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A nthony kept his attention on the back door, waiting for Elle to come inside.

Luna and Elle’s older siblings had already fixed a plate and were seated with his parents and cousins.

Luna had explained that Nekoma portalled in, tossed some bags down, then left again.

After twenty minutes, he went to check on his mate.

She was sitting on the ground, close to the deck.

“Why are you sitting on the ground?”

Elle shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him. “Just felt like it, I guess.”

Anthony lowered himself to sit next to her and pulled her against his side. “Did he say anything?”

“No. He tossed those bags down and disappeared.”

“I’m sure he’s fine. He probably went back for more of his—” The portal whooshed, and Nekoma appeared, pulling a trunk behind him.

“Need some help?” Anthony offered.

“If you would, please.”

Anthony kissed Elle’s temple before climbing to his feet. “What’s all this?”

“Instead of traveling back and forth, I thought it best to bring most of my things at once. The bags are filled with my clothes, and the trunk contains tools and supplies.”

The trunk was heavy, but Anthony lifted it easily. “Want this in the barn?”

“Preferably.” Nekoma grabbed the bags and gestured for Elle to follow.

“Thank you for the new bow,” Elle told her brother.

“You’re most welcome. How did the string work out?”

“It’s amazing. My arrows flew faster.”

“Good. I have some wax for the string. I’ll show you how to use it later.”

“You should have seen her. Elle put on a show, then she showed the other females how to shoot. They’ve had a fun morning.”

Anthony waited for Nekoma to open the barn door, then carried the trunk inside. Nekoma directed him to place it beside the work bench. After setting his bags down, the fae opened the trunk, pulling out a myriad of satchels and bottles.

“What’s all this?” Anthony asked.

Elle picked up one of the satchels, pulled the leather apart, and sniffed. She jerked back, and Nekoma laughed. “Sorry, I should have warned you.”

“It smells like fímndínúb .”

“That’s because it is. A patch of it grows not far from my mother’s house, and she harvests it, then grinds it into powder.”

“What’s fondue?” Anthony asked. At least that’s what it sounded like to him.

“It’s a rare plant than can cause paralysis when mixed with sap from an auderberry tree. Nekoma—”

“Did any of the other females learn to shoot well enough to hit a target from twenty marcón away?”

Elle pulled the strings on the pouch, closing it. “All of them did. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking we give Grevolus a taste of his own medicine. I have devised a plan. Shall we go inside and discuss it?”

Nekoma hoisted the two duffels, and the trio walked back to the house.

Once inside, he greeted everyone. He smiled at Luna, and the witch dropped her glass.

Nekoma stepped forward as if he were going to clean it up, but Elle waved her hand over the mess, taking care of the glass shards and liquid.

Nekoma continued through the house and upstairs to drop off his bags, and Luna watched him go.

Carleigh bounced over to her cousin, pressing her finger under Luna’s jaw to close her mouth. “It’s not like you haven’t met him.”

Luna smacked her hand away before fanning herself. “I know, but Holy goddess, that smile. I thought Thran was fine.”

Thran, taking exception, fussed, “I am more than just fine. I am a royal guardian.”

Elle patted her brother’s arm. “Fine is one of those words with several meanings. In this instance, she was saying you are exquisite.”

Thran puffed out his chest. “Oh. Well, that is acceptable.”

Anthony bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. To get them on track, he said, “Nekoma has a plan. Let’s gather in the living room, shall we?”

When Nekoma returned from upstairs, he laid out what he thought was the best and easiest way to take down Grevolus.

Anthony’s Gargoyle ranted several times about Elle’s part in the plan, but Anthony assured it she would be safe.

He would make sure of it. They talked about contingencies, coming up with Plans B and C.

If they had all been shifters, they would have waited until dark to go after the male.

Since the fae couldn’t see as well in the dark, they were going in immediately.

While Nekoma, Elle, and the twins retreated to the barn to gather the items Nekoma brought from Autumnvale, Carleigh reached out to Nikita to make sure she had H3 covered while she and Harlow were away from the office.

Nikita assured her that she and Madsen had everything under control.

Once back inside, Nekoma asked Elle to follow him upstairs.

