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Rumi put on a brave face for me and smiled. “I’m better than I could be,” he said. “I wasn’t slashed open this time around.”

I smiled, but the fear of what would have happened if Nikkos’s slash had been just a bit deeper stopped me from enjoying the jest.

I rested a hand on Rumi’s belly, curious as to whether I could feel our baby as well.

My brow shot up when I felt something. It likely wasn’t as intense as what my omega could feel, but our child most definitely had a presence and was making itself known.

It wanted to go home as much as Rumi and I did.

“Are eggs supposed to grow this fast?” Rumi asked, more than a little worry and exhaustion in his voice as he glanced at me.

I frowned. “No. Its growth is accelerated now because of the spell that’s been holding it for so long. ”

My mate’s worry increased. “I remember learning way back in the beginning, when Tovey first fell pregnant, that the longest a dragon’s mate can go before birthing an egg is a week. What happens if they wait too long?”

I didn’t want to answer. On the one hand, I’d never heard of it actually happening, but the general belief was that once the egg became too large to be birthed, it would choke and die, taking its omega papa with it.

I forced myself to smile and send reassurance through the bond to Rumi.

“Nothing is going to happen,” I said. “We’ll go ahead with our plan to take Osric’s army to the castle and we’ll defeat Freslik by this time tomorrow at the very latest. Once that’s done, I’ll take you immediately back home and we’ll bring this egg into the world. ”

Rumi forced himself to take a deep breath and smiled shakily at me. “I trust you,” he whispered.

That trust was humbling, especially with so much on the line. I scooted closer to him, slipped a hand behind his neck, and pulled him toward me for a kiss.

Everything was better when my mate and I were joined together, even in just a kiss.

Our bond grew stronger, and I felt as though I could and would do anything to make the world exactly the way it needed to be for my omega and our children to be safe and happy.

I deepened our kiss, licking my tongue into Rumi’s mouth and playing with his, drawing strength from him and sharing what I had to make him feel as powerful as I knew he was.

I was tempted to throw caution to the wind and let one of my brothers take over leading Osric’s army so that I could return to the magical world and finish breeding my omega immediately when an eager Nikkos showed up right behind me to say, “I want to help with the cause.”

It felt like being doused with cold water. I reluctantly pulled away from my mate and twisted to look up at the wide-eyed omega standing behind me.

The fervor in Nikkos’s expression shot me right back to the creeping suspicion I’d felt when looking at the omega before. Outwardly, he appeared so demure and innocent, but up close, now that I was within touching distance of him, all of my instincts warned me that he was deadly.

A different sort of suspicion welled up in me, one that made my skin itch with discomfort. I rose carefully to my feet, feeling better once I was towering over Nikkos.

“Of course you’ll help the cause,” I said, careful not to stand too close to Nikkos. “You have been one of Osric’s right-hand men all this time.”

“I have,” Nikkos said with a proud smile, sparks of something more aggressive in his eyes. “I’ve been with Osric from the start. He’s trusted me with everything, all his plans, all his secrets, everything.”

The sense that I needed to be cautious swelled within me. Those feelings came straight from Rumi through our bond. Rumi stood and went so far as to take my hand in both of his. “We could use all the help we can get,” he said amicably, which felt directly at odds with the emotions coming from him.

“Excellent,” Nikkos said, his smile still broad as he glanced briefly to Rumi, then ignored him and smiled up at me. “Tell me what to do. Where do we start? What do we need to do once we get Osric’s army into the castle?”

I didn’t want to answer him. My suspicions were on high alert, thanks to Rumi. But my brothers had stopped their discussion and, along with Rumi’s brothers, they all gathered near.

“It seems to me that we would do best to transport everyone directly to the Great Hall,” Argus said. “It’s centrally located and it’s the largest space in the castle. We’re less likely to run into each other or cause any magical accidents with doors opening on top of people.”

“We should send some people into the gardens around the castle and the cloisters, too,” Leo added. “It would be to our advantage to have the army both surround the castle and attack it from within.”

“I volunteer to lead part of the army into the gardens,” Bronnen said, raising his hand.

“I can help with that,” Hellis seconded.

“I want to stay with you,” Nikkos said, gazing adoringly up at me.

His scent was suddenly strong and overly sweet. It reminded me of something. Something I didn’t like.

“How soon do we need to move?” Selle asked, glancing first to Gildur, then to me. “I know we need to let the soldiers rest and recover a little, but the faster we get to the castle the better.”

“I agree,” Azurus said. He stood slightly apart from the rest of us, his arms wrapped around Misha, who stood leaning back heavily against Azurus’s front.

Clearly, gentle Misha wasn’t doing well with the conflict.

I admired him for sticking it out, though.

“Some of us have things at home that we need to get back to as soon as possible,” Azurus added.

My brothers and their mates all exchanged looks or stepped closer to each other.

Each and every one of them had left eggs behind, some of them very close to hatching.

As dedicated as they all were to the cause before us, I knew and they knew that at the end of the day, this was not the world they would stay in.

“We need to go within the hour,” I said, glancing at Rumi.

My mate had a hand on his belly again, and I could feel the depth of his concern for how fast our egg was growing within him.

“Spread the word to the soldiers. Make certain everyone has eaten at least something and rested as much as they can, but they also need to be ready.”

The order was given, and everyone spread out to make certain the entire army knew what was happening. I took Rumi aside, sat him down with his brothers, and made certain he had food and drink as well.

“You have to tell me if you reach a point where you cannot go on,” I told him when we had a few seconds to ourselves. “You’re already taking a huge risk just being here.”

Rumi grinned at me. “I’m taking a huge risk having your egg to begin with, you wicked dragon.”

I laughed, filled with love and pride in my mate. So much that I pulled him into my arms and kissed him again.

Once again, we were interrupted by Nikkos clearing his throat behind me.

I pulled away from Rumi to see what the omega wanted. For a flash of a second, I thought Nikkos’s face was contorted in a mask of rage, but before I could even blink, it was back to being as sweet, charming, and wide-eyed as ever.

“We’re ready to go,” Nikkos said. “The other dragons are ready, and the soldiers have lined up to go through the magical doors.

Sure enough, beyond Nikkos, Osric’s entire army had arranged itself in three lines. They were all armed and ready to begin the next phase of the battle.

“Let’s go, then,” I said, stepping away from Rumi but keeping his hand in mine. “There can’t have been enough time for Freslik and his men to make it back to the castle yet. Surely, we’ll have surprise on our side. ”

“Don’t we always?” Rufus asked, winking at Tovey.

I consulted with my brothers briefly before the six of us spread out and opened doorways directly into the parts of the castle we’d agreed upon earlier. Osric’s men gaped in wonder at them, and once they were given the order, they started to march through.

“Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible,” I said, stepping through the doorway I’d made into the Great Hall with Rumi at my side.

“Yes, let’s,” Nikkos said, following tightly behind us.

I glanced over my shoulder at the disconcerting omega, intending to tell him he didn’t need to stick so close to my side.

But as soon as he passed through the doorway, everything about him changed.

It was as if the magic I’d wielded acted as a shower of purity that melted away all subterfuge.

The sweet face shifted into a more pointed and horribly familiar one.

Nikkos’s small, soft body hardened into bonier lines and more angular features.

His sickly-sweet scent grew even stronger as well. The scent of cherry cordial.

I felt Rumi’s shock even before he gasped, “What happened? Who is that?”

Even before the ear-splitting crash of lightning filled the Great Hall, causing everyone to hunch and cover their ears, I knew. “That’s Nazeing.”