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Chapter Twenty-Six

Samara

“Okay . . . that could have gone better,” Kieran drawled once we stepped back through the mirror.

“Understatement,” Rynn growled.

Cali instantly perked up from where she’d been picking through the weapons table. “Do I get to kill the Alpha Pack?”

The leader part of me wanted to say no because the Alpha Pack was all that was keeping the Velesian realm somewhat stable and Cade could be reasoned with.

But then I thought about the hate brimming in Warrick’s eyes when he’d looked at Rynn, and the monster side of me rejoiced at the idea of Cali melting his fucking mind while carving him apart with her sword.

I didn’t understand why he’d been so hostile to my friend, especially since it seemed like that had been the first time they’d met in person.

Now, I was even less excited about the idea of Rynn going back there.

Before, she hadn’t been happy but was at least safe. I wasn’t sure if that was true anymore.

Rynn stared at the mirror with a defeated expression. “I love you both, but we all know I have to go back.”

“No,” I said firmly. “You don’t.”

She turned away from the mirror and gave me a sad smile.

“I heard what you said to Bastian, and I have no doubt that you would burn down their realm, but I won’t be responsible for the Moroi and Velesian realms going to war.

Both realms are already too precarious as it is.

We need to figure out how to stabilize them, which means I have to go back—after I help you here. ”

I deflated a little. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right.

“Fine, but I want a contract.”

“Of course you do.” Rynn rolled her eyes.

“Will they even be open to that?” Draven asked. “All my interactions with the Alpha Pack have been pretty hostile.”

“They never liked Queen Velika,” Vail said, not bothering to look away from the sword he was inspecting. “Bastian thought your mother smelled like—and these are his exact words—sour jealousy and rotting deceit with a hint of rancid insanity.”

Draven blinked. “Wow. That’s actually quite accurate.”

“Guess that explains why he spent more time with the other Houses,” Kieran mused.

“But if we go back through the mirror and catch Bastian before he leaves, I think he’ll be willing to work with us.

Rynn technically is supposed to be with them.

” He gave my friend an apologetic look. “But we heard Warrick’s threat, so we have valid reasons to be concerned about Rynn’s welfare. ”

“What threat?” Cali asked sharply, her golden eyes glowing slightly.

“We’ll handle it,” I said quickly before looking at Alaric, who was leaning back in a chair behind a table with five open books scattered in front of him. “Are you up for negotiating with Bastian?”

“Sure.” He raised his brows. “You don’t want to do it yourself?”

“I don’t think I’d be able to keep a cool head,” I admitted. “I trust you to do it.”

Something in his green eyes softened. I believed in him to keep my best friend safe, which was a bigger deal than me trusting him with my own life in a lot of ways.

“I’ll go with you,” Kieran said. “Bastian and I have always had good rapport.”

“Thank you.” Alaric nodded and rose to his feet, going to stand next to Kieran.

“Should I go too?” Rynn asked uncertainly. “It feels weird to make the two of you deal with my fucked-up situation.”

“Given how hot some tempers are running, I think it’s best if you remain here.” Kieran gave her a small, reassuring smile. “We got this, Rynn.”

“Roth absconded with an armful of books shortly after you all left—they said Cali was breathing too loud,” Alaric said in a dry tone, even as amusement danced in his eyes.

Cali snorted as she plucked a dagger from the table and slid it into a holster on her thigh.

Alaric continued, “I’m not sure what they’ve found, but I’ve been reading your notes about this transformation spell, and I think you’re onto something.

I found a few more books that go into detail about it and might be useful. ”

Rynn was hurrying over to the table before he’d even finished his last word.

I walked over to Alaric and Kieran. “Thank you both for doing this.”

“Of course, love.” Kieran shrugged. “Rynn’s family.”

Both of them kissed me on the cheek and strode back through the mirror—which was still strange to watch. I walked over to it and studied the glyphs etched into the dark wood frame. Some of them I recognized, but most I didn’t.

My eyes drifted to the right, where something tall was covered with a black cloak. I stepped closer and tugged the cloak off. Another mirror. Interesting.

“There is a second mirror in the room beneath the Alpha House too,” Rynn said from across the room. “Different glyphs than the travel mirrors. I messed around with it a bit but couldn’t figure out what it did.”

