Page 18

Chapter Seventeen

The bed shakes, the room spins, and my ears start ringing. My orgasm goes on and on, and August doesn’t let up until he’s wrung every last ounce of pleasure out of me.

When he suddenly lifts his head and growls out, “Fuck,” my brow furrows.

It takes me a moment to realize the reason the bed is shaking is not from his ten-out-of-ten oral sex skills.

We’re under attack.

“Get dressed,” he urges, standing and throwing his clothes back on.

I do the same.

He then goes to the corner of his room and starts arming himself with a sword and multiple daggers. Then he bends down in front of me and puts a sheath around my thigh, sliding a dagger into it. “Stay with me.”

“I will,” I promise, following him out. “Do you think it’s Rion?”

We start rushing down the stairs. “Yeah, I do. The information he was trying to get from me was about the castle’s layout and how to get in. He wanted to break down our defenses. And going by that blast, he decided on explosives.”

Kai is storming by us as soon as we get outside, still doing up his pants. “What the fuck is going on around here?”

“They’ve surrounded the castle… they tried to blow up the northern walls,” Astrid explains, zipping out of nowhere. She’s dressed for battle in all black, decked in silver weapons. This woman is all badass.

“How many?” August asks her, taking my hand in his.

“Two hundred or so,” Astrid replies, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t think they know who they are dealing with. We could beat them with Pandora’s undead army alone.” She glances at me and winces. “I’m sorry, some of your friends are probably in there?”

I shrug, shaking my head. “Halia is my only friend, and she stays away from all that.”

“The Mermaid Princess?” Astrid frowns, pursing her lips. “Rave’s ex?”

Glad it’s not just me who gets jealous. “Yeah, that would be her.”

“Bloody small realm,” she grumbles, turning her head when Rave storms over to us. His shadows are following behind him. At least, that’s what it looks like. He’s pretty intimidating, especially with that scowl on his handsome face.

“What’s wrong?” Astrid asks him, sliding up next to him.

He wraps his arm around her and points his finger to where Soren is standing with Vale. He’s grown since I last saw him, a little taller, a mini replica of his father. “Our son doesn’t listen.”

“Wonder where he gets that from?” Astrid smirks.

Vale runs over, and his grin widens when he spots me. “Milana!” His legs move even faster, and he all but jumps into my arms. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“I know. How have you been?” I ask him, kissing the top of his head.

“I’m good! I overheard my Uncle Nico getting the army ready for war, and I knew I didn’t want to miss this one. You know I can help, right? I’m as strong as my dad. I don’t have shadows, but I am a void. You can’t beat me,” he rushes out.

I try to hide my grin. “Well, I guess I’m lucky to have you here then.”

He beams, puffing out his chest. “Damn right.” He eyes my wrists and frowns. “You got mated? Why? I was hoping you’d wait for me.”

August chuckles from beside me. “She’s mine , Vale. You’re going to have to find your own mate.”

“But I want that one,” he grunts, his blue eyes narrowing.

“Vale,” Rave sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Milana is taken, and you are a child. You shouldn’t be here. You know if you get hurt, Astrid can’t even heal you because you are a void.”

He shrugs, pulling out his sword from his hip. “I live life on the edge. You know this, Dad. I’m just like you.”

Astrid looks up at the sky as if praying for patience. “Vale, stay with your father. You don’t go anywhere alone, you hear me?”

“Yes,” he agrees.

August’s hard body presses against me. I use the connection to boost his magic, giving it all to him. His head snaps to me, realizing what I’m doing. “Milana?—”

“Take it. You need it more than me.”

Another blast hits, and the earth trembles.

“They’re not going to get in,” Axe comments as he zips in with Zython by his side.

“Everyone ready for this?” Zython asks, pulling out his sword.

“I was born ready!” Vale replies, making everyone laugh.

Pandora and Soren zip in with one of Pandora’s cousins, an attractive wizard named Kainan. He looks like he’d be Halia’s type—dark-haired, tall, strong, and built like a warrior.

I’m surprised when Salem joins us with his triplet brothers, Silver and Sage. Shadow, another of their brothers, appears with his mate, the famous seer, Laurel.

How did we think we could ever beat them?

They have power, connections, and most importantly, loyalty and friendship.

You can’t win against that.

Sage’s long black hair is in a braid, and he’s playing with his lip ring as he studies me. “And what do we have here?”

August steps forward protectively. “This is my mate, Milana.”

“You standing on the right side of the wall, Milana?” Laurel asks, staring at me like she can see right through me.

“Yes, I am,” I say with certainty.

She nods and smiles at August.

“What’s the plan, Lolly,” Shadow asks his mate, his hand on the small of her back.

She stares out at the mountains. “We’re going to kill Rion. And many of his army. And then they will disband and give up. Declan is gone. Milana is gone. They have no hope or direction left.”

She turns back to August. “If Milana were standing on the other side with Rion, this war would have a different outcome. Declan wasn’t just a leader. He was everything the rebellion stood for, and with him gone, that now fell to you. Without you, there is no rebellion.”

My eyes widen. I don’t know how I could have made such a difference in a war. I don’t even know how to fight yet. I guess, in a way, because of my father, I was used as the poster child for it. Without me, maybe they feel like they have nothing to fight for.

Without my father, there is nothing.

Rion is fueled by revenge, but honestly, I don’t even know why. I know my father took him under his wing and that he wasn’t always so full of hatred.

All I know is that now, I stand with my mate.

Where I should have always been.