Page 4 of No Honor Amongst Shifters (It’s a Psychic World #9)

“PEOPLE ARE SCARED,”

Elijah said. His words hung heavily over the room for a moment.

“Does that mean they won’t help?”

Jerome asked. He made it sound as if Elijah’s answer was no, he’d go find these people and force them to help.

Roslin didn’t disagree. For now, the coven and the cockatrices were the clan’s problem, but what would happen to everyone else in the area if they defeated Elijah? Roslin didn’t believe that the coven only wanted to find a place to call home. They were in this for power and destruction, and once they were done with Elijah’s dragons, they would turn their attention to someone else. The dragons wouldn’t be there to help whoever that was.

Roslin prayed it wouldn’t come to that. He couldn’t think about the clan being gone. His family was part of it now and was connected to it through their partners. The clan needed to survive because it was their home.

That was easier said than done, unfortunately.

“They will,”

Elijah told Jerome.

“I think I did a good job making them see that our clan wouldn’t be the only casualty in this war if no one helped. I’m the leader, though, so they’re looking at me for guidance.”

Jerome snorted.

“More like as a scapegoat. They want to make sure you’ll be the one to pay if something goes wrong.”

Elijah seemed amused.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll pay anyway if something goes wrong, though, so I don’t mind.”

“What’s next for us, then? Because I have to say that I hate being stuck in this house waiting for something to happen.”

Roslin felt the same way, and he could only imagine how much worse it was for Jerome since he was a dragon shifter. Roslin wasn’t stupid enough to think that he could go out there and win a fight against a mage or a cockatrice. He couldn’t shift into anything. He could talk to ghosts and sometimes use them to his advantage, but that didn’t mean he could beat anyone in a fight. Knowing that didn’t make it any less frustrating.

Elijah leaned back in his chair and looked around the table. Almost everyone was there today. Sometimes, Roslin wondered how he’d ended up being one of the people Elijah trusted the most. It had started because Elijah trusted Victor, but Roslin and the rest of his brothers were here, too. Even Olsen was present, and he wasn’t a psychic or a shifter.

“We know from Alcott that tempers are running high between the mages and the cockatrices,”

Elijah said.

“Most of the cockatrices are unhappy with the way the coven is treating them.”

“Like they’re expendable,”

Olsen said.

“It’s more than that. They treat them like they despise them, and I believe they do. The only reason they allied with the cockatrices was that they thought it would make it easier for them to defeat us.”

“They might not be wrong,”

Roslin murmured.

Olsen glared at him, Roslin ignored him. He wasn’t lying. The coven might despise the cockatrices, but they knew what they were doing. They wanted to take Elijah out, and what easier way to do so than by using another shifter clan? The humans who were watching would point the finger at shifters and say how they were nothing more than animals who needed to be controlled. A fight between two clans would be proof of that.

“Maybe not,”

Elijah agreed.

“But I’m hoping we can use this to our advantage. The coven is using their magic and violence to control the cockatrices. I don’t think most of the cockatrices were ever happy to ally with the mages, but they followed their leader’s orders. It’s been long enough now that I think some of them might be swayed to stop doing so.”

“You want to convince them to move to our side?”

“Or stay out of the fight. Things have always been tense between our clans. Cockatrices and dragons don’t go together.”

A loud snort came from the other side of the table, and Elijah grinned at Terrence and Donahue. They were sitting side-by-side, and from the way they leaned against each other, Roslin was pretty sure that his brother had his hand on his boyfriend’s thigh.

“Present company excluded, of course,”

Elijah added.

“But, Terrence, you can’t tell me that most of your old clan would agree to be on our side.”

Terrence shook his head.

“They might stay out of the fight, but I don’t think they’ll ever fight for you.”

“We might not need them to fight for us. Taking them out of the equation means fewer people fighting. We’ll be able to focus on the coven and its members. I want to attack the coven before they attack us. We need the element of surprise.”

Roslin didn’t disagree, but he wasn’t sure it would be enough. They had more work to do before they could deal with the coven. It was a daunting task.

Hopefully, Elijah knew what he was doing. He’d been a clan leader for years, while Roslin had never held a position of power. He was glad about that. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if the life of so many people had depended on him and the decisions he made.

“What’s your plan for that?”

Jerome asked as he leaned forward. He looked eager to fight.

Roslin wasn’t. He’d support the clan, and he’d be there to use the ghosts in any way he could, but he knew there was a high chance that he and his brothers wouldn’t make it out if they were at the center of the fighting. It made him want to order his younger brothers to stay back with the rest of the clan, but he wouldn’t. He might be the eldest, but they were all adults and made their own decisions. Some of their partners would be fighting, and they’d be right beside them.

