Chapter 35 Jesper
jesper
. . .
The last sighting put them near the eastern part of the market district in the Apex Capital. Sources said it was a phoenix abducting another phoenix in broad daylight. The audacity alone had the Supernatural Council spewing with anger, waving documents and political threats.
Everyone was pointing fingers at the humans, even though it was a supernatural on supernatural crime, but no one had proof.
So, Sabine sent me.
I might not be a firedrake or an icedrake, but my draconic strength and instinct were enough for me to handle almost any mission that came my way.
My squad was busy with other parts of the mission, so I left my mentee, April, with them. Ever since Rune and I bonded, she’d kept her distance, but even so, I couldn’t stand being around her.
Not just her, but any other woman.
The trail left the city and led me a little to the south, straight into the Fae’s Blessings forest. I knew I’d reached it when the air changed to a sweeter, too-clean atmosphere that hummed with wild fae magic.
I shifted about fifty feet in the air and landed on two feet in a crouch. I stood and made my way into the thick of the forest, mind cleared of everything but my mission. Rune’s bond hummed in my chest, assuring me she was okay.
Flowers bloomed and glowed in spirals across ancient roots. Vibrant vines hung from crystalline branches. Enchanted petals drifted like snow, evaporating before they hit the earth. This forest was pretty, but that was the danger here.
Fae magic was mesmerizing and stunning, but that beauty was a lure.
I moved silently through the underbrush, listening to the birds, wind, and water. Just ahead were footsteps, low curses, and crackling flames.
A clearing opened onto a pool reflecting the sky. The twisting canopies of blooming trees created a maze overhead, dappling the ground in starlight. At the center of the pool, on a stone crossing path, two phoenixes stood backlit by silver light.
One unconscious and limp, draped over the shoulder of the other.
I lunged.
The kidnapper phoenix didn’t have time to react. I slammed into him shoulder-first. His wings shot out, fiery and searing.
I avoided them, only barely, as we hit the ground hard enough to rattle the trees. The ground groaned in irritation.
The other phoenix fell beside us with a splash, rolling across the stone path.
“Get off me!” the phoenix snarled, flame bursting along his arms.
“Stay down!” My fist drove into his ribs and knocked the fire clean out of him.
He gasped, coughed, and then glared up at me.
My heart sank to my gut as I met brown ember-flaked eyes. “Koa?”
He wheezed. “Fates! Jesper, seriously?”
I stood and hauled him up by the back of his jacket. “What in the Fates are you doing kidnapping a phoenix?”
“It’s complicated,” he muttered, looking at his feet.
“Explain.”
“Can you maybe let go of me while I do?”
I hesitated but remembered that he was Rune’s potential mate and went against everything I’d been trained to do by letting him go.
Koa winced, rubbing his ribs, but he didn’t waste time. Phoenix fire danced faintly over his shoulders, burning off dirt and water.
He glanced at the unconscious phoenix. “Sabine didn’t tell you?”
“No. She sent me after you to stop this shit. She didn’t know you were doing this; I’m certain of that.”
“Shit.” He shoved his hands through his hair. “She must not have received my email yet. Listen carefully. I’m still undercover with the humans.”
My jaw flexed. “I’m aware, but this looks more like you working with them.”
“Working against them,” he snapped. “Big difference. You know how undercover work is. Don’t you?”
“I’m an enforcer, not a spy. I haven’t been specifically trained for that.” I crossed my arms. “But this looks bad.”
“I make them think I’m a perfect little human-loyal traitor. It helps me get intel into their plans and dig up information to clear my father’s name. The goal is to rip their operation down from the inside. But…” His throat bobbed. “They changed things. I told Sabine in a briefing last week.”
“How did they change things?”
“Humans aren’t handing supernaturals back anymore,” he said tightly.
“They’re done playing nice. They’re executing supernaturals they deem unworthy of their plans, Jesper.
No more evidence trails. Anyone too weak?
Dead. Anyone who was useful? Also fucking dead.
They executed a demon child in front of me last time.
” His eyes flicked to the unconscious phoenix. “He can’t die.”
I stared between him and the victim. “So you’re going to give him to them?”
