by May Dawson
Maybe we all needed the night of rest and connection, but in the morning, it’s time to face the world.
I wake up before the others and start the coffeemaker, then slip out onto the balcony. Even Penny’s still sleeping on the couch, lying with her paws folded on her chest and her belly exposed. I don’t know why she’s so tired.
We need to get clothes this morning so we can blend in, I realize, as I pull on my wool sweater to fend off the chill. We all look a little…off… in our handmade Avalon clothes.
I’m sipping my coffee—black with a few more sugars than anyone should ever consume before seven o’clock in the morning—when I hear the faintest footfall behind me. Mycroft. He’s always so quiet. I know it’s him even before I breathe in his welcome scent.
“I made you a cup,” I say. “You need to preserve your magic. No making me coffee without a coffeemaker.”
He pulls a face. “I don’t know if I can handle Earthside coffee on top of everything else we’ve got to deal with today.”
The mission in front of us seems impossible. Not the part where we find the Shield; that’s a simple, tangible mission. But the night before seems like a sweet, distant dream now.
We’re going to depose the current rulers of Avalon and Vasilik, install worthy heirs in their place, and save the realms? That’s what stands between us and our happy ending?
And the part where we succeed—where Rian and Devlin take the thrones from their corrupt parents—make the happy ending impossible in and of itself. They won’t be with me while they rule a kingdom. The idea is nuts. Polyamory is common in Avalon, but I can’t imagine Avalon will ever accept me as queen.
“What’s wrong?” Mycroft leans against the railing instead of looking at me; he’s fixed on the city streets and the greenery of the park below. White snow gleams on the trees and on the roofs; everywhere else, the snow is gray from foot traffic and cars.
“Nothing.”
“I thought we weren’t doing lies anymore.”
“After everything you and Airren put me through, I think I’ve got a buy for the foreseeable future,” I shoot back, but I’m just teasing. I don’t intend to lie to them either.
I expect banter in return, but Mycroft fixes me with a stern looks as he leans against the balcony, crossing his arms. “I just want to help if I can. You don’t look…happy. Is it something about last night?”
“No,” I say firmly. “You guys—honestly, it’s better than I ever dreamed. I’m happy Airren and Rian joined us. That was…unexpected.”
“Yeah. Airren surprised me too.” He shakes his head. “I’ve known him for seven years, Tera. I didn’t think he could surprise me.”
He says it like there’s something bothering him. I cock my head to one side as a terrible possibility settles into my gut. “Do you think he was just trying to make me happy, and he didn’t really want…”
“No,” he says quickly. “Airren’s not like that.”
Relief floods my chest. I want all of my men together, but willingly, happily. They don’t have to do anything to please me. I’d take them each one-on-one if that made them happier.
Still, I’m a girl of Avalon, and in Avalon, we love our sweet debauchery. Just thinking of the way the five of us traded kisses and touches last night sends another thrum of longing between my thighs.
“Then what’s bothering you?” I run my hand over his chest teasingly as I look up at him. “Turn about’s fair play. Tell me what’s worrying you and I’ll tell you what’s worrying me.”
He catches my hand against his chest with one big hand. His eyes glint with desire when he looks down at me, as if my casual touch has sparked his hunger for me all over again.
When he leans down and kisses me, I kiss him back. But when we break apart, I raise my eyebrows at him, prompting him to go on.
He groans, as if he’d much rather we had sex up against this balcony overlooking the city, before he confesses, “You know things were rough between us all without you.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“I wasn’t fair to Airren.” He says it flatly. He’s clearly spent a lot of time thinking about this, and typically of Mycroft, now that he’s decided, he accepts blame without hesitation. “I blamed him for driving you away. But I didn’t want to tell you the truth either. It was easy to say, hey, it’s the mission. It’s Airren’s call.”
“We can leave all that behind us now.”
“And I shut out Cax because I was so… angry.” He rakes his hand through his hair. “I felt guilty about being such an asshole, and so I became more of an asshole. Admirable logic there.”
I want to make him feel better, but knowing Mycroft, he probably was an asshole. There’s no point in denying the truth. “Have you talked to them about it?”
He purses his lips to one side. “I’d rather fight a dozen Ravengers than apologize.”
“But you’re a big, brave Marine,” I remind him, kissing the corner of his mouth, which turns up in response. “You can do anything.”
“Are you managing me, Blondie?”
“Absolutely.”
His lips against mine quirk in a smile, and he kisses me deeply. The kisses turn into more, and soon the two of us are twined against the balcony overlooking the city, trading quick, hungry kisses.
The voice that curls through my head is low and angry. “Tera, what the hell are you doing here?”
Chapter 18
I yank away from Mycroft.
He looks down with a frown across his face, then studies my parted lips and wide eyes. “What is it?”
“Devlin,” I mouth, whispering the word in my mind as I say it aloud. Are you here too?
Yes. My mother is still in our realm, so she can’t feel me using my magic to contact you. The men she sent to spy on me are easier to fool.
