by Connor Crowe
Ivy was completely adorable, but there was another reason I was glad to see her. “When I heard about the dam, I worried for you.” I looked up at Elliot and tried to read his face. To be that pregnant with a natural disaster at hand...I didn’t want to think of it. “I’m so glad you and the baby are safe.”
“Me too,” Elliot agreed, snuggling her close. “It was touch and go there for a while, but we made it through. Thanks to this one here.” He pointed his thumb at Arric. “And in the wake of all this madness, Ivy’s smile is just what I need after a hard day.”
“Children always have such innocent minds, don’t you agree?” Elliot took a long sip of his tea and folded his hands, watching us. “They are able to see the good in anything, even when we may not see it ourselves. We are blessed to have them with us.”
I smiled back at him in agreement. He had a point. Even though the pack had been through so much, there would always be points of light. I forgot how much I’d missed the little ones, and my heart ached with an almost-forgotten pain.
I still can’t have kids.
I stared into my broth and took a few slow, careful sips. I could be the best “pack dad” that I could. I planned to be there for them and be part of their lives as much as I could, but it wasn’t really the same.
Where there used to be only grief was a shred of hope now, though. If I was in a triad with two other men and one of them was also omega, could it be that he could bear the child?
My gryphon stood at attention and cawed with cautious hope. I’d seen Hugo knot inside James the night of our mating ritual. Would the seed take so quickly? And if so…would we finally get to be parents after all?
I made a mental note to ask them about it after the meeting, but I have to admit it was hard to focus on anything else.
Why hadn’t I realized it before? Two omegas and one alpha just might work. Of course, I was happy with my two men and loved my family and my pack, but there was still something about the idea of conceiving a child…
“Finished eating?” Markus asked and broke me out of my thoughts, “Come along, you three. I want a full report. Not to mention the whole pack is itching to see you.”
“It’s been a long journey,” James said with a yawn. “Can we have a moment to get cleaned up first?”
Markus glanced at the three of us and nodded. Thank goodness for that, cause I smelled like garbage. My skin had built up a thickening layer of grit and dust from the road, and a hot shower promised to not only to clean but to rejuvenate our spirits.
“Very well,” he said. “Go on and get cleaned up. You’re expected in the library in an hour for the briefing.”
“Yes, Alpha.” I bowed my head to him and stood up, heading for the door. My men followed behind. All the way to the showers thoughts of babies and omegas stuck in my head, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. It wasn’t the right time. And besides, I needed to wait till we had some privacy.
When we stood at the door to the library, James couldn’t stand still. He paced back and forth and wrung his hands, a sure sign that something was bothering him.
“What?” I asked.
James sighed. “I’m just thinking about the library. All those books. The building looks like it held up all right, but...”
“You’re worried about the books being damaged,” I finished.
“Yeah,” he admitted.
“There’s only one way to find out.” I raised my hand and knocked.
Markus opened the door almost as soon as I finished knocking, ushering us into the room. Huge rough-woven cloths lined the floor and boxes stacked on every available space. The once packed shelves stood bare like skeletons of their former selves. Markus moved to sit at the head of the long mahogany table and motioned for us to take our places. I couldn’t stop staring at all the boxes, and I knew James felt even worse.
“The books,” James muttered in a small, defeated voice as we took our places. “They didn’t make it, did they?” He stared at his hands, face downcast.
Markus gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“The boxes are the books we saved. Turns out our resident witch had a few more tricks up her sleeve.”
Oh, right. I’d nearly forgotten about Lorsa, the old crone we’d taken in after the fight on the Emerald Isles.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Lionel jumped in to answer the question. He adjusted his glasses and addressed us. “We weren’t able to save all of them, but many of the rare volumes came out unscathed. She was a big help in the recovery effort, and she’s been an active member of the team ever since.”
“What are these ‘tricks’ you mentioned then?” I was glad that she’d been contributing, but none of that was something no one else could do.
“She helped transport the important volumes to a safe location while we secured the library. Big help, that was. Never met anyone with teleportation magic like that.”
My mouth dropped open. I knew she was powerful, but teleporting a whole library of books was even more than I’d expected.
“Wow. That’s great.”
“I must admit,” Markus said, “I didn’t think taking in someone like her was a good idea, but she’s proven her worth time and again. Even the children have taken a liking to her, and you know that’s a good sign. Kids are good judges of character.”
“That they are,” James agreed. “I’m glad you’ve all been working together.”
“She’s actually been working with Felix to craft something I think you’ll find quite interesting,” Markus pointed out. He folded his hands and leaned forward, looking across the table at all three of us. “But we’ll get into that later. For now, tell us everything.”
25
Tristan
Markus ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. Lionel took off his glasses and gave them a nervous scrub with his shirt, while Arric gripped the edge of the table so tightly I feared he might crush it. It wasn’t an easy story to retell, and experiencing each of those emotions all over again was nothing short of exhausting.
