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Moon gave a single sharp nod. “Aiden and Ronan are on their way over to join in the planning. I’m going to call my old coven to see if Sky, Mad, and Red can lend a hand in the fight.” Hisgaze shifted to Erik between Leo and Junjie, and lines of worry dragged down the corners of his mouth. “We’ll also figure out somewhere safe to put Erik so that we all know he’s protected.”

“Thanks, Moon. We’ll be in shortly,” Leo said.

The young vampire darted into the house, and Leo cupped Junjie’s cheek. “We’ve got this. Erik will be safe while we go take care of the fae. After tomorrow night, Trin’s reign will be over and the fae will return to their own world. If we’re lucky, Jiang Chong will be there too.”

“Yes,” Junjie agreed with a hiss. “I have a score to settle with my creator.”

“We can end this at last. Erik and our clan will be safe.”

“Our clan.” Junjie closed his eyes and turned his face into Leo’s palm, placing a soft kiss on his rough skin. “Wo ai ni, my precious kitten.”

“Wo ai ni, my mate.”

1 Wo ai ni – I love you

Chapter 27

Zhang Junjie

Thunder rumbled low like a distant beast’s growl rolling across the black sky, and Junjie shivered. Kai was anxious about the coming battle, and his building anger was churning up the heavens. Building moisture made the air thick and heavy, as if one good poke would send the rain falling onto their heads. A breeze stirred the leaves that rattled loudly on the branches overhead. The scent of death lingered and teased his nose.

As if sensing his unease, a large head bumped Junjie’s thigh. He smiled at the sleek black jaguar that stood next to him and rubbed his head. Leo had opted for a somewhat bigger feline form for this fight, and Junjie was grateful.

“I get why River and Wyatt had to stay behind,” Rafe Varik drawled as he leaned his shoulder against a tree near where Junjie hid. “But why is he here? Should we be worried about the fae getting in his head and controlling him?”

A disgruntled huff escaped Leo, and Junjie smirked.

“When have you known any cat to listen to anyone?” Moon asked.

“That’s a good point,” Philippe agreed, a smile dancing within his words.

“With Winter on the other team fixed on taking out Trin, we need someone who can spot Jiang Chong while he’s in the dead realm,” Chen cut in sharply. “Now everyone, focus. We need to find Jiang Chong and protect the first team.”

“The glamour is in place, but I can’t hold it over the entire field for long. We need to find Jiang Chong quickly and draw him to us,” Xiao Dan whispered.

Junjie pushed away from the tree he’d been hiding behind and stepped closer to the edge of the field, putting himself out in the open while Leo growled and soundlessly climbed the tree closest to him so that he was right above Junjie.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting him to come to us,” Junjie said. After all, their creator was still very determined to kill Junjie after his failure of a student had come so close to killing him.

The planning with the Variks had taken nearly an entire night, but they’d decided to break into three teams. The first team comprised Rei, Yichen, Winter, Xiang, Kai, Aiden, Ronan, and Mei Lian. Their goal was to kill Trin and any of the elf wizards who were attempting to cast the spell to wipe out more human towns. The hope was that once they took out Trin, Rei could seize control of the fae army.

The second team comprised Junjie, Leo, Rafe, Philippe, Chen, Moon, Huli, and Xiao Dan. Their goal was to eliminate Jiang Chong and then, hopefully, join the fight against the fae.

The final team of Ming Yu, Fox, Ethan, Marcus, Bel, River, and Wyatt gathered at the Varik mansion with Moon’s old coven. In Junjie’s mind, their only task was to keep Erik and the most vulnerable of their two clans safe.

How Moon had ended up on the team to fight Jiang Chong was still a mystery to Junjie, though. That fledgling was one fast talker when he wanted to be.

Junjie stared out across the large empty field ringed by thick woods. A narrow stream cut through the center. The water wasn’t particularly deep, but Rei suggested that the running water would help to fuel the spell. Kai was hoping to turn that against them. Junjie was looking forward to seeing fae magic take on the magic of an ancient dragon, but right now, his only concern was for Jiang Chong. They had a score to settle.

“Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment,” Xiao Dan said in a tight voice. Shixiong was always good at reading his mind and his moods.

“He killed my mate,” Junjie bit out.

“Your mate is also alive and hiding in the tree above your head. You must remember your duty to your clan and the Varik clan.”

“Movement! Ten o’clock.” They all turned to where Rafe pointed across the field. Shadows shifted among the trees before the pale ghostly glow of will-o-wisps penetrated the darkness at last. Several battalions of armed elves stepped out of the woods. In the middle of the armed fighters was a circle of elves in robes with floating balls of light around them. They were walking slowly but steadily toward the stream in the center of the field.

But there was no sign of Trin or his right-hand woman, Aire Bira.