“Yes,” he growled. “It’ll stop another supernatural from dying and staying dead.
If I suddenly do too much playing hero for my own side, they’ll know I’m not really their plant.
My cover won’t survive, and I’m so close, I am so close to finding proof that they planted evidence on my father.
Not only that, but they have an open case going on with our mate as their top priority. I can’t break my cover yet.”
I clenched my jaw so tight, a tooth cracked and healed. “So, what do you suggest we do? I won’t let you take a civilian in to the humans on a platter.”
He gave me a meaningful look. “You caught me.”
My brows furrowed. “What?”
“I’ll tell the humans that you tracked me down before I escaped the territory.
Say I fought you, and you stopped me from grabbing him.
Make you look like the threat they already know you to be, but I won’t be seen as a traitor.
” He grabbed a mask and put it over his face, masking his scent.
“If I look suspicious, I’m going to be locked up in a tourmalyke room.
That whole facility is made of tourmalyke as it is.
If I look like I hesitated and helped you or him? I’m fucked.”
I exhaled hard, dragging a hand over my face. “Fine.”
Koa nodded and turned, looking at the unconscious phoenix. “One more thing.”
“What?” I asked darkly.
He hesitated, then murmured, “Don’t tell Rune.”
My heartbeat stuttered. “...Excuse me?”
“She doesn’t need to know about this.” He looked away. “Seriously. I’ll tell her when I get a chance, but she has enough to deal with—”
“Koa. What do you mean she doesn’t know you’re undercover with the humans?” I hissed, turning him around.
He didn’t answer.
“Koa.” My voice dropped. “Rune is your potential mate.”
His mouth tightened, pained. “I know.”
“And she’s my mate. How could you not tell her?” I roared. “What if she finds something out and thinks you’re actually on their side?”
“I can’t,” he snapped. “She’d worry. She’d try to help me. She’d—” He swallowed hard. “She’d try to do this for me, and I can’t let her do that. You know her. That woman doesn’t hesitate. I won’t put her on the human radar any more than she already is.”
I stared at him before letting out a slow, rough breath. “Fine, but you tell her soon. Because I swear on my mate mark, if you don’t, I will.”
He winced. “Yeah. Okay. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” I muttered. “I’m going to make your life worse when this is over.”
He cracked a small smile. “Looking forward to it.”
Koa burst into flames and took to the sky, leaving me with the unconscious phoenix.
Hours later, I stood in Sabine Bloodwyne’s office, hands braced on her desk.
“I found Koa,” I grunted. “He was in the Fae’s Blessing Forest, abducting the phoenix citizen you sent me to find.”
Sabine’s nostrils flared. “Was he compromised?”
“No. He covered himself. I’m sure the humans believe his cover with us is intact. He wore some human-made mask that literally wipes his scent clean.” I let out a ragged breath. “Why doesn’t Rune know? Koa is her potential mate, you know, and she’s already accepted him.”
Something in Sabine’s gaze flickered with worry.
“Gavin mentioned their bond potential, but Rune hasn’t told me about Koa directly yet.
” She exhaled. “I didn’t tell her because if she found out humans have started killing supernaturals, like Koa told me last week, she’d burn the peace treaty and ignite a war herself. ”
She wasn’t wrong, but Rune wouldn’t be wrong to do that either.
“Make sure Koa stays alive,” Sabine growled.
“If he fails, we lose everything. I originally sent him in to clear his father’s name, but the humans trusted him too quickly.
He knows things about what they’re doing at the academy, and he’s our only agent deep enough undercover to find us any useful intelligence.
All of my other agents are untrusted or discovered. ”
I nodded slowly. “And Rune? Why are they targeting her?”
“She’s powerful.” Sabine looked out her window with worry creasing her brow. “Rune is protected, though. She has a matebond with Drecken and you. Zuko as well now. That will alert us to something being wrong if it does. She’s trained to handle situations like this. Always.”
“The only thing keeping me sane is feeling her bond.” I palmed my chest. “She has to stay safe.”
“She will,” Sabine assured me, but I wasn’t so sure. The shakiness to her voice told me she wasn’t either.
Humans were getting smarter, and my instincts told me something was going to happen soon.