Your mother’s spying on you? But at least he’s alive. Relief floods my chest.
She’s highly suspicious, like I said. I was glad to have an excuse to get the hell out of Vasilik before she could decide to string me up.
It’s all too easy for me to imagine him being hung; I’ve seen the execution areas in Vasilik up close and personal. The image of Devlin on that wooden stage, his expression cocky but his eyes full of fear as the executioner slips the noose over his neck, sends a shiver of panic through my body. Devlin. You can’t go back there.
It’s my home.
It doesn’t matter if you’re home or not if you die there.
They’re my people, he replies calmly. Even if they don’t all exactly appreciate me.
Before I can worry about him more, he adds, What trouble are you up to in this world, Tera?
“What does he want?” Mycroft asks impatiently.
I look up at Mycroft, knowing he won’t like it if I tell Devlin everything. My men, besides Rian, still don’t really trust him.
But I do.
I make a decision. We’re looking for a shield to seal the rips.
What a coincidence, he says.
That’s what you’re looking for too?
We’ll see who gets there first.
Devlin. We don’t need to fight—we’re on the same side.
And no one can know that. I’ve got company, Tera—there’s a sorcerer with me plus three of my mother’s spies as ‘bodyguards’. None of them like you much.
What did I do to them?
The sorcerer? Well, his father, who was also a sorcerer, survived the cave-in, barely, but not my mother’s wrath afterward. You met him.
The sorcerer who came to me in the cell? His father was not a good man.
It seems to be a common problem. For a few long seconds, there’s silence between the two of us. Then he adds, It’s good to hear your voice. Even if it’s just in my head.
We can talk freely without your mother around, right?
We can. Except… A mischievous note enters his voice. We’re racing.
You don’t want your mother to have the shield, do you? I don’t trust
the king of Avalon either. They are short-sighted and petty and callous; either of them will share it with the other.
It doesn’t matter who has it, he says. What matters is healing the rips.
I don’t want us to fight, I tell him.
Oh? I’ve never minded it. Kind of feels like foreplay.
Chapter 19
Mycroft
“Well, my original plan was to arrange a meeting with the private collector and see if he even has the Shield,” Airren says over breakfast that morning. “But I think we need to move forward faster than that now. We’ll break into his house and if the Shield is there, we’ll secure it before Devlin and his people arrive.”
“I’m worried about what happens to Devlin if we win this round,” Tera says.
She holds her mug with both slender hands, a frown written across her beautiful face. She’s so fragile and so determined all at once. All I want to do is take away the dangers that trouble her and make her smile again.
“I understand,” Airren says. “I’m worried about what happens to him. But I’m worried about what happens to Avalon if we don’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our research turned up another possibility with the Shield. It controls the rips. It can do a whole lot more than seal them. The human wielding the shield can form new ones, and control who—or what—can go through.”
“Wait.” Tera says. “I thought that my father attacked the portals and forced them open so Ravengers could come through. But do you think he might have had this shield?”
That would answer a lot of questions we’ve had about how Padrick Donovan wreaked so much focused devastation.
“I don’t know.” Airren’s lips purse. “Maybe there are more relics than just the Shield that can control the rips.”
“Hell, maybe it’s duplicable technology,” suggests Cax, our resident tech expert. He drops his fork on his plate, cocking his head to one side, lost in his own thoughts as he tries to figure out how that might work.
If that’s true, we can track down the Shield of Everlach and seal the rips. But if the technology falls into the wrong hands, it might all be for nothing.
“For now, we need to get the shield,” I remind us all. “Then we’ll help Devlin if he needs us.”
Tera’s eyes widen as if she’s surprised, but the relief that lights her face makes me glad I said it. I’d do anything to protect that damn Vasilik if he means so much to her.
“Mycroft’s right,” Rian agrees, although he seems lost in his own worries. “Let’s not worry about trouble down the road. We’ve got plenty of trouble now.”
Airren nods. “We need transport to get to the private collector’s house. I’m going to get us a car.”
“You know how to drive?” Tera asks skeptically.
“It was part of my training,” Airren re-assures her. “I’ve driven at least half a dozen times.”
From the look on her face, that isn’t as reassuring as he expects it to be.
“I’ll go with you,” I say.
Airren nods, without registering any surprise on his face, but I know him well enough to feel it. Leaving Cax and Rian behind with Tera, we leave our hotel and go in search of a car to steal.
Once the two of us are out on the city street, though, I let myself be distracted by the mission itself. We walk until we find a black SUV on a quiet, residential side street. Down the street, a short man with an enormous dog lets himself into his house. Then the road is deserted.
“This one?” he suggests, cupping his eyes against the glass so he can check the backseats. The car is empty.
“Sure.”
He breaks into the car while I enchant the license plates. When I come back, he’s sitting in the driver’s side. Magic sparks underneath his fingers as he forms a key for the lock.
“We should’ve gotten Cax to fix the wiring,” I say. “Save your magic.”
“It’ll be alright.”