“Wow,” Markus said at last. “That’s...quite the story.”
“It’s all true,” Hugo confirmed. “I know it sounds crazy, but we had no idea what we were getting into up there.”
“I must commend all three of you on your work out there. Well done, indeed.” He leveled his gaze at me in particular. “But I have one question. Why didn’t you retrieve the Key as we planned? Why didn’t it make it back here?”
I grimaced, knowing that he’d ask that question. “Things didn’t go exactly to plan. We had to improvise.”
“Hmm.” Lionel ticked off a few things in his book and looked over the rim of his glasses.
“Well.” Markus sighed and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. “Whatever you did, it does seem to be a bit more stable around here. I must say I don’t feel good about leaving the Key in the hands of the Ataraxians, but if it’s what you think is best...”
“We did what we had to do.” James jumped to my defense. “It isn’t his fault.”
I put my hand over James’. I loved that he was standing up for me, but I had to say my piece.
“We found out that there is a group of people working to study and protect the Wings of the Wind, just as we are.” I gulped in anticipation for what I had to say next. “I learned that my father was one of them. And he was executed for it.” I looked away, emotion still raw in my voice.
“My word,” Lionel gasped.
“So you got in touch with this secret group?” Arric asked. His demeanor hadn’t changed. Out of the three of them, he pushed forward and dug for the details.
I shook my head. “More like they found us.”
“Oh?” Markus raised an eyebrow. He tilted his head in question. “Tristan, didn’t you say your family was responsible for your exile in the first place? I know you were quite nervous about returning there. Did everything go all right?”<
br />
I snorted. That was an understatement. I still remembered the panic at the thought of even going near The Flying City. “It was...interesting, that’s for sure.” I tried to give them a convincing smile. “But yes, it went all right. About as good as could be expected, anyway. We did have some unexpected obstacles along the way, though.”
“Like?”
“We ran into my mother along the way. To say it was a tough reunion doesn’t quite cut it.”
“She give you any trouble?” Arric asked.
“Thought she would,” I continued. “But she actually helped us out in the end.”
“Your mother helped you?” Lionel asked curiously, his pen poised over the page. “But I thought you said she wanted nothing to do with you. Her and your father both.”
I sighed and winced. “They did. But it turns out losing both her son and her husband gave mom a change of heart.” Even though her and dad basically ruined my childhood, I felt for her. Losing someone you loved was never easy. Especially at the hands of the organization you claimed to support.
“You believe her?” Markus watched me carefully. No judgement, no inkling one way or the other.
I took a deep breath, then nodded. “I have to.” With a shrug, I added, “When it comes down to it, her help is one of the reasons we’re alive right now. She didn’t have to help us. She could have easily turned us in. But she didn’t. For my father’s sake, and for the sake of a better future. We met up with the other scholars—the group we told you about—and they’re going to build a new temple for the Key, away from the influence of those who would use it for personal gain.”
Lionel scratched off a few lines in his book and looked up. “Sounds like it’s in good hands, then.”
I leaned forward and rested my chin in my hands. Sudden exhaustion draped over me like a heavy blanket. “I sure hope so.”
Hugo wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. His comforting warmth soothed my tired heart, and knowing that James sat on the other side of me made it all the better.
“Believe us, we wanted to bring the Key back.” Hugo spoke now, giving me a chance to rest. “We ran into a pair of thieves trying to make off with it. They planned to auction it off to the highest bidder. We tracked them down, but they were already at port. A fight broke out, and we had a choice to make. We could take either them or the Key. Not both. In the end, we did what we had to do to keep it away from them.”
I still winced at the thought of them falling without me. Of the choice I had to make when I smashed the controls so they’d go down and leave the Key in the city. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.
“I see,” Markus said. “One thing is for sure, though. You have shown great bravery and service to Nox Bay. For that I thank you.” He stood and stepped toward the door. “By the way, Hugo, have your shifts stabilized at all? I know you were one of the most affected.”
“I’m doing a lot better,” Hugo said. “It was dicey for a while there, but things seem to have calmed down. Thank you for asking.”
Markus tapped his chin. “Hmm...maybe this might work after all...” He muttered something else unintelligible, but I couldn’t tell what it was since he was facing away from us. Felix got up to join him. Looked like the meeting was over.
“What was that?” I couldn’t help but ask. He was hiding something.
Markus looked over his shoulder and gave us an innocent smile. “Oh, nothing,” he said brightly. “Just the musings of an old man.”
Felix nudged him playfully. “You’re not old.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Markus replied. He pulled Felix close and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Now go on, I’ve got Kit looking after the children and you know he always spoils them.”
Felix nodded and left the library, leaving Markus standing there and the rest of us wondering what to do next.
“Ah, there she is!”
I glanced at my mates in confusion at Markus’ sudden comment.
“Who?” James mouthed, but the door hissed open and there stood our answer.
