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  “I just wanted to make sure that we were all clear on what we’re going to do before I let anyone else in on this. It was kind of a big risk to take.” The guy’s eyes flit over each of us, like he’s trying to figure things out, trying to decide how to get out of here.

  “I did the spells,” the old woman speaks up. “Mr Bravado over there is right, we wanted to make sure that we’d be safe before we let anyone else know that we’re here. We’re taking a big risk by coming here, not just for Topaz, but also for Aideen and me.” She looks at Rune. “The rebels are accepted as a thing that exists, but they’re not exactly celebrated, and outing myself to my prince like this could get all of us in trouble. It could get us expelled from the dragon community, for putting everyone in danger by openly associating with rebels. If the danger is deemed big enough, it could mean that they have to move to a new location. Everyone would have to move, which they don’t take lightly... It would not make people like us much, and all consequences that come with that.”

  I look at Rune, my heart beating fast, feeling nervous. Are they right? Is them coming here and telling us this really that dangerous?

  “I was aware of the spells on the house and the room, of course. I knew Finn could feel them, and Litha probably didn’t realise what they were.” Rune smiles a little at me before he nods, going more serious. “And I knew about Topaz being part of the rebel army, as Aideen had said so before. Finn also knew, as did Litha. I don’t think anyone should be punished or harmed over that. I know you’d do anything to keep us safe, and I know that you won’t put us in any danger.” He glances at Topaz. “Though, stealing the prophecy documents was a stupid move. I hope you got what you needed from them?”

  Topaz nods, not looking as proud anymore, almost looking sheepish as Rune is in full ‘dragon prince’ mode.

  Then Rune takes a deep breath. “Before I get the others, thank you for coming here and finding us. Whatever happens, thank you for your offers, I appreciate it. We appreciate it.”

  “Yes.” Finn nods, a little less tense now. “Thank you.” He doesn’t look at Topaz, keeping his eyes on Aideen and her grandma instead. “We’re going to need all the help we can get if we’re going to defeat my dad.”

  Topaz’ eyes on Finn are hard. “Are you willing to do whatever it takes to stop this?”

  I watch as fury sparks in Finn’s eyes as he turns to Topaz and pulls his shirt up, exposing the stab wound and the black area around it. Looking at it makes me wince but Topaz nods solemnly. “My father tried to have me killed.” Finn nods towards Rune. “He hurt two of my best friends, put their lives in serious danger. I’m not stopping until he can’t hurt any of them anymore.”

  Topaz eyes me, and then his sister, before slowly nodding at his grandma. “I’m in. No matter what the others do. I’m in.”

  “If you’re in, then I’m also in.” Their grandma stands up, holding out a small red-brown book to me. “This is for you.” Her voice is soft and warm and the book almost glows with heat as I accept it. “This is a book with spells from your great-great-great-great grandma, or however many greats there should be, the last witch queen. She gave this to her lover before she disappeared. This was her personal spellbook, filled with spells she wanted the next witch queen to have, spells she didn’t want to disappear with her kingdom. Our family has kept it safe for all that time, waiting for the next witch queen, waiting for you.”

  Tears stream down my cheeks as I accept it, looking at the small book which may hold the answers to so many questions I have. The first tangible thing I’ve got from my own past, the first thing from a history that’s been hidden from me for all my life. And it’s so small, feels almost fragile.

  Aideen wraps her arms around me, and then I feel Finn and Rune too, their embraces warm and comforting as I fall apart. Too overwhelmed, too surprised, too everything. But after a couple of moments, I hold the book close to my heart, taking a deep breath as I stand up straight. I look at every person in the room, finally feeling like we’ve really got the advantage we need to win this war after all, or stop it before it even really starts.

  “Let’s get the others. We don’t have much time. We need to end this once and for all.” I feel different now, grounded, like I can take a resolute step forward and we can make this happen.

  Chapter 10 - Rune

  Not everyone was happy to see that I’d let Aideen’s family into the house, especially not Kit, who was very upset with me for hiding this from him, for hiding yet something else from him, even if it was only for an hour or so. But after the initial bump, everyone seems to be on the same page now, making new plans, bigger plans, much bigger plans.

  There’s just one thing I want to know, that I need to know, and I pull Topaz to the side. I didn’t really know the guy well, he was always a couple of years ahead of us, enough that a guy like him wouldn’t be interested in a baby like me, at least, back in the day. Just like I grew up with Aideen being something like a cousin to me, he was a mixture between a cousin and a distant older brother, always way ahead of us, doing his own thing. I always thought him to be very cool, as I was still so little, and, while I hadn’t kept track of him these last years, I wasn’t surprised when I heard he’d joined the rebel army.

