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Alessandro couldn’t believe what he was feeling under the layer of the ice curse. “It’s a protection rune.” He looked around the ground for signs of their existence. His first instinct was to look for them engraved on the cobblestones.

“No way.” Stone’s eyes were on the trees that surrounded the entrance to the kingdom, particularly the roots. He took off into the sky and Alessandro realized what had caught the dragon’s attention.

Blaise and Aqua joined him and Alessandro watched as Aqua paled and Blaise’s eyes shone. Stone was speechless.

Alessandro didn’t need to fly up to take in what they saw. He could feel the shape of Rowan’s magic now that he knew where to look for it.

The insane woman had used the roots of the forest surrounding the Eastern Elven Kingdom to make a giant protection rune imbued with her blood as its nexus of power. He also came upon a more minor rune that was so clever he couldn’t help but smirk.

She really needed absolutely nothing from him, did she?

He walked towards the center of the square where the smaller rune was exuding power.

At the foot of a larger than usual hydrangea tree, in between a thick collection of colorful tulips, sat a man he had seen on the news coverage of the wolves in Greece.

He had put up a struggle to get out of the wooden and magic bonds that shackled his hands to the trunk of the tree.

His disheveled hair, red face and sweat drenched appearance suggested it.

A trail of broken tulips ended where the witch sat.

He huffed and puffed against the nulling magic holding him in place.

A Chloe Darling special.

“Dae Kang.” Stone landed next to Alessandro.

Alessandro crouched until he was eye level with the man.

“I thought the Coven was no longer looking to recruit Rowan Dahl.”

“Does this really look like a recruiting attempt?”

“Ah. So now it’s time to take out the threat?”

“She shouldn’t have believed she was safe. She should’ve kept her powers hidden. The Coven had no clue how much power she was hiding.” He scoffed, “Stupid woman.”

It was a quick punch, but it knocked the witch’s head back as Alessandro’s fist collided with his nose.

He let out a yelp of pain and whined for a few moments as streams of blood splurged from the break.

Blaise snickered.

Alessandro waited until the witch sat back up, his eyes wary. “Exactly what has the woman done to deserve such a response from your people?”

Refusing to answer, the man turned his face away.

Alessandro raised an eyebrow.

“If I were you, I’d answer before he loses the mask of civility.” Stone warned. “I didn’t think there was anything that would prompt the Coven to return to their barbaric methods of threatening loved ones.”

“Barbaric? Your kind dares speak of barbarity?” Dae scoffed.

Warmth was exuding itself from Blaise, and Alessandro knew he was a ticking time bomb. Dragon pride made Blaise’s affinity for fire strong. If the witch kept stroking his fire with blatant disrespect, Blaise would burn him to death.

“Now let me be frank. I know it is the Coven who is behind the attacks on the shifters. You are here to threaten Rowan Dahl because she got in the way one too many times. I’m just trying to reach a reason not to run you through with my claws here and now and start an all out war between your witches and the world. ”

“The Coven is not behind the shifter attacks.” The witch hissed. His refusal was so vehement that Alessandro wondered if Elaine’s message had been wrong. “The only reason I am here is to get the stolen Elder’s Grimoire back.”

Before he heard her. He felt her. Full of power and pissed off.

“Steal? Cherry Young delivered it to me.” Rowan’s voice shook with her indignation.

Alessandro turned and took her in. Of course, she had fresh injuries. It was apparently a thing she did, showing up beat up. A cut lip, swollen cheek, and a green-purple bruise bloomed on her temple.

In return she took him in, confusion and hurt front and center before she once again shuttered her feelings and showed him nothing but a slight mocking look as if she was saying, I told you I needed nothing from you.

His dragon reared.

He scowled and waved a hand over the bruises until they disappeared. “Defense is as important as a good offense.”

She bristled. “My defense is great, or else I’d be dead ten times over. What are you doing here, Dragon King?”

“Must you be so hostile?”

“Yes. It’s part of my defense.”

He rolled his eyes. “We got a warning that your kingdom was about to be attacked.”

“From whom?” She demanded.

“Ah, so that got through that little defense of yours, did it?”

“What in the endless hells?” Blaise’s soft curse brought them back to the realization they had onlookers.

Alessandro took in Rowan’s companions.