“Hmm.” I looked the markings over, similar to the other mirror, but I only knew what a handful of them meant. “Mystery for another day, I guess.”

“I need to stretch my wings for a bit,” Cali announced.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I turned away from the mirror. “There could be wraiths lurking in the dark spots of the temple.”

She shrugged. “Then I’ll get to kill something.”

Vail and Draven both chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. “Fine, but be careful, and don’t go far.”

“Yes, Mom.” She gave me a finger salute before sauntering out of the room. Rynn laughed at that one.

“It wasn’t that funny,” I grumbled as I joined her at the table and grabbed one of the books Alaric had left out.

“Yes, it was.” Rynn glanced up with a smirk on her face. “Only you would fuss over quite possibly the most lethal warrior in Lunaria going out for a flight in the middle of the day.”

“She’s not invulnerable,” I pointed out. “Plus, I know Carmilla—she’s working on a way to get Cali off the board.”

The amusement bled from Rynn’s face. “You think she’s going to send stealth units?”

Over the last few decades, the Furies had gotten better about controlling their magic.

It was rare for one to completely lose it, but it did happen.

Sometimes they would deal with the problems themselves, but sometimes they would ask for assistance.

That was where the stealth units came in.

Some Moroi and Velesians were specifically trained to take down rogue Furies.

They used a mix of long-range weapons and other tactics to get close enough to do lethal damage fast before the Furie could shred their minds.

It was easily the most dangerous task in Lunaria, but unfortunately a necessary one. Vail had been trained to take down Furies . . . so had Adrienne and Emil. I doubted Nyx had because usually it was only rangers with a couple of decades of experience who went through the training.

Nyx. Sadness washed over me. They’d been so happy being a ranger and belonging to a unit.

Technically, they should have served as an advisor or some other high-ranking role in House Corvinus because they were the youngest child of the Heads of that House.

If Nyx had remained in their birth House, they’d probably be safe right now.

Not trying to piece together a shredded soul.

But they also likely would have been forced into a political marriage they didn’t want.

Not a lot of happily-ever-after stories in Lunaria like there were in some of the Fae stories I’d read. I looked across the room to where Draven and Vail quietly bickered over weapons.

We’d get our fucking happy ending. I’d make sure of it.

“She’ll leave that as a last resort.” I turned my attention back to Rynn’s question.

“Carmilla would probably like to permanently take Cali out, but without the Furie Elders officially declaring Cali a danger, Carmilla’s hands are a bit tied.

I don’t particularly like them, but the Furie Elders will retaliate harshly if Carmilla kills one of their own without cause. She can’t afford that.”

“So she’ll come at the problem sideways.” Rynn pursed her lips, her eyes going distant in that way that meant she was thinking through the possibilities.

“Yep,” I agreed. “Hard to say how she’ll do it, but if whatever she thinks up is successful and we’re separated from Cali, we’ll have to be ready for an attack afterwards.”

Rynn hummed her agreement. “She’ll punch a hole through our defense and then take advantage.”

I had no idea how Carmilla would get Cali to willingly leave us, but I wasn’t going to underestimate my aunt. She’d think of something, and as soon as she did, the countdown would start for her finding us—if she didn’t already know where we were—and attacking.

A plan was coming together in my head, but I still only had fragments of the pieces I needed. I pulled the paper from my pocket and flattened it out, studying the glyph. It had been designed to keep people out . . . but it could just as easily be used to keep people in.

“Tell me what you’ve discovered so far about this transformation spell, Rynn . . .”

Six hours later, Rynn and I had a long list of notes with whole passages scratched out, plus additional writing on the side. It was messy and had some gaps we had to fill in, but my insane plan was starting to feel more like a real possibility.

We had two main enemies—Carmilla and Erendriel.

The Seelie King was trying to court me to his side; I had no doubt he’d be returning tonight to speak with me.

I didn’t want an all-out war with Carmilla, even if I did have the Houses of Devereux, Salvatore, and likely Tepes at my back.

Probably a good chunk of House Harker too.

But a war amongst the Moroi Houses would be the death of our realm. So many of us would die. Not to mention Carmilla wouldn’t need to lift a finger—she’d just need to use the crown to steal the will of some key players.

It would be a bloodbath.

I didn’t want more Moroi to die in a desperate attempt to stop Carmilla. Wraiths though? Yeah . . . not going to shed any tears over them.