Macy POV
I didn't expect the Lycan City to look so… disappointing. From what I have seen of the Immortal Realm, the colors are vibrant, and the views are breathtaking. The Lycan City is drab. The buildings are nothing more than cement blocks. The windowpanes are thin and shutter against the slightest of wind.
I walk through the streets and try to understand what is happening. The streets are bare. No one has come out to greet us. It is like they knew we were coming and disappeared. Nyx is running around, knocking on doors, causing a scene.
"Stop!" I shout at her. "Just stop."
Nyx pauses, hand in the air. "They are disrespecting you."
"No," I sigh. "They don't know me. Why is this city in such disrepair?"
"I don't know what you mean?" Nyx skirts the question.
"Look around you," I gesture to the city. "Nowhere else in the Immortal Realm looks like this. Is this city truly forgotten? Or does Cassian just send people here when their presence makes him feel uncomfortable?"
"Cassian would never," Nyx gasps.
"I bet Roland would," I snap.
A curtain in the window flickers to my left, and I know I am being watched. That is fine with me. They deserve to know someone is on their side.
"Tell me, Nyx," I shout louder. "Will my mates receive the same treatment? They are lycan."
"They lycans chose this life," she shouts back.
"Did they? Or did Roland make it hard for them near the capitol? Were they an awful reminder of what Arabella had done, and he couldn't bear to look at them anymore?" The questions rapid fire from my lips.
"Enough!" Nyx shouts, and I clamp my mouth shut. "It is clear they don't want to meet with you. We should leave."
"I wouldn't want to meet with me either," I groan. "I am not one of them."
A door bursts open, and a woman screams. I spin around, preparing to be attacked, but a small child is running in my direction. Her clothes are dirty, and her blonde hair is wild. I didn't know there were lycan children. She stops right in front of me, and her bottom is trembling. "Don't leave. I saw you coming?"
I attempt to kneel down, but my wings keep knocking me off balance. Finally, I groan in frustration and plop myself in the middle of the street. The little girl giggles as I situate my wings on my sides. I hold out my hands and she settles herself in my lap like she knows me. "How did you see me coming?"
"In my dreams," she whispers so Nyx cannot hear.
I glance over my shoulder. Nyx is standing ridiculously close and I roll my eyes at her proximity. "This child is not a threat." Leaning forward, I whisper into the girl's ear. "Can you see the future?"
"She can't," a woman shrieks.
A lycan woman with blonde hair and dull gray eyes runs in my direction. She drops to the ground in front of me, pressing her body to the ground with her hands out in front of her.
"Please," I cringe. "Don't do that."
She lifts her head off the dirt road. Tears have created tracks on her dirty face. She is trying to hold herself together, but she is doing a terrible job. I cock my head to the side and study her.
"Maybe there is a place we can go to talk," I say to her. "In private."
The woman's eyes dart to Nyx and the warriors. She shakes her head no. My heart sinks, she is afraid.
"My name is Macy," I say, holding my hand out to her. "These are my mates, Edward and Winston. They are lycan."
Her eyes wide,n but she doesn't speak. Edward steps toward her, and she allows him to help her get to her feet. Her eyes are still on her child in my lap.
"I promise not to hurt her," I smile. "I enjoy children."
"You aren't here to take her?" She questions.
"Why on heavens would I take her?"
The woman swallows hard. "Because she is special."
I shoot a glare over my shoulder at Nyx. She refuses to meet my gaze. "You and the warriors can wait at the carriage. That is an order."
Nyx storms off, but the warriors are less inclined to leave.
"We are supposed to protect you, Princess," a warrior speaks up.
I grit my teeth. "My mates will protect me."
The girl hops to her feet and drags me to mine. She is giggling as she pulls me across the road to a small house. I barely fit through the door with my wings. The space is small but cozy. Unlike the cold halls of the palace, this place feels like a home.
The woman waits in the doorway. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I am not like Cassian and Roland. I grew up in a werewolf pack with a wolf–of sorts."
She glances over her shoulder before she speaks. "They take our children. The ones that have abilities. I have been hiding Catherine for years. She had her first vision at three. They are only getting stronger and more frequent."
She pours out her soul, and when she is finished, tears continue to fall.
"I have no plans on taking your child," I assure her. "What is your name?"
"Justine," she murmurs.
"You bring back the moon," Catherine squeals.
"Do I?" I ask.
She nods her head excitedly, but her mother does not look pleased. Her lips are drawn together in a tight line, and her eyebrows are knitted together.
"Catherine," I address the child. "This is Edward, and the quiet one is Winston. Would it be okay if they played with you for a little bit?"
"I knew you were going to ask that," she rolls her eyes. "I beat the big one at cards five times, and the other one talks too much. He is bossy."
I snort, and Edward glares at me. Still, Catherine gets to her feet and skips out the front door.
"It isn't just the moon, is it?" I ask Justine.
Opening a drawer in her kitchen, she pulls out a stack of papers. It is all artwork. Children's artwork. Devastating but colorful artwork. I flip through the pages and feel sick. The war with Selene will be costly, just as I thought.
"Will the lycan fight with me, knowing this is the future?" I ask.
"I can speak to them," she says. "But I cannot make promises. They are mistrusting of the Royal family."
"I do not ask you for a promise," I whisper. "But I believe the Gray Creatures are on our side."
I pull the diadem out of my pocket and lay it on the table. Justine gasps and steps back from it like it may bite her. I drag it across the table and stuff it back in my pocket.
"We will leave you now. I know the war will be costly. I have seen the visions myself, but Selene has to be stopped. Not to mention, you deserve better than this."