Chapter Twelve
At first, Katarina studied them in silence.
Not as a ruler weighing pawns, but as a woman who understood exactly how fragile this moment was.
She met each of their eyes in turn. Rian’s raw desperation.
Cameron’s careful restraint. Joshua’s barely contained self-reproach.
Dominik’s rigid control, stretched thin to breaking.
Then she sighed. She turned and faced her mates. “Marek. Kael. Can you give us a moment?”
Both of them stiffened instantly.
“Baby—” Kael started.
“Kitten—” Mareken growled at the same time.
Katarina lifted a hand, forestalling them. “I know you’re worried about me,” she said calmly. “But I’m safe. I’m fine. They mean me no harm.”
She stepped closer to them, voice softening just enough to reach where reason lived beneath instinct.
“And remember when you both discovered I was your mate?” Her eyes searched theirs. “Wouldn’t it have been easier, just a little, if someone had been there to help you navigate it?”
“She’s a caster,” Mareken snapped, anger coiled tight in his voice. “Not human.”
“That’s why you created the Society,” Kael added quickly. “For situations like this, you shouldn’t be taking more onto your plate—”
Katarina cut him off with a single look.
“It doesn’t matter what she is,” she said, steel threading her voice.
“She has no knowledge of any of it. And Mareken...she is human. Casters are human. She grew up believing that’s all she was.
” Her gaze softened. “And she’s alone.” A beat. “I at least had Mara.”
Mareken’s jaw clenched. “Kitten—”
“No.” Katarina’s tone brooked no argument now. “This is my court. This is my ruling.”
She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice so only they could hear.“And if it were you...in their position...you wouldn’t want an audience.”
Both males searched her face. Then they looked past her, at the four standing behind her. Saw the tension in their shoulders. The uncertainty. The fear.
Mareken exhaled sharply. “Okay, Kitten. Whatever you want.”
He stood, pressed a kiss to her cheek, possessive, reverent. Kael followed, brushing a kiss to her other cheek, fingers lingering in her hair. They turned back to the four men.
“Behave yourselves,” Kael warned coolly. “Do not disrespect our Queen.”
All four bowed deeply.
“We wouldn’t dream of it, High Leaders,” Dominik said evenly.
Katarina watched as her mates exited the room, the doors closing softly behind them.
Only then did she turn back. The silence stretched for a moment until finally, she moved to the chair Mareken had vacated and sat, folding her hands in her lap.
“First of all,” she said gently, “I would hug you to congratulate you properly, but I’m fairly certain your mate wouldn’t appreciate that just yet.”
A faint, strained huff escaped Rian.
“Second,” she continued, eyes sharpening, “this is a hell of a situation you’ve landed yourselves in.”
She leaned forward, voice sharp with reproach. “You should have alerted us before you scared her off the first time. We would have had someone from the Society bring her in, calmly. Safely. Instead of you approaching her directly.”
“We couldn’t,” Joshua said immediately. “At that point only Rian felt the bond. We weren’t sure she was our mate, until Dom got close enough to confirm it.”
Katarina nodded once. “Alright.”
She rose and began pacing slowly. “The fact that her information has been erased from the system is,” she said, voice thoughtful now, “… deeply concerning. It suggests intent. Possibly her supernatural parent hiding her from us.”
She stopped, turning sharply. “Which worries me even more, because it implies they don’t want her registered.”
“We want her registered,” Cameron said firmly. “We’re trying to do this by the book, my Queen. We don’t want her restricted.”
“That isn’t the problem,” Katarina replied. “I can see your intentions are good, but this situation is extremely delicate.” She sighed. “And my mates are going to have a field day knowing there’s an unregistered caster on the run.”
A moment passed. Then she nodded, decision settling.
“Given that she’s a caster, the Society won’t be sufficient for her. Which means…” She turned fully toward them. “She needs to be found and enrolled in the caster program.”
Rian opened his mouth. “But—”
She held up a hand, silencing him without looking. “You’ll tread lightly. Given how afraid she is of you, you will not divulge that you are her mates.”
Rian went rigid.
“She’ll be placed under observation for the duration of her training,” Kat continued. “Once completed, she can be classified as Registered...assuming no further complications arise.”
“How are we meant to get her there?” Cameron asked. “We can’t find her anywhere.”
Katarina swore quietly. “I don’t want to send a retrieval team. They’re ruthless, and they’re reserved for Restricted or Hostile casters.” She looked to Dominik. “She isn’t dangerous, is she?”
“No,” he said immediately. “She didn’t even know what she is. That blast, it was her instincts protecting her.”
“Good.” Katarina nodded. “Then I’ll authorize an express tracking weave.”
All four straightened.
“You will find her,” she said firmly. “And you will inform her, by order of the Queen, that her presence is requested at the next Council assembly. No deviating. No hiding her. No explaining anything else.”
“Once you’ve brought her to me,” Katarina finished, “I will speak with her about all this.”
“And after?” Joshua asked carefully.
She met his gaze and gave him a pointed look. “You’ll finish your assignment. Find the demon. Bring him to Zaninsk to await trial. After that then, I'll be putting you four on temporary leave from the Agency.”
Rian panicked. “My Queen, please...we don’t want to go back...”
“I’m not sending you back,” she interrupted gently. “Gods know how much of your lives you’ve spent in that place.” Her voice softened. “I pulled you out of Zaninsk, and I have no intention of ever sending you back. You’ve served enough.”
All four of them exhaled as one.
Dominik hesitated. “But… you’re putting us on leave?”
Katarina smiled, slow and knowing, with a twinkle in her eye. “Leave from the Agency, yes.” She tilted her head. “But you’ll still be working.” She added “For me this time, not the Council.”
The room seemed to tilt. Their eyes widened. Mouths parted. The shift was palpable, like the ground beneath them had moved.
Joshua swallowed. “It would be an honor to serve you, High Queen.” His voice was steady despite the shock. “What would you have us do?”
She laughed softly. “I’m assigning you as a protection detail.”
She waited.