Misty
“Forgive me, please,” I say to Mom as we walk side by side to the war room, which is really just a massive training area at the very base of the castle. “I know I just got back…hours ago….”
“Bring them back for me,” she replies sadly, her hand ghosting down my back. She stops at the staircase leading to the furthest depths of the castle. I turn to face her, and she tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’m okay here. I’ll keep the kids happy and comfortable.”
That’s my mom’s power. Being the leader of this family. She has a knack for bringing everyone together, keeping everyone loved and… whole.
I pull her into a hug and squeeze. “I’ll come home again, I promise. I’ll be bringing my mate home with me in time for Solstice, I promise.”
Her tears fall into my hair. I reluctantly let her go and turn for the stairs, refusing to look back. I have to look forward–only forward–if I’m going to get through this.
Ella’s already in the armory, sorting weapons, her eyes locked on her task. A huge map of Tarsian fans out on a wide, circular table.
On instinct, I sweep my powers over the map. Tens of thousands of tiny figures made of mist appear, moving in on Serpentia, colliding with Richard’s… massivearmy.
My throat closes up as Ella looks at the map, at my power. Her eyes slowly meet mine. “That’s a very useful power, indeed.”
“Show me Cole,” I say, and swipe my hand through the air again. Most of the figures disappear save for a small faction of warriors battling on the edge of Serpentia. He made it, and based on what I’m seeing on the map, he’s gaining ground on Richard. A small group of order members, distinguishable by their inky, dark mist, races toward the campus with Cole’s faction not far behind.
I hope Cole kills him. I really hope he just rips Richard’s head off and crushes it between his jaws.
Aviva arrives wearing her typical leather armor. Her hair is braided tightly down the back of her skull, and her face is clear and dry. She’s done crying, that’s obvious.
Ella watches her approach the map. Aviva’s gilded bow rests on her back, and the strange halter and belt she wears is full of weapons of every shape and size.
I’m not going to lie. I’m looking forward to seeing her in battle.
“Neat,” she says, looking at my powers at work. “What’s our plan?”
“No plan,” I tell her with a shrug. “We’re dropping in here, just outside of the city. Everyone will find their mates and fight as a unit. I’ll be going to Cole, immediately.”
My heart quakes with both nerves and utter excitement.
“Who are these people?” Aviva says, pointing at a group of warriors mingling with the Allied Kingdom forces. Instead of blue mist, they’re a sandy brown as they race toward Richard’s front lines.
My heart squeezes. “Those are… Tarsian warriors.” I swipe my powers over the map, giving everyone a glimpse of the army–the packs–Cole sent over the border for their own protection. “They came back. To fight for Cole.”
Ella sighs, pulling on a pair of crimson gloves. “Misty, you need armor.”
I look down at the basic tank top and shorts I’m wearing–that I put on while braiding my hair and getting ready for whatever the rest of the night brings. “I want to be able to shift back and forth, like Aviva.”
“I only have this armor,” Aviva says apologetically.
An idea strikes me as Kenna and Sarah arrive, their eyes lined with dark circles and stress. The four of us parted ways to prepare, with them tucking in their children for the night, looking toward an uncertain future.
I let my powers flow over my body. If I can create a key, a bird, and a blade with my powers… Why not armor?
My mist swirls around me, casting me in tough, hard armor in a soft blue that hugs my body like a glove. When the mist settles, I’m totally covered up to the chin.
I take a few steps away from the table, crossing through the door of the armory into the wide, open training area. I break into a jog, then a sprint, leaping and shifting mid-flight. The armor made of mist shifts with me, turning to armor that covers my wolf.
“Very cool,” Aviva beams somewhere behind me.
I stay in my wolf form for a few moments to test the armor, then shift back, praying I’m not totally naked. The armor remains, still hugging my usual form. I huff a breath in relief.
“I won’t be shifting,” Kenna says, smoothing her hands over her dark cloak. “I don’t need to. I’m going to try to get to Serpentia’s hospital and set up an infirmary with the rest of the nurses.”
“We’ll team up on that, Kenna. Once I find Sydney, we’ll make you a path into the city,” Sarah says, swallowing hard. Sarah has the most complicated and untamable powers out of all of us, Ella included. This battle will be a test of her powers, and skills, for sure.
But right now, there’s only one thing on my mind.
Finding my mate, before it’s too late.
“You and I are sticking together,” Aviva says. I nod in agreement before she turns to examine Ella’s weapons, but then Grandma walks into the room. “I have a score to settle with Richard, too,” Aviva reminds us.
Everyone goes back to preparing. Grandma edges toward me, motioning for me to follow her to a quiet corner of the room.
“Here,” she whispers, pulling the diamond–now hanging from a golden chain–from her pocket. She drapes it over my head, settling the diamond against my chest. “It’s yours.”
“It’s–It’s not mine.”
“It called to you and your powers. You’re meant to have it.”
“Why?”
“I think we’re going to find that out very soon.” Her eyes–identical to mine–crease as she smooths a loving hand over my cheek.
“Take care of Mom for me,” I tell her, but she gives me a sad smile.
“I’m going with you. All of you.”
“What?” I back out of her touch, confused and concerned. “Why?”
“Your grandfather is already there,” she admits.