There was nothing Roslin could do to protect them.

ALCOTT NO LONGER JUMPED when he heard the door open. The only people who visited him now were Misha and Roslin, and sometimes, Elijah. Everyone else was staying away now that they didn’t have to bring him food anymore, and he was grateful for that. He was also grateful that Roslin, just like Misha, knocked on the door before opening it.

He was surprised to see Roslin here now. It was the middle of the afternoon, so there was no food to be brought to him. It was early for dinner, and he’d already had lunch.

Sure enough, Roslin walked in empty-handed. He closed the door behind himself, and Alcott took the opportunity to observe him. Roslin appeared worried, which wasn’t a surprise considering everything that was happening.

Seeing him like this made Alcott anxious. Roslin was worried, and he was here. Did it have anything to do with Alcott? Maybe Roslin was here to tell Alcott that he was getting kicked out of the clan. Alcott would have thought that Elijah wanted to do it himself, but he was no doubt busy. Besides, what would it change to have someone else tell Alcott for him?

“I just got out of a meeting,”

Roslin said as he flopped into a chair Alcott had previously used to dump his laundry.

With Roslin visiting so often, Alcott kept it empty. Misha used it, too, when he didn’t get frustrated with Alcott’s lack of answering when he talked to him.

Alcott liked that Roslin came to talk to him often. He didn’t usually say much, but it was nice to hear someone else’s voice. Misha was still trying to get him to talk to him, too, but things were different with him. He was Alcott’s brother. Alcott owed it to Misha to stay as far away as he could so he wouldn’t pull him into his mess, but the same couldn’t be said for Roslin. They were technically family, but Alcott didn’t share the same relationship with him as he did with Misha. He didn’t want to protect Roslin the way he did his brother.

“It’s a shit show,”

Roslin continued.

“We have allies, but Elijah wants to attack the coven before they can attack us. He’s not wrong because I do believe it would make a difference, but I’m not sure he knows where to start. To attack the coven, we need to get into cockatrice territory and doing that would make us the attackers.”

“We’d be the attackers even if we didn’t enter cockatrice territory,”

Alcott pointed out.

If Rosen was surprised to hear Alcott speak, he didn’t show it.

“Well, of course, but the cockatrice leader would take advantage of us sneaking in.”

“He’ll take advantage of anything if it means he’ll win this fight.”

Roslin slowly nodded.

“You know him.”

Alcott looked away. He did know Irwin. That was why he didn’t want to talk about him. Some of the bruises on Alcott’s body had been placed there by the cockatrice leader, and it still gave Alcott nightmares. “I do.”

“What do you think about Elijah’s plan?”

“I think that Elijah knows what he’s doing.”

Hopefully. Alcott didn’t know for sure, though. He’d never had to lead anyone or protect anyone but Misha.

“So you think we should attack first?”

“I think that the coven is too powerful and that they’ll destroy the clan, no matter what Elijah decides.”

It was hard to breathe, and Alcott tried to relax, but he couldn’t. He needed his brother to be safe. Elijah would get Misha killed if he attacked the coven and the cockatrices right now.

“Relax,”

Roslin said gently.

“Elijah hasn’t decided anything yet. I agree that we can’t continue waiting for the coven to do something, though.”

Alcott shook his head and reached out to touch the glass of the window he was leaning against. It wasn’t enough. He could feel the room closing around him.

Misha couldn’t die. Alcott couldn’t lose the only person he loved and who cared about him.

Gentle hands cupped his cheeks. He blinked and tried to say something, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a croak. Roslin rubbed his thumb over one of Alcott’s cheekbones, and Alcott allowed himself to be distracted by the gesture.

How long had it been since anyone had touched him so gently? Damien had been nice initially, but as soon as Alcott had left the clan, he’d shown his true self. Even before then, though, he hadn’t been eager to touch Alcott. Alcott should have known something was wrong, but he’d told himself that Damien was just careful because their relationship was new.

He’d been an idiot.

He was breathing more easily now. He tried to smile at Roslin, but Roslin was still watching him with worry. He was also still touching Alcott, which, for some reason, made Alcott want to lean forward. He knew that Roslin would hug him if he wanted to.

He desperately did.

Damien hadn’t hugged Alcott. The only one who had in years was Misha, and Alcott couldn’t ask him for comfort right now. He couldn’t ask Roslin to do so, either, but that didn’t seem to be something he needed to do. Roslin’s arms slid around him, and he pulled him closer.