There was a black-haired man with golden eyes rimmed with red kohl. He could smell under layers of charms that he was a kitsune, a strong one at that.

Next to him was a brunette woman with cherry red eyes and an impressed smile that showed off fangs to denote her vampire heritage. The smell of blood he associated with the race was so slight, he nearly missed it. Was she starving herself?

Rowan stood protectively in front of what was obviously one of the other three princesses of the Eastern Elven Kingdom.

He noted a lack of the succubus limbs Rowan carried, as well as the lack of concealment charms that would suggest she was simply hiding them.

Were the sisters perhaps not fully related?

She was a spitting image of Rowan, though her hair had an aquamarine streak and she wore round, golden rimmed glasses.

Her face was taut with anxiety as she glanced at the witch.

She looked so much like Rowan that it was instinct to ease it. “As I was saying, I came to help, but your spell work beat me to the punch.”

A glint of pride lightened her eyes. “Is that awe I hear in your voice?”

“Who thinks of such a defense?” Blaise asked, approaching and holding his hand out, “Princess Rowan, I am Blaise.”

Rowan took the offered appendage. “Thank you for coming, Blaise. To be fair, the trap was a joint effort between my sister Axel and myself. She’s creative with defense strategies and I am wicked good with magic.”

“Makes me wonder how much you actually hid when we were in school together.” Stone was next to approach. “I knew I caught you practicing higher level spells in the study chambers.”

“Strange how each time you did, Louisa was supposed to be playing my lookout.” Rowan sent a glare back toward the brunette.

“I was on vampire time, and you were asking me to pay attention during my equivalent of your crack of dawn!” Louisa snapped.

There was no real vehemence behind either woman, this was just their way of communicating. There was comfort and trust that came along with such a method.

“She tried her best to make up excuses for you.” Stone grinned at the pair, “It took me months to figure out you couldn’t harvest raw power from the conch of a mermaid if you played the right tune on a night of a new moon.”

Blaise was unimpressed. “Alessandro, you know what I could’ve done with the money you dished out to send him to Spellcasters?”

“Hookers and blow?” Stone shot back.

“Enough.” Alessandro cut through the argument before actual flames joined the mix. Unlike Rowan and Louisa, there was a history of actual vehemence between the two youngest of Alessandro’s inner court. He’d had to intervene too many times where their mat time had turned a little too bloody.

Rowan looked impressed by the instant silence he received. “So, a little birdie told you my kingdom was getting attacked. Did they mention why?”

“No, but I have a theory.” Alessandro looked down at the witch with teeth slightly bared. “Your role in helping the shifters is a threat to whatever twisted goal they have in mind.”

Rowan’s eyes widened.

“The Coven is behind the shifter attacks?” The kitsune asked for clarification.

All eyes turned to the only member of the Coven in their presence.

Dae remained silent.

“But why?” Stone asked, confusion clear on his face.

“Because they are under the control of a man with the ability to weave illusions. They’re so realistic that the entire Coven has fallen under the impression that the last words of Elder Henrietta were a warning.

A warning of the shifters igniting a war that would destroy the world.

” The voice was inches from Alessandro’s ear.

His hand shot out in the direction it came from.

A man, the spitting image of the witch kneeling at his feet, held his hands up in surrender.

The witch in his hold was stronger than the one on the ground by leagues. Alessandro slowly released his fingers from around the man’s neck.

Upon his release, the second man gasped for air. Rowan instantly made her way to him, enraging the dragon in Alessandro, who hadn’t deemed the man safe.

Control. He reminded himself.

She patted the witch’s back, her eyes pitying. “Evil twin?”

Dae sighed. “He’s bewitched by the False Elder like the rest of the Coven. I can’t break his hold over any of them.”

“Who is this False Elder, and why aren’t you also under his hold?” Alessandro was hard to convince.

“Antoni Barros. He was part of the North American Chapter so my knowledge of him is minimal. I’m not being affected because of this.

” He held up a hand and a silver bracelet glinted on his wrist. “I had this on when he began hypnotizing everyone. There were a few others who resisted, he…punished them. I decided then to fly under the radar and figure out what had happened to Master Cherry.”

“That’s Chloe’s magic signature.” Louisa examined the piece of jewelry.