He came down a few minutes later wearing his fae clothing.

He had leather pouches attached to his belt, which contained the potions and other items Nekoma spoke about earlier. They were part of Plan B.

When Elle strode down the stairs, Anthony could only stare at his mate.

She was now wearing ice blue leather pants tucked into gray boots.

Her hooded top was the same blue, but the long-sleeved tunic had intricate silver designs down both arms. The belt around her waist was also gray leather.

Her hair was plaited down the middle, ending in one long braid hanging over her shoulder.

His mate was ready for battle, and Anthony had never been more turned on in his life.

“Holy goddess,” Luna muttered. “Where can I get one of those outfits?”

“I will make you one, My Lady,” Nekoma offered. Luna opened and closed her mouth several times, clearly at a loss for words for probably the first time in her life.

Elle held her head high and approached their group.

“Everyone clear on the plan?” When they all confirmed they were, she said, “Then let’s do this.

” She took the quiver from Anthony, which contained poison-tipped arrows, and helped Tessa strap it on.

Once it fit, Anthony handed his mother Elle’s bow.

Tessa inclined her head, more solemn than he’d ever seen her.

Gregor looked at his mate with both love and admiration.

Elle took Anthony’s hand and led him out the back door, with everyone else following.

When they gathered close to the fire pit, Nekoma didn’t immediately open the portal.

He closed his eyes, with his head tilted back.

No one spoke while he communicated with his raven brethren.

When he refocused on the group, he nodded once before opening the vortex.

He stepped through first, with Elle and Anthony next. Yari and Thran brought up the rear.

“That is so fucking cool,” Harlow whispered when she looked at their new surroundings. Nekoma had brought them to a clearing in the woods, directly in front of the farmhouse where Grevolus was.

A raven flew toward them, landing on Nekoma’s outstretched arm. “Thank you, my friend.” The raven gronked in return before flying off to perch on a branch, high above them.

Gregor remained with Tessa who pulled an arrow from the quiver, careful not to touch the tip as she nocked it.

Nekoma and Elle called on the shadows and hid everyone.

Instead of asking the ravens to create noise again to get Grevolus’s attention, Carleigh removed a portable speaker from the bag she carried and connected her phone to it.

She chose a Cyanide Sweetness rocker that she, Harlow, and Anthony knew the words to and hit play.

Anthony couldn’t sing for shit, but in this moment, that worked in his favor.

With Shaking the Stars playing at maximum volume, he and his cousins belted out the lyrics.

Thran may have stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled.

It didn’t take long for Grevolus to throw open the front door, stomping outside, and searching for the source of the obnoxious noise.

Elle and Nekoma raised their hoods. Anthony wasn’t sure how either one could see, as the material covered their eyes.

Carleigh cut the music, and Nekoma stepped out of the shadows.

“Grevolus of Winterhaven, you stand accused of the attempted murder of Elledan of Summerland.”

Grevolus strode to the edge of the porch and spit on the ground. “Attempted?” He laughed. “That chínt is with her mother in the otherworld. Go back to wherever you came from, or I’ll send you to join them.”

Nekoma formed two green fireballs and hurled them toward the dark fae.

Grevolus produced a staff out of midair, deflecting the fire.

Elle stepped out of the shadows, joining her brother.

She called forth purple fire, and together, she and Nekoma pelted Grevolus.

He deflected most of them, but a few found purchase.

Grevolus pointed the end of the staff at Elle, sending a blast of energy toward her. Anthony’s beast broke free, roaring loud enough for all the birds to scatter. The blast bounced off Elle, and she laughed. His mate fucking laughed as she lowered her hood.

“Odette? I killed you!”

“My name is Elledan ,” Elle seethed. “You tried to kill me, you coward, but as you can see, you failed. I am stronger than you ever hoped of being.”

Grevolus yelled as he launched himself off the porch.

Before he could reach either Elle or Nekoma, a perfectly placed arrow hit him in the chest. Grevolus stumbled backward, gripping the shaft with both hands.

He grunted as he pulled it out, tossing it onto the ground.

“Is that all you have?” he yelled, looking for the archer.

Tessa let another arrow loose, hitting Grevolus in the same spot. Damn, his mom was a quick study.