Chapter 32
My mind and body calmed enough by dinner that I started to observe the coven with interest. The Magus ate in a communal hall, at round tables.
I was guessing that the council usually sat at the long table on the raised stage with Tempest and Wild, but tonight Owu, Adeuto, and I sat on one side of Wild and Tempest. Andie and Sascha sat to my right, while Kyros and Basilia sat on the other side of Wild and Tempest. A strategic seating arrangement.
The atmosphere in the coven was subdued, and I supposed that an imminent attack from the demon king would do that to a coven. Also, Magus didn’t thrive on battle as a demon or Vissimo would. They were more vulnerable to the emotional siege of a war.
The Magus sat in their groups at round tables, and as they finished their meals, they cleared off their plates and cleaned them to reset everything for the next meal.
There was a togetherness to their movements that demons didn’t possess—this coven was a community, and that was their strength.
Lack of community was a demon weakness. We just weren’t designed to get along in a closed space for long periods of time.
Magus darted looks at me now and then, and at Owu, too, though Tempest’s introduction at the start of the meal had gone a long way in alleviating their uncertainty.
Adeuto swung his legs on the seat while eating his food, uncaring of the small tensions in the hall. Whatever reactions they’d had to him had faded by now. He was also a toddler and yet to come into his demon power, while Owu was a boy already in possession of his smoke.
Sascha tilted his head as if listening, then leaned forward. “Tempest, could we trouble you for a portal? Axel and his mother would like to return to pack lands.”
“Of course,” she replied.
Axel approached the stage with his mother. She nodded in Sascha and Andie’s direction, then briefly glared at me before lowering her gaze to the floor.
“Do not hide your hatred of me, Luther woman,” I said to her. “If you had kidnapped my son, I would have done my best to kill you. Hate me while you hold your son close. He is wonderful, and I will miss his company.”
Axel’s lower lip wobbled. I’ll miss you, too, Syera. Will I see you again?
Andie and Sascha’s focus snapped to me, then returned to Axel. His mother was wide-eyed.
I thought back at him, I hope so, little Luther. You were so brave. Your pack can be very proud of you.
He smiled, then hugged his mother’s leg. They stepped through Tempest’s portal together. The small bundle of worry that had existed in me over Axel’s uncertain fate eased as he left. I was beyond thankful no injury had befallen him.
“You formed a pack bond with Axel,” Sascha said after.
I glanced at the pack leader. “Silent communication was needed in a moment of danger.”
“A pack bond can only be formed through trust. Axel could not have done so otherwise. That speaks for your care of him. I understand why you took him that night, though most of my pack cannot. Regardless, we are all thankful that Axel has been returned to us unharmed.”
“He showed great strength. A different strength to a demon boy, but strength nevertheless.” I focused on the two boys still in my care. “Are you both done?”
Owu nodded.
Adeuto was halfway out of his chair.
I scraped back my chair. “Where will we meet once the boys are asleep?”
“My quarters again,” Tempest replied.
I looked past her at the Vissimo couple. Kyros was studiously ignoring me. Basilia was fully turned my way and staring me down.
My lips twitched. “I look forward to it.”
“No fair,” shouted Adeuto. “I can’t do that yet.”
I walked after the boys who were playing the demon version of tag—when they caught each other, they hit each other as hard as they could. Surrounding Magus watched on with frowns. I could just imagine their expressions if they watched adult demon games.
I went through the rigors of showers, dressing, and bedtime with the boys, and I pushed aside all thoughts of the outside world as I did so.
How many times had I dragged myself through bedtime in Adeuto’s life, so eager for the moment he fell asleep and I could collapse in a heap?
Tonight, I felt deeply grateful for the opportunity to pull back his bed covers and make up an extra story.
We’d been placed in a larger room, though nowhere near the size of Tempest’s quarters. Two single beds were placed on one wall, and my bigger bed was on the opposite wall. We had a bathroom and enough space for the boys to launch off the beds without too much injury.
I could stay here forever. This was my idea of safety now.
But if we won, I’d start the battle to secure Adeuto’s throne. If we lost… then I’d look back on this place fondly as a fleeting time of peace.
I tucked the covers around Owu.
“Syera,” he said around a yawn. “Will my mother be okay?”
