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“Um,” Marlowe interrupted, raising her hand. “Technically, Wasabi and I accomplished your mission, but continue.”

Cam rolled his eyes, playfully pinching her ass before speaking again. “Okay, fine, the princess rescued herself. But we can’t really call it a day and go home, because Ezra can still cross over whenever he likes and start this shit all over again.”

Archer nodded along. “And from what Francis told us last night, we can’t close the portals on our own. At least not without the spell and someone willing to do their part on this side, where they’d be stuck forever.”

“And even that’s not a guarantee, because the spell obviously didn’t last,” Nolan added. “We need to end this, or we’ll never be safe.”

“Nor will the vampyrs,” Kian said. “I know my people weren’t at the top of your ‘rescue list’ when you came here, but if the king found their secret village, he’d slaughter them all.”

Well, he was right about that—saving vampyrs had been the last thing on my mind when we’d started our search for Marlowe. But going to the vampyr village last night had opened my eyes, forcing me to not only address the prejudices I held against their kind, but alsorethink what I wanted in my own life.

Before Marlowe had come around, the assumption in our pack had always been that we’d each eventually get married, having our own little families in our own little houses. But now with an omega, we could have a huge home, filled with all the love I’d been searching for. Not just romantic, but also with my pack mates.

Because as much as I’d fought against it and tried to deny it over the years, justifying my decision to live far away and rarely visit due to our differences, they were my best friends. My brothers. And I wanted a life with them in it—with a few breaks now and then, of course.

None of this was going to be possible, though, if the king wasn’t stopped first.

Magic tingled in the palms of my hands, and I flexed my fingers, itching to let it loose. “What kind of fire power are the alphas working with?” I asked.

We couldn’tnotfight. We’d known that the second we’d come to rescue Marlowe. And now with these new powers, I felt strong enough to protect her from whatever was coming.

“Well, I haven’t seen what kind of magic the shifters can do in a battle yet. I’ve only watched them fight with swords and in hand-to-hand combat. They wear silver, though, so I don’t think the king lets them shift. As far as the other fae, I have no idea. Shoot, I should have asked my Starborne cousins what they can do, but I was just so excited to meet them, and I…”

“Wait, back up.” Julian said. “We heard about the different types of fae, aren’t shifters the other kind? What do you mean you have Starborne cousins?”

“Ah, I’m really getting ahead of myself, and there’s so much to tell you! So first of all, I’m mixed.”

Nolan raised an eyebrow. “Mixed? Since James was a shifter, does that mean your mom was a Starborne fae?”

Marlowe nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. “Yeah, and I got to meet her family. Well, my family, too. They’re… they’re really cool.”

Kian stayed where he was, a little outside of the group, playing with a shadow that crawled up and down his arm like a snake.

Show off.

The vryscral rubbed against her leg, and she scratched her head, her expression turning somber. “Anyway, getting back to the alpha soldiers, there is another type of fighter I’m worried about. EvenEzra couldn’t control them…”

Fear shot through the bond, and we all stepped in closer to protect and comfort her.

“What kind of fighter?” Nolan asked. “Is it another type of fae, or…?”

Marlowe shook her head, keeping her gaze focused on the vryscral. “No, they’re alphas, too, only the king has done something to their brains. They’re mindless killing machines, and the only thing that stopped them from ripping apart everything in their path was… me.”

Archer cursed under his breath, then looked at me. “Her perfume shall tame the fiercest storms,” he said, reciting the prophecy. He turned his attention back towards Marlowe. “Are you comfortable leading them?”

Her face paled. “No, I… I don’t know. It seemed like Alaroth wouldn’t even use them unless I was there, so maybe we don’t even have to worry about going up against them at all today. But they nearly killed Ezra, and with me, they tried to… to…”

Cam pulled her into his chest, growling in anger as his hand grabbed the back of her neck protectively. “What do you need from us in this fight?” he asked. “You know better than we do what we’re up against.”

She fiddled with the large stone on a necklace, pursing her lips as she thought. “I have never planned anything remotely close to a battle in my life, unless you count trying to go shopping at Costco on a Sunday. And as scared as I am, I know the king won’t kill me. So I need to be the one to distract and confront him, because I can’t risk him hurting any of you.”

Cam’s nostrils flared, his anger rushing through the bond, but ultimately he nodded. “Understood.”

“For the record, I absolutely hate this,” I added. “But I get the logic.”

It fought against every instinct I had as an alpha to protect my omega, but she had magic, too. She wasn’t completely defenseless.

“You still have six other players on the board,” Archer said. He picked up a stick, drawing out a basic map of the haven. “Where do you want us?”