Alcott went. He pressed his face against Roslin’s stomach and closed his eyes. He had no idea why a hug from someone who was barely more than a stranger was so comforting, but he never wanted it to end. Roslin’s arms around him were solid, and they made him feel safe.

“I can’t promise you everything will be all right,”

Roslin said.

“But no one wants to die. I’m sure that many cockatrices will say yes to anything that means they can avoid fighting, especially for people who don’t respect them. We’ll come up with a plan.”

Alcott hoped he was right. He wouldn’t survive if the coven won this fight.

Damien had promised him that.

ROSLIN WAS RELIEVED when Alcott calmed down. He’d been thinking about calling Misha and asking him to come and help, but he wasn’t sure if it would have made things worse or better. The brothers still weren’t talking, even though Misha was incredibly worried.

He held Alcott because it felt like that was what Alcott needed. He wasn’t pushing Roslin away. Roslin wanted to say something about how this would be easier if Alcott let his brother back into his life, but he didn’t dare. He felt like Alcott was starting to trust him, and he didn’t want to ruin that.

“Elijah won’t do anything stupid,”

he continued.

“He wants to protect the clan. He’ll think about every detail hundreds of times, and even though he’s the leader, I doubt he’ll make decisions on his own. At the very least, he’ll ask Gunther what he thinks.”

“Will he ask you, too?”

Alcott asked. His voice was slightly muffled because he was still hugging Roslin, and his face was pressed against Roslin’s stomach.

Roslin smoothed his hand over Alcott’s hair.

“Me and other people he trusts. I don’t know when I became one of those people, but it doesn’t really matter. My family and I are humbled by the fact that Elijah trusts us, and we’ll do everything we can to protect the clan. But if I’m going to be honest, it’s a relief that he doesn’t count on us to agree or disagree with him. He’ll listen to us, but ultimately, he’s the only one with all the information needed to make decisions.”

Alcott leaned away.

“I think you and your family are good people.”

“I like to believe that we are, but we’ve never been in charge of a clan. Hell, I’ve never even been in charge of my family. I only ever had myself to think about.”

“And your brothers.”

“In a way, but they’re adults. They don’t need me to keep them safe or make decisions for them.”

If they did, they’d be far away from the clan. As much as Roslin liked Elijah and the people here, his family would always be his priority.

Roslin had to let go of Alcott. He didn’t want to do it, but he did, and he went back to sitting on the chair. It wasn’t far. In fact, it was so close that if he extended a hand, he could still touch Alcott.

“Elijah won’t rush into anything,”

he promised.

“The clan has allies, and I know Elijah will talk to them and try to find a way to weaken the coven and the cockatrices before doing anything.”

“The coven can’t be weakened. They’ve been doing this for years. They go in, find the strongest local clan or coven they can, and kill everyone. They have no empathy or morality.”

Alcott made it sound like this could only end in a disaster, and maybe he was right. He knew the coven and the cockatrices better than anyone in the clan except Terrence, and even Terrence only knew Irwin and the cockatrices. He hadn’t been dating a mage from the coven the way Alcott had.

“I know that you’ve already told Elijah everything you could about the coven and its members, but maybe there’s more you could help with?” he asked.

Alcott bit his lower lip. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t decide whether or not it would be a good idea. Roslin stayed silent and gave him time.

He knew it had been the right thing to do when Alcott nodded.

“I think I have an idea,”

Alcott said.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“I think that we need to talk to some of the cockatrices. I saw how the coven treats them. The cockatrices have orders to let the coven mages do whatever they want, but even though they obey because they’re afraid of Irwin, they hate the mages. I don’t think that most of them want anything to do with this fight. Some are even starting to distrust Irwin, so maybe it would be a good idea to try to convince them to help us instead of their clan.”

“Do you think there’s a chance they would?”

“A lot of them have families and want nothing more than to protect them. Tell me you wouldn’t do anything in your power to protect your brothers, even if it meant going against Elijah.”

Alcott wasn’t wrong.

“Will they agree to talk to you, though?”

“I thought we could pull Terrence in, too. Some of the cockatrices see him as a traitor, but he’s still one of them. They might listen to him more than they’ll listen to me. I’m not saying that we’ll be able to convince every single cockatrice to help us, but I feel it’s worth a try.”

“I think you’re right.”

There was no way to know if this would work except to try, and between Alcott and Terrence, they might have a chance to convince some of the cockatrices to stay out of the fight.

That was all they needed.