“The king will not connect you to the boy I once healed,” I replied, really hoping that was true. “Your mother is safe, especially with your grandparents gone. Tsan will likely check on her.” I frowned. “What happened to Tsan anyway?”
I hadn’t had a chance to think about that.
Adeuto was already snoring, and Owu yawned again, but mumbled, “He wanted to stay behind, so he could tell us stuff if you needed him to.”
Communicating with Tsan was a big if now that Carmine would have blocked the pipeline. More likely that Carmine would track down my one and only friend and torture him. But Tsan had made his choice, and from here, I couldn’t do a single thing to help him.
“I’m so happy to see Adeuto again.” Owu sighed and closed his eyes.
I brushed his hair back, then kissed his forehead. “So is Adeuto, darling. Go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Will you be close?”
“Very. I’ll keep a small portal open into the room, okay? Nothing will happen without me knowing.”
The demon version of a baby monitor.
Owu nodded, then rolled onto his side.
I walked around to Adeuto’s bed, kissed his peaceful face, then drank in his features for five minutes. He’d grown since I last saw him. He knew more words and was doing different things. Weeks away from a three-year-old was too long. They changed so much.
I pressed a final kiss to his forehead, then forced myself out of the room.
The other supernaturals would be waiting for me.
I left the room and walked in the direction of Tempest’s quarters. Or so I thought. After asking for directions twice, I eventually knocked on her door before entering.
The other leaders were inside, and they’d rearranged the couches in a square so we could all see each other.
“Did the boys settle okay?” Tempest asked. She was holding hands with Wild, which surprised me in this setting. But Andie’s head was resting on Sacha’s shoulder, and Kyros had a hand on Basilia’s thigh. I couldn’t be sure if that was to hold her back from attacking me.
They were so comfortable in each other’s presence. There was a true bond between these rulers.
I answered, “They did. Owu is concerned for his mother in the realm, but happy to see Adeuto again.” I walked to the empty couch to sit on it. Alone.
Because my mate was the problem.
“Let’s get the tension out of the way first,” I said. “Basilia, you’re angry at how I’ve treated your mate.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I like that you’re confronting me, but I still want to make you pay. Punch you in the face, or something.”
“You can if it will help.”
She arched a brow. “Really?”
“We have bigger problems to focus on, so I’d rather take a hit and get to the real fight as soon as possible.”
The queen of Vissimo snorted. “Well, now I don’t want to punch you at all. You’d do well in billionaire circles.”
“I sincerely hope to never encounter them,” I said truthfully. “I’d like to apologize to you, King Kyros, for words that I could have dressed up to hide what I truly thought.”
His meadow-green eyes flared, but the Vissimo king appeared amused. “To make them more palatable to my ego, you mean?”
I didn’t answer, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
He said, “Your comment struck a chord. Control is something I am in constant pursuit of. If I fail to hold onto that, then everyone I love and protect could be dead in a very short time. So I take the matter of control seriously. During the battle, I believed we had a rare opportunity to engage the demon king in battle. I took it, and the move was miscalculated—colored by my need to avenge my father. My actions did put the larger plan of the alliance at risk, and I apologize for that. I will control my… mood in the future.” He bowed his head in my direction, and I returned the gesture.
I shifted my gaze to Basilia again. “Anything else?”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you still talking about that? I’m here to focus on the bigger problems.” She inspected her perfectly manicured nails.
I leaned back. Tensions resolved, and between a demon and Vissimo too. Go us.
Tempest rested her elbows on her knees. “Syera, we’ll bring you up to speed on our overall strategy in coming weeks, but a surprise visit from the demon king is the most important item on the agenda. What do you know? What can you guess of what he’ll do?”
I looked at my twin, and warmth spread through me at how impossible it seemed that we’d reunited against the odds.
I said, “He knows that I’ll sense his presence as soon as he leaves the realm.
He won’t give that advantage away. He’ll send his army ahead, and his goal will be to kill Owu, and to capture me. ”
“Not kill?” Sascha asked.
“Not while we’re mated.”
Wild looked my way. “Is severing that a ploy we can still use when he comes?”
I met his dark gaze. “We can, though I had resolved to go through further rituals with him in the hopes of packing a bigger punch.”
There was a telling pause, and Tempest was the one to ask, “What do further rituals involve? We don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.”