  We walk to the back of the house, slipping outside, and I walk a while off, not wanting anyone to overhear us. I look at him, his steady gaze, his dark red eyes, and I acutely remember why I used to have the hots for him, which was wrong in so many ways that I never even attempted anything about it. “I know you’ve given us a lot, with the rebels and everything, but... I need something else from you.” I don’t even know if this is too much to ask or not.

  He nods slowly, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a small leather satchel. As he opens it, he reveals a set of small vials, all filled with blood. “These are from people who have offered their blood to test for whatever you need. They told me they’d be happy to fight for you, for their prince, for their future king.”

  I swallow hard as I take the vials. If the fae army got their hands on this blood, they could track who it came from and kill them, slaughter their whole family, just because they’re connected to the rebel army. “Are you sure? Are they sure?”

  “Yeah. They knew what they were getting into. They’re desperate for this to end.” His eyes darken, his voice lowering. “I got these from people who live in towns close to the werewolf border. If we can help them, they’d be at our side in a matter of hours.”

  “If they survive it.”

  “If they survive it.” He looks back to the house, his eyes much further away, sadness tinging his gaze. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what the fae have been doing to strong, healthy, young men, taking them in for ‘experiments’ and what happens to them there.”

  I shake my head. “I’ve seen it.” I look down at the vials, signs of such deep trust in a prince they probably have only ever heard of, never seen. “I’d need to talk to Litha and her mum, but I think we can help them.”

  His eyes go wide in surprise as he stares at me. “You’ve got a solution, at such short notice?”

  I raise my eyebrow at him. “You didn’t think I’d have one? Then why did you bring this?” Is he teasing me or what?

  He flashes me a boyish smile. “Hope. I’d just hoped that you’d know how to fix their shifting problem.” His face falls. “I was hoping you could save them, before they take drastic measures by themselves.”

  Ah, well, I understand that feeling. “Finn has been experimenting for months, trying to find a solution by himself, a solution on a much larger scale than I can offer right now. His research helped me when I... When I was in a bad situation myself. But we’ve found how to undo the effects of the anti-shifting elixir on a much smaller scale too. We just didn’t have a way to test more extensively yet.”

  “Do I want to know the situation you were in to be that desperate?” He looks at me sideways, raising an eyebrow curiously.

  “No. Not something I�
�d like to recall.” Just thinking of how I’d suppressed my dragon still hurts, even if it was for a good reason.

  “But you can help them?” He glances down at the vials in my hands.

  “I’ll try my best. As soon as we get inside, I’ll immediately start testing these.” I hold up the vials, and when I look back to the house, Kit and Litha are staring at us and my heart skips a beat at seeing them together, so beautiful in the warm sun, my dragon letting out a happy sound.

  Topaz looks back too, smiling wistfully. “Lucky bastard. Not just one lover, but two. Two very sexy lovers too. I’m not sure who I envy more, you or the incubus.”

  I lean close to him, smirking. “You think it’s just us three? Litha has five lovers. Five very different lovers. And my dragon insists they’re all part of his hoard.”

  He lets out a short laugh. “I was just talking about you, her and the incubus. What you’ve got, it’s special. Just because you’re all part of her court in the future, doesn’t mean that those connections are shared with everyone.”

  My dragon breaks through for a moment, I feel him move under my skin, a deep growl escaping my throat, and Topaz stumbles back, his eyes widening in something akin to fear. “I’m not sure that my dragon agrees with you.” I smile at him as I step past him. “I’ll get the blood tested now. With how little time we have, if we’re going to do something, we need to move soon.”

  He nods, his eyes downcast. “Thank you, my prince. We’ll be ready as soon as you need us.” The things a royal dragon does even to guys who are older than me. Silly guy, trying to defy my dragon’s declaration of his ‘hoard’. He has no idea what it really means to me, or my dragon.

  I turn around, going over to Litha and Kit. As I take them in my arms, I know something else, no matter the future, we won’t be broken up. We will all stay together and fight until the end, together.

  Whatever end that will be.

  * * *

  Litha’s mum looks at the bottles in front of us, her eyes dark as she nods. “This is the best we can do. If this doesn’t work... Then I don’t know what will. It should be enough for dozens, if not more people.” She stacks the bottles into a strong bag, which she places next to the door.

  We’re sitting in one of the upstairs rooms, Litha’s mum, Topaz, his grandmother, Finn and me. We’ve tested the blood Topaz gave us, and as I’d hoped, Litha’s mum’s blood works to reverse the elixir too. It’s not as potent as Litha’s blood, but we can’t have Litha weakened right now, not by any amount of loss of blood, so her mother offered her blood instead. We’ve mixed the blood in with a couple of herbs that should make the transition easier. For anyone who gets a sip from the bottles, it will be the same as when the witch queen’s daughter had a taste of her blood, they’ve never shifted before, never properly anyway, so this will be a big shock to their system. Mixing in some of the herbs will hopefully calm them down and let them shift for the first time with at least some ease, or just not as much of a shock.