Shock burns through my body. “Grandpa Maddox is in Tarsian?”
“Yes. He… went to fight with your father and your brothers. He insisted.” Something in her eyes gives me pause. Grief shines there, but it’s not edged with the kind of concern I expected.
“Is he… okay?”
She sighs, taking my hand. “Don’t repeat this, all right? Your parents, aunt and uncle, already have so much to worry about right now.”
I nod, an uneasy feeling twisting my stomach in knots.
“Grandpa has been sick for a while now. It’s his heart. We’ve seen some healers, and physicians, but there’s not much that can be done.”
I furrow my brows. “But you could heal him.”
“Possibly, yes, but he… doesn’t want me to. Grandpa’s an old man, Misty. I think he’s tired. I think, in a way, he’s ready. But he wanted to know the family would be okay without him, so he followed them to war with the intent on bringing his children and grandchild home to us.”
I step closer to her. “Is he dying, Grandma?”
She closes her eyes for a moment then nods. Her hand squeezes mine.
“But you could–you should heal him!”
“You and I have the same powers, honey. If Cole came to you a lifetime from now and told you he was tired and ready to go to the Goddess, would you force him to hang on?”
I think about the sacrifices he’s made for me and know the answer, even if it hurts.
“No. I couldn’t do that to him.”
“Then you understand how I feel. But–” She smiles at me. “I get one last adventure with him. It’s been such a long time since we’ve done something like this.”
I watch her walk away in disbelief, shaking my head.
I’ll deal with that later, once this war is won.
* * *
Cole
Early moonlight drapes the city of Serpentia in shadow. It’s a full moon–bright and beautiful, casting light all over the city.
Behind us, in the endless desert, a battle of epic proportions rages. I hadn’t anticipated this level of violence. The ground quakes as armies collide. Richard had tens of thousands of enslaved, cursed people and wolves at his disposal… including all of the TU student’s he abducted.
He let the curse spread to every pack, every town, and every city in Tarsian without remorse.
I could only get so many out in time.
A small faction of order members follows me through the empty city of rubble. Everyone who lived here is gone. Either escaped, or turned to cursed monsters that are now fighting to the death less than a mile away, trying to stop the tens of thousands of Allied Kingdom warriors from reaching Serpentia.
I hold my hand out and motion for five of the men to split from our group of… ten. Ten is all I have left. Ten men against ten-thousand, but I’m not here to defeat Richard’s army. I’m here to kill him before he can finish this battle and leave… because that’s what he intends to do. I’m almost positive that’s what he intends to do.
The five order warriors split from our group and race into the city center, toward campus. I motion the other five to sweep along the edge of the city. Their mission is simple and clear. Secure the city. Push any of Richard’s order members out.
I walk back out to the battlefield, alone.
My father had a sword. It’s basic, slim and easy to handle. It has no power, no frills, but it belonged to his father–a grandfather I’ve never known–long dead. It comes from a time when Tarsian was nothing more than a slave state–everyone at the mercy of King Kane. This land has never been tamed or organized. I’m ready to let it burn if it means my people–the packs I managed to get out in time–have a chance of a life elsewhere, letting the sordid history of this place blur with time and turn to ash.
I sheath the sword. I’m dressed in traditional Tarsian armor that allows for shifting. It blends with the sand as I step over dunes, following the sound of chaos.
From the top of one dune, I can finally see the battle–the droves of warriors rushing toward the city. Wolves. All of them. They run toward the sea of cursed bodies not knowing there’s little they can do to stop this.
Moonlight bathes the battlefield in an eerie silver glow while I wait, and wait, for the man that started this.
Richard is a coward, but he’s a smart man. He knows he lost his opportunity to use the Book of Whispers to open his precious gate to another world, another hell where he plans to be a god, reborn. Now, this war means more to him than just a distraction. He needs to win, to overpower the royals and their powers, which means he’s more desperate than ever.
I give myself a single second to think about Misty before locking her memory away, somewhere so deep I can’t reach it. That single thread she refused to let go of quakes in my chest, desperately holding on.
“Come on, you fucking bastard,” I rasp into the night air, looking around. A figure in a black cloak stands twenty yards away on another sand dune, his back to me.
With a book in his hands.
His eyes glow green as he whispers some ancient, dead language. He slowly turns his head to the side as I approach, unsheathing my sword.
He didn’t kill my father. No, my dad died at my hands.
But Richard struck the match that toppled the pack my grandfather–my ancestors–built. I plan to kill him with the sword cherished by those people.
He closes the book and turns to me, giving me a grisly smile. Every time he uses the book, he grows uglier, if that’s possible, like he barters his own life for the magic he summons.
“Come to the watch party?” he grins, motioning toward the battle. Green magic flares around the cursed warriors, bringing their fallen back from the dead. “It’s practically over before it’s begun. That’s the nice thing about these magical wars–they’re quick. It’ll be over by morning.”
I grip the hilt of my father’s sword. I’ve been imagining this moment for months–debating how I’d do it. There were plenty of times I could have killed this man. Torn him to shreds. But he kept the book hidden, and I’d be damned if I killed him without knowing its location.
The only reason he’s alive right now is because he’s holding the book, and I’m going to give him a single chance to undo this mess before finally, finally, killing him.