Page 4

The entire camp was moving in an instant as word spread that the battle was imminent.

Emmerich and his brothers, my brothers’ mates, had been talking off to one side, giving my brothers and me privacy while keeping us in sight.

As soon as they saw Osric approaching us, they abandoned their discussion and joined us.

“This is it, my friends,” Osric said, smiling at my brothers and me and giving our mates a more respectful, alpha-to-alpha look. “I am under no illusion that I could do this on my own. I know that I need all of you by my side to make this happen.”

“We are here for you, brother,” Tovey’s Rufus said, stepping forward to clap arms with Osric in a manly handshake.

“Is everything ready?” Diamant asked, glancing around at the suddenly busy camp.

“As ready as it can be,” Osric said with a heavy sigh. “I only wish we didn’t need to fight in order to remove Freslik from the throne and to establish a better kingdom for the people.”

“Unfortunately, sometimes war is the only way to bring justice and restore goodness to a land,” Misha’s Azurus said, standing behind Misha and closing him in a protective embrace.

I could see just how much Misha appreciated the safety of his mate’s arms by the way he closed his eyes and leaned against Azurus .

“Are you concerned about the traitor my father says is in this camp?” I asked, subconsciously reaching for Emmerich’s hand when he moved to stand next to me.

I glanced up at my mate, who smiled down at me and squeezed my hand. The end of this war couldn’t come soon enough! I longed to join with my mate in a quiet life where we could be together without pauses or missions or having to conceal how close we already were.

Osric let out a breath, his shoulders dropping. “I wish I had time to concern myself with the traitor,” he said. “But Freslik’s army is less than a mile away with intent to attack soon. I have to concern myself with the readiness of my troops first.”

I winced, but he was right. Osric was the leader. He was a good leader, which meant he was skilled in the art of knowing where to put his focus.

“We’ll search out the traitor for you,” Emmerich said, smiling at me, then looking at Osric. “It’s the least we can do to prepare for this battle.”

“We’ll help you make certain the troops are all armed and ready for battle,” Diamant said, nodding to Leo.

“Misha and I will check on the supplies for you,” Azurus said.

Appropriate tasks were found for everyone, and within minutes, my brothers and I had all gone our separate ways with our dragons to do what needed to be done.

Emmerich and I were the only ones who stayed where we were in the center of the camp.

“Do you have any indication that someone in this camp is using dark magic?” I asked my mate quietly.

Emmerich huffed a humorless laugh. “The thing about dark magic is that it’s incredibly hard to detect,” he said. “One of the first things practitioners of dark magic learn is how to conceal it and themselves, since they know any sort of dark art is forbidden in every kingdom.”

“Your mother would be able to find them in an instant,” I said, crossing my arms and arching one eyebrow.

Despite the seriousness of the moment, Emmerich grinned from ear to ear. “My mother isn’t here,” he said, reaching out and pulling me into his arms. I went willingly and joyfully into his embrace. “Even if she were, she would not intervene.”

“I’m not sure I like your mother’s insistence on not intervening,” I said. “We could use her help to make certain the right side wins.”

“If Mother helped everyone in every world and forced outcomes, even if they seem like the right outcome, then none of us would have the slightest bit of freedom to choose our own fate,” Emmerich said.

I grunted. I understood the argument of free will, but it grated to know there was someone who could make everything the way it should be with just a smile and a wave of her hand, but who chose to let people like my father exist and wreak havoc instead.

“All will be well, you’ll see,” Emmerich said, leaning in to kiss me.

It was supposed to be a short, sweet kiss, but I clung to Emmerich and kissed him back with longing.

I still remembered that beautiful afternoon in the meadow as if it were yesterday.

I longed to feel his touch like that again, to taste his skin and feel his knot swell, locking us together.

It was as if the urgency of that heat had never truly left me, but the two of us had done nothing more than kiss since then.

“I want to move on,” I whispered against his lips, peeking up into his smoldering eyes. “I just want you. ”

“And I want you, too, my darling,” Emmerich said in a low, sensual growl.

He leaned close and kissed me again with enough ardor to have my head spinning. I longed for everything in my father’s world to be over and done with and for my father to be banished or worse so that I could get on with my life. Emmerich and I had so much to look forward to.

The sound of someone clearing their throat off to the side startled me out of my heated thoughts. Emmerich and I split apart and glanced in tandem to find Nikkos standing not that far from us. He wore a wistful, dreamy expression, as if he longed for the sort of love that Emmerich and I had.

“Osric is ready to give a speech,” he said, his voice filled with emotion. “You won’t want to miss that.”

“Of course not,” I said, grinning as I stepped back from Emmerich and took his hand.

As we walked to the edge of the camp to join the others, I immediately started conjuring up ways to get Nikkos and Osric together.

I liked Nikkos and wouldn’t have minded having him as a cousin-in-law at all.

He would make a good prince consort for Osric, once he was king, as well.

But first, I had to figure out whether Osric had any chance of liking Nikkos back.

In the short term, Osric was far too busy with the war. He was already mounted and surveying his men as they gathered around him and we joined everyone waiting for his command.

“Friends and loved ones,” he said, glancing out over everyone who had come to hear him speak.

I peeked to the side to determine whether he was looking at Nikkos when he’d said “loved ones”.

“The battle that awaits us today is the battle of our lives,” he went on.

“Every one of you knows as deeply as I do that the reign of King Freslik cannot continue.

Freslik has taken the authority invested in him and used it for selfishness and for gain.

He has attempted to turn the people of this kingdom against each other and has sought to destroy so many of the things we hold dear.

“I will not let this continue for a moment longer. Now is the time that we ride and fight for the values we believe in. It is time that we champion freedom and community. We must fight back against the oppressive forces that wish to keep us all in poverty and slavery. I know that we can win this battle if we fight together for what is right. Are you ready to stand with me?”

A loud cry rose up from the gathered men. Osric was so inspiring that I cried out with them, still squeezing Emmerich’s hand.

“The battle will not be easy, but it will be worth it,” Osric went on. “I know you are all brave and valiant. If we stand together and use the skills and training we have learned over these months of preparation, I know we will?—”

Osric’s inspiring words were cut off by an arrow that whizzed right past his head, nicking his shoulder slightly, and flying on to lodge in the arm of one of the men who had gathered to listen to the speech.

That man cried out in pain and alarm at his arrow wound. A few others shouted in shock and fear. Still others saw the first shot fired as a reason to whoop with excitement and to charge ahead.

“Quick!” I shouted, looking around for my brothers. “We need armor and weapons. We need protection. The war has started!”