“Yeah?” There’s an edge in my voice, and he glances at me sharply. I’m doing a bad job working up to an apology. But I go on, “You didn’t go into a whole lot of detail about how the Shield works.”
“You already know that. You’re the smart one.”
I snort at that. I might have plenty of sheer brain power and magical aptitude, but I don’t feel smart most of the time. Life is tricky no matter how high one’s IQ. “You don’t want Tera and Cax to know. Why?”
The engine roars to life, and a faint smile crosses his lips before he looks up at me and it dies. “I doubt we’ll have time to heal each individual rip. To end it all, someone’s got to carry that shield into one of the rips.”
Finally. At least we’re discussing it openly. “And it’ll be me.”
“No, it won’t.” Airren stares for a second at the center console of the car before he puts the car into reverse. He eases off the brake, but the car still lurches as he works his way out of the parallel parking job. “I’m still your senior.”
“Barely.”
“Barely,” Airren agrees, but it doesn’t matter. He still outranks me, and he’ll still do anything he can to be the one who dies if someone has to.
“You’re being selfish.” I accuse him.
“Oh, really?” He slams into the bumper of the car in front of us as he turns. He winces. “The hood of this car takes up too much space.”
I could give a damn how many cars we slam into. Anger tightens my chest. But what I say next has nothing to do with what has me furious. “Yeah, you are. You’ll get all the glory.”
“That’s the plan.”
He’s being so glib.
“I’d rather be gone than know my best friend died when I could’ve been in his place.” I grit. I don’t want to tell him the truth, but someone has to.
“Yeah, same.”
“Damn it, Airren. There’s got to be another option than suicide.”
“And if there is, we’ll figure it out,” he says. “Maybe we’ll have time.”
There’s a doubtful edge in his voice.
It’s as if he knows better than the rest of us about how dire things were. “Did you talk more with Rian about how bad the rips are?”
“Not to Rian,” he says. “To Alia. I’m not sure even the prince knows.”
“How bad is it?” I demand.
“We’ve got to get the shield,” he says. “Or the war between Avalon and Vasilik doesn’t even matter.”
He meets my gaze with a long, steady look. “And one life doesn’t matter, either.”
“Easy to say when it’s not your best friend.”
“That’s the second time you’ve used those words in the last five minutes. I’m pretty sure you haven’t called us besties one time before in seven years. Tera’s making you soft.”
“No, Tera’s making me be honest.” I shake my head, trying to find the right words. “When Tera left—I was unreasonable, and stupid—”
“If this is the start of an apology, you can shut up right now,” Airren interrupts.
“Excuse me?”
“When my family was in trouble, did you hesitate to help me? If there had been anything I needed, would you have been there?”
I glance away, out the window.
“I was wrong,” he says, his voice low. “I was stupid in how I handled things with Tera.”
“We were all going through a lot after she left.”
“We were. You didn’t make things any easier for me, but who says I wanted things to be easier?” His lips twist ruefully. “I’d earned some suffering. You and me and Cax may have been cold and cruel to each other, but in the end… we all still had each other’s backs.”
“I was pretty awful to Cax, huh?”
Airren doesn’t deny it. A beat passes between us while I close my eyes, wishing I could undo all the stupid, mean things I’ve said—and my equally stupid, mean silences.
“When you apologize to him,” he adds, “I’d grovel a little more. You didn’t have the chance to rush
in to save his family in defiance of the Crown.”
“He’s always deserved better than me,” I admit.
“Yep. Good thing family’s got nothing to do with what any of us deserve.”
Chapter 20
Tera
The five of us drive to a big old house in the country, a rambling stone mansion almost hidden in the trees. We spend some time watching the house before the owner, a tall, balding man, gets into his car and drives away from the house.
“Rian and I’ll watch the house in case Devlin and his goons show up,” Airren tells Mycroft. “You take Cax with you into the house. He’ll be more useful than I would be with the tech.”
“Thanks,” Cax says.
“It’s a simple statement of fact,” Airren says.
“I want to go with them,” I tell Airren.
His lips quirk to one side. “Fine by me.”
While Cax and Mycroft move around the perimeter of the property, checking for security systems to dismantle, I touch Airren’s arm. He glances at my face and then, without hesitation, melts with me into the woods behind the car. We’re still in sight of the guys, who we can watch through the few trees between us, but we have some privacy. He looks down at me curiously.
“You’ve changed,” I tell him.
“Have I?” he asks lightly, and then dropping the pretense, adds, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying, right?”
“Right,” I say, although I hang up over that word, dying. Maybe that’s the kind of thing they say in Avalon all the time and I’ve just forgotten. “Well, I like it. I liked who you were, and I like who you’re turning into.”
“I like who you are too.” He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I was supposed to be your teacher, you know.”
“You have been. There are at least a dozen dead Vasiliks that are your fault.”
“What a kind thing to say.”
I grin at the easy, familiar banter between us, and then his lips descend on mine, and the words are lost.
“Tera,” Mycroft calls impatiently. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“He’s just jealous,” Airren murmurs into my ear.
