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“We went to meet with the most prominent members of the king’s city today,” Osric went on, “in an attempt to gain their support and their cooperation. The meeting was tricky, but I believe it was ultimately fruitful. I believe we will have the support of a significant number of people in the very heart of Freslik’s realm.

“Unfortunately, our meeting was interrupted before anything could be settled or before true pledges of alliance could be made when Freslik himself happened to visit the house where we were meeting,” Osric went on.

The people listening murmured in concern. Osric’s omega advisor, Nikkos, even said, “Was he there on purpose? Has someone betrayed us?”

Osric shook his head. “I believe it was mere coincidence. But Freslik knows that he is on the verge of war. He knows how many people oppose him, and it is likely that he saw the faces of a good many of the merchants and noblemen who stand against him. That could potentially cause those men to withdraw their support out of fear of reprisals, or it could give Freslik targets to focus on before we can truly gather our forces together for a targeted attack.”

“Have those men of the king’s city abandoned us, then?” Bronnen, a large beta with a scar on his face who was one of Osric’s closest advisors, asked.

“I do not believe so,” Osric said. “This is why we need to begin our campaign immediately. We need to show those men whose help we need but who might now fear joining us that we are the stronger force and that we will be victorious.”

“What about the dragons?” another of Osric’s closest councilors, a woman dressed in armor named Hellis, asked. “Have they abandoned us as well?” She glanced to me and my brothers with a worried look, as if she knew we were deeply connected to the dragons in question.

Come to think of it, where were my brother’s mates?

I understood why Argus hadn’t come through the doorway with us, but surely some of the others would have joined us.

Gildur hated being parted from Selle for more than a few minutes on end, and to be honest, even though he was an alpha and Leo was an omega, Diamant generally followed Leo like a puppy.

“My dragon brethren all have roles they are meant to play in the coming conflict,” Osric said, as if he’d heard my question. “They are preparing the way so that our campaign might have as much success as possible.”

“Dragon brethren?” Selle said with a confused frown, pushing his spectacles farther up his nose.

“What parts do our mates have to play?” Tovey asked, also confused by the statement. “And why didn’t Rufus tell me?”

“There are rules to what our mates can and can’t do to change things in this world,” Rumi said, far more mysteriously than I was comfortable with, “but that doesn’t mean they can’t influence events in other ways.”

I shifted to stare at my brother. I wasn’t the only one looking at him with suspicion.

“You know more about what’s going on than you’re saying,” Leo said, a touch of indignation in his voice.

“Have you been a part of whatever is going on here from the beginning?” Misha asked quietly.

Rumi looked at us all, color rising on his face. “I’ve known Emmerich for longer than I’ve let on,” he said, not quite able to meet any of our eyes. “I’ve been helping him help us from the start.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Leo asked, his frown darkening.

“We must prepare to move toward the king’s city before nightfall,” Osric went on, rallying his people.

“We have reached a point where the sooner we set the final phase of this plan in motion, the more likely we are to succeed with as little bloodshed as possible. I cannot guarantee that there will be no casualties, but I know that each and every one of you understands how important it is to wrestle this kingdom away from an evil man like my uncle. The fate of so many lives depends on the courage we show now.”

His words were met with shouts of agreement and applause from everyone around us. I had to admit that Osric was a powerful and charismatic leader. Fortunately, he was also a good man, I was certain, and would be a wonderful king. We just had to all do our part to get him on the throne.

I rose to my feet, ready to focus on what lay ahead of us instead of the misery that had led up to that point, but as soon as I did, my head swam and I nearly stumbled.

“Obi, are you alright?” Rumi asked, jumping up with me and putting an arm around my back to steady me.

“Yes,” I said, though I wasn’t certain I was. I gripped the sides of my head as if that would stop everything from spinning. My emotions were suddenly running wild for reasons I couldn’t explain. “I think I just need a minute to breathe.”

“Let me take you somewhere where you can get some air,” Rumi said. “I have a feeling it’s about to get really crowded here in the middle of the camp.”

“I’ll come with you,” Leo said, his expression still tight with suspicion as he looked at Rumi.

Rumi tensed, then he let out a breath and nodded. “We’ll all go,” he said. “I’ll admit, I have a lot of things to explain.”

“Yes, you do,” Tovey said, following after us as we wove our way through the increasing number of people gathering around to listen to Osric.

“What do you mean you’ve known Emmerich for longer than you’ve let on?” Selle asked as the six of us walked to the edges of the camp. “How long exactly are we talking about?”

“A few months,” Rumi said. “I’ve already told you the story of how my horse threw a shoe when we were out riding that one time and how I met Emmerich when the farrier was fixing it. What I didn’t tell you was that I had actually met him a few days before that, also when we were riding.”

“Why did you not tell us?” Misha asked.

I wanted to know the answer to that, too, but my head was suddenly so muddled that I couldn’t think or pay attention.

My heart raced with expectation and hope, though those emotions didn’t seem right for the situation we were all in.

More than just that, my belly ached and, of all things, it felt like the egg was wiggling inside me. Wiggling with joy.

I was angry, my egg was happy, and a whirlwind of other emotions battered me from all sides as we found a spot at the edge of the camp to sit and talk.

I was too restless to sit still, though, and my head and body felt so strange that I could hardly draw breath, let alone concentrate on what Rumi was saying about his first meeting with a handsome alpha who…

who sent him straight into heat and took him right there in the grass? No, that couldn’t be right.

“I was able to conceal it all well,” Rumi was saying, though I had to squint and hug myself tightly, as if that might help me focus on his words, “because I have, we all have, powers beyond what any of us thought. It’s because of Papa, because Papa and his entire line are descended from the magical world, not this one.

Cousin Osric’s line as well. He’s actually a?—”

I didn’t hear anything else my brother said. I had no warning before a strong, pulsing presence was suddenly behind me and arms reached around to grab me. I didn’t even have time to scream before I was yanked backward through a magical doorway and into another world entirely.