Chapter 32
Feray
My heart hammers in my chest like the relentless beat of a war drum. I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, as the morning's first light creeps through the window shades. Six bodies lie downstairs. In a few hours, I'll walk into the castle of the man who sent them.
Easton is the first to notice me awake and sneaks into the bed on my side to lie with me. Diaval is fast asleep, his hand on my stomach, still curled on his side. "Are you okay?" Easton's whispered concern makes me smile.
I draw in a deep breath before rolling onto my side to face him. Reaching out, I grip his hands as Diaval pulls me back against him again.
"For the most part, yes." I contemplate what to say next, then simply smile. "For the first time in my life, I'm not afraid. I can protect myself and those around me."
I shake my head slightly at the revelation. "I've changed in every sense of the word." My eyes close as I think of everything that's happened to me. So much magic was used on me to restrain what I am.
Fucking witches... A deep growl escapes my lips before I can stop it.
"What's wrong, my eternal?" Diaval's sexy, rough-from-sleep voice stops my anger from building.
"Just talking to Easton about all the horrible things the witches or warlocks have done to me..." I let the sentence hang.
"Some of it, I presume, was done with good intentions, just executed very poorly," Easton says as Diaval raises up to look over me at him.
"When did you climb in?" Diaval's question makes me laugh.
"It's irrelevant at this point. We were talking about everything that's been done to me." A growl builds in my chest. "How much more magic has been used on me that we haven't discovered yet?" The room falls silent.
"We've purged the majority of it, I'm sure," Diaval says before he kisses my shoulder and slips out of bed. "Let's get breakfast started and then prepare to head to the alpha house unannounced."
My eyebrow raises in surprise. A slow, wicked smile crosses my lips as I stare at Easton."Oooh, I like when wicked Diaval comes out."
Easton's face pales for a moment, but I press my lips to his and roll him onto his back. He may be an arrogant prick, but he's mine. I sit on his hips for a moment, nuzzling his cheeks before sliding off him to head to the kitchen. "Come on, old man, let's get some breakfast and storm a castle."
I laugh as Torben and Khal shift back at the same time. I freeze in my tracks, my eyes widening as I see two of my four mates naked at the same time.
"Little wolf..." Torben's voice is a mix of warning and desire, the amber glow of his bear surfacing.
"I know, I know. Dethrone the make-believe alpha first, then sex," I grumble, making my way to the kitchen.
There, I find Diaval already making breakfast. I slip in behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
"I don't know what I find hotter about you," I murmur.
"Oh? Do tell." Diaval turns his head, kissing my temple as I peer over his shoulder.
"Wicked grumpy dragon that gets shit done and goes all alpha. Or domestic dragon that makes sure I'm well fed and hydrated." I press my face against his shoulder blade, holding on tight.
"Both have your care as the center of their world, so I say it's a tie.
Two sides of the same coin." He rests a hand over mine as he flips the pancakes.
I hear my other three mates before I see them.
I squeeze Diaval tightly before heading over to hug everyone else, pressing a quick kiss to each of their cheeks. "Good morning."
Khal's rapid typing draws my attention. "So what's the plan for this morning?" He fires off, his fingers flying over his phone's screen, lips set in a thin line. He curses under his breath.
I stop and stare at him. "Is everything alright?" I haven't seen him this worked up since we passed through Norburg.
"Yes and no." He huffs, flopping into the nearest chair and tossing his phone onto the table. "Wherever in creation Khol is, he's unable to communicate with his phone. So all the family business shit falls to me."
He shakes his head, running a hand down his face. "Thankfully, we planned ahead. I cloned his messenger app on my phone so I can handle his half of the business."
I move closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Anything I can do to help?" I push his chair back slightly so I can perch on his lap. I gently pull his head to rest on my shoulder, threading my fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp.
Khal wraps his arms around me and just holds me. "This is perfect," he murmurs, kissing my throat.
"I'm sorry you have to do everything. Knowing Revelin, it's one huge drunken party as they play hide and go seek." I laugh softly. "Fi would basically say 'fuck it, I'm in.'"
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. The two of them flying off half-cocked, starting brawls everywhere.
