all burst out laughing, because what else could you do when your entire world depended on you?