The witch, Lorsa.
She stepped inside without a word, gliding past Markus and over to the table. Lorsa looked much the same as I’d remembered her, but she at least had a smile on her face this time. Looked like the tailors had fashioned her some new clothes as well.
There was still something creepy about her I couldn’t place, but perhaps it was because she always moved and spoke as if in slow motion. Like she had to carefully plan every single word.
Lorsa took a seat and Markus followed her, returning to the head of the table.
“Thank you for joining us, Lorsa. I was hoping you’d have something to add.”
Had she been out there listening the whole time? How would she even know what we were talking about?
Lorsa didn’t seem perturbed, though. She simply gave us a soft, quiet smile. “What Markus says is true,” she started. “I’ve been running experiments with your fox, Felix. It turns out that when your Keys were destroyed, all that energy released back into the air. Without something for it to latch on to, it became unstable. Wild. Untethered. This wild energy floated here and there, wherever it pleased.”
“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Hugo offered. “It would explain the fluctuations I felt in my shifting states.”
“Ah, but there’s more to it than that,” she continued. “The energy is not gone, simply transmuted into a new form. It is still there, waiting to be harnessed once more.”
It took a few moments for that thought to process. When the implications set in, I stared at her in awe—and no small amount of trepidation.
“Are you talking about creating a new Key?” I asked. It sounded preposterous even to suggest, but if what she said was true...
“Is that even possible?” Hugo added.
Lorsa gave us that quixotic smile once more and folded her hands, leaning forward across the table. “I’ve never been one to dwell on what’s possible and what’s not.” With a knowing wink, she addressed each of us in turn. “By the looks of it, you do not worry about such things either.”
Huh. She had a point. After everything we had went through, my idea of ‘possible’ had definitely expanded. A decadent floating city? Magical relics that controlled the world’s elements? Who thought of this stuff?
“Felix and I have been working on a prototype,” she continued without waiting for an answer. That cheshire cat grin was proof enough that she knew she was right. “If we succeed, it could channel the untethered elemental energies and redirect them.”
Whoa. The possibilities of that expanded in scale and impact. My brain buzzed with ideas, but I knew how powerful those forces were. I knew how bad things could go wrong, and I didn’t want that for any of us.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” I asked cautiously. Visions of the Eye of the Ocean’s collapse still haunted my vision. “I saw a Key collapse before my eyes, and let me tell you, it was not a pretty sight. Are you sure you want to be messing with this?”
Lorsa sniffed and drew away for a moment, clutching at the amulet around her neck. “I have Alpha Markus’ blessing. I do not need your permission.”
Ouch. “I didn’t mean to sound like I was telling you not to. I trust you, of course. I just know how finicky that magic can be, and I want to make sure everyone stays safe. If Alpha Markus approves, then so be it.”
She relaxed once more, though the skeptical look in her eye remained. “Besides,” she said in an almost taunting tone, “would you rather have the alternative? Continue to live in an unstable world ruled by randomness?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but snapped it shut again. Silence stretched out across the library. This wasn’t just about me anymore. It was about everyone. I thought about Hugo, and how much he’d suffered from unstable shifts. Hell, even I had experienced the effects when we were up on Ataraxis. The keys were more than just pretty relics. They kept the world in balance. When I tho
ught of continuing life the way things had been, I coiled away.
She was right. Damn it all, she was right. For the sake of not only my mates, but my family, my pack, and the pack’s children, we had to try.
“I’m glad we’re in agreement,” she said at last. That self-satisfied smirk made me want to reach across the table and smack her, but it was more of my own discomfort than anything. I’d been through so much uncertainty I didn’t want to see any more.
Ironically, the only way to ensure a stable future for all of us was to lean into the very thing we feared.
“So be it.” Hugo said quietly. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.
“Eh, what have we got to lose?” James shrugged.
I sighed. “You’re right,” I said at last. “We will give this a chance. I trust Felix, and I trust Markus. So by extension, I trust you.”
“Good.” Lorsa nodded. She pulled out a roll of papers from her pocket and spread them across the table. It looked like some kind of schematics or plans—for the new Key, I assumed. “We’ve nearly perfected a prototype, as I said. I was coming by to clear things with Alpha Markus for the demonstration. Will you be joining us?”
So soon. My stomach seized and my throat burned. My mates noticed the sudden tension, because both their hands were in mine instantly.
“We would all love to see what you have to show us,” Markus said. “But I think for tonight, these three need one evening of normality. Everyone’s waiting to see them, after all. We’ll let them get settled in, spend some time with the pack members, get some sleep. In the morning, the test will begin—and that’s my final word on the subject.”
Lorsa bowed her head. “Very well. I shall see you at sunrise.” She gathered up her plans and stepped out, leaving the library in dull silence.
“Well, if that’s everything,” Lionel said, packing up his own books and materials. “I’ll need to go and check on things as well.”