Tiernan is probably going to be gray or bald by the time their journey is over.
Desi is going to poof and disappear instead of wrangling the others.
" I huff out a laugh just as Diaval drops food in front of us.
"I almost feel bad for my old friend," Diaval says. "For once, I got the better deal."
"Oh? How do you figure?"
Diaval adjusts his tie—a nervous habit that tells me I've got him. "Well, for the most part, our side is more civilized. Most of us don't prefer to start violence."
"Um, I hate to piss in your cereal there, chief, but Feray has charged into battle more than the rest of us.
What she didn't start, Sparky over there finishes.
Or did you also forget you attacking and roasting all of those deep bats?
" Torben chimes in, shoveling pancakes into his mouth.
"Then there's the spicy danger noodle turning everything to stone because Feray told him to. "
"Leaving yourself out of the mix, Tor?" I say playfully.
"I can't cause half the damage you four can. I'm big and slow. I don't have any special abilities other than being really strong." He shrugs.
Almost choking on my pancake, I cough several times before I manage to dislodge the hunk. "No special skills?" I stare at him in shock. "That tongue of yours is a lethal weapon."
It's Torben's turn to choke on thin air.
"My eternal, how can his tongue be a lethal weapon?" Diaval sips his coffee.
Khal, being the infinite wise-ass, shifts his tongue to his basilisk's and flicks its length out in front of me. I blush. My spicy danger noodle got my drift. Torben smiles and raises his mug to him. Easton turns two shades of red.
"What am I missing?" Diaval is getting frustrated. He hates being on the outside of the jokes.
I slide off Khal's lap and step closer to Diaval. Standing on my tiptoes, I whisper into his ear, "He shifts his tongue to his bear's when he goes down on me."
Diaval jerks back as if burned, his eyes darting between Torben and me, then over to Khal. "Et Tu, Khal?"
"Hell yeah!" Khal exclaims. "She squirms all over the place if you hit the right spot. She's damn near feral after that, old man." Khal and Torben high-five across the table. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks.
"Let's get back on track," Easton says, motioning for me to move and sit with him. I slide onto his lap, and Khal passes my food over.
"What am I wearing to this mini invasion we're staging?" I shove another chunk of pancakes into my mouth.
"We salvaged a good half dozen of what we believe are your mother's gowns from your father's house," Diaval says, motioning to the crates stacked against the wall.
"You'll pick a dress, put on the diadem, and lastly, wear the bone bracers with the bone collar.
The combination of the bone items with the diadem should be enough to validate who you are.
" A wicked glint appears in his eyes. "Worst case, shift and drive them into submission.
" He lifts his head, and I feel the faint whisper of his power move over me.
"Should I allow my wolf in the driver's seat, so to speak?" I glance from Diaval to Torben, Khal, then finally, my eyes land on Easton.
"Unless you're fighting, no. We need you level-headed."
"Alright." I stand up and motion to the crates. "Let's get started. By now, they know the assassination attempt failed."
The words land heavy in the room.
Six wolves sent to murder us in our sleep. All dead.
The Alpha knows. He's had all night to prepare.
And we're walking straight into his territory.
Torben catches my drift and rips the tops off the crates.
Each gown pulled from the crate feels like a relic of a past life.
My fingers brush over the intricate designs, and I can almost hear my mother's voice, feel her presence.
She wore these.
She was a queen.
And someone murdered her for it.
Torben hands me a dress—a deep crimson gown with gold embroidery that catches the light ominously.
The color of blood and fire. I slip it on, the fabric heavy with history and expectation.
The diadem is next, its weight settling on my head like a crown of forgotten power.
Last, the bone bracers and collar—cold and unyielding—snap into place, merging the past and present.
I look at myself in the mirror.
I barely recognize the woman staring back.
This morning, I woke up in a house surrounded by the bodies of assassins.Tonight, I'll either sit on my mother's throne or join her in death.
"Ready?" Diaval's voice is low. I nod, feeling the combined weight of their gazes and the mission ahead. The Alpha sent six wolves to kill me.
Six wolves failed.
Now I'm coming for him.
And I'm not coming alone.
"Let's show them who I really am."
The time for hesitation is over.