  “How are you going to get it to them?” Litha’s mum looks at Topaz and then at Finn. “It’ll be dangerous to go to those towns and just hand this stuff out. They’ll notice you and they’ll try to stop you, no doubt about that. This is illegal, at least, over there.”

  Finn nods, taking a slow breath. “It will be dangerous. Which is why we’re going with Topaz and the others.” He keeps my eyes and I nod.

  “We’re going with them. Make sure this goes to the people who need it the most. We’re going to hit some of the small towns close to the border first. Towns which should have very little protection right now with the army all focused on the campus, and when we’re sure it works and people can start protecting themselves, we’ll come back.”

  Litha’s mum’s eyes go even darker. “Does Litha know about this plan yet? You putting yourself in danger like that? Have you told her?”

  I slowly shake my head. I’ve not told Litha yet, because she won’t like it. But Finn and I are the best people to help here. I’m still not fully recovered from the wound in my leg and, through Topaz’ connections, we found a couple of rebel fae who can take Finn’s task of electrocuting the powder to make the venom react until he’s back. I know this is the only thing we can do, even if I hate it. I’ve also not told Kit yet, who may get even more upset than Litha will be... He will be more upset, no question about it, and that’s why I don’t want to tell him, because I know it’ll hurt him so much. I don’t want to hurt them, but I’m more useful with Finn and Topaz handing out this mixture than I’ll be when I just wait around here.

  “Rune?” Finn pulls me from my thoughts, and as I look up at him, he looks worried.

  “I’ve not told them yet. I’ll do it soon.” I take a breath. “We’re leaving before the night falls. Topaz has gotten us some transport as soon as we reach the border, and we need the cover of night to get as far as we can before we’re seen...” Even though my dragon is on board with the plan, even he can’t help but dread talking to Litha and Kit. The plan is right, it will work, but it’s still dangerous.

  Finn continues our plan, not missing a beat when I falter. “We’ll get to the first towns at dawn. We’ll try to spread the stuff around as fast as we can. We’ve got... We’ve got some help to...” He stumbles on the words but then nods decisively, raising his head. “We’ve got help from some fae and dragon rebels to take out the soldiers stationed in the town, and we’ll try to move as quickly as possible. Keeping the risk as low as possible.” His voice intensifies. “We’re hoping to hit at least three or four towns before noon tomorrow.”

  Topaz sits up. “We’ll be trying to redirect any travelling doors to the old army base north from here, so that any dragons who’re able to shift again can go there and, for now, stay safe. From there, we’re hoping to be able to redirect those doors to either the campus or somewhere nearby so that people can get to the campus easily.”

  Litha’s mother nods. “Sounds like you’ve got a plan.”

  Yeah, we’ve got a plan, but so much can still go wrong that I’m too nervous to even dare to think more than a handful of hours ahead, let alone tomorrow morning. How we’ll probably fail, or how everything will go horrendously wrong in some other way.

  Chapter 11 - Litha

  I stare at Rune and Finn. They’re all dressed up in dark clothes, with weapons at their side, and they look so sure about what they just told me, how they’re going to put their lives in danger by going into the fae kingdom all by themselves.

  “You can’t.” My voice wobbles and I feel silly for getting so upset when they’re going to help people. To help the people I want to help so badly, but I don’t want them from my side. I don’t want them to do something so dangerous.

  Finn steps closer, taking me in his arms and I hide my face against his chest, only remembering his wound when his arms tense around me for a moment.

  “You can’t leave,” I mumble into his shirt, my tears seeping into his shirt. “You’re both still hurt. Send someone who hasn’t been stabbed. Send someone who isn’t still healing.”

  He softly caresses my hair, his heartbeat strong, steady. I can feel his lips against my hair as he speaks. “We have to be the ones to do this. There aren’t people out there who know more about this elixir, about how to treat it, and about the lands there than the two of us. We’ll be back as soon as possible, I promise.”

  I shake my head, even when I know that they’ll be walking off into the sunset together with Aideen’s brother soon. I love them. This is part of why I love them, their willingness to do anything to protect those who need their help. Even if it hurts. Even if it hurts to let them go.

  Rune’s fingers trail over my back and I turn to him, pulling him close too, tightening my hand in his shirt. “I love you.” He leans closer, his breath on my neck warm. “We’ll be back before you even notice we’ve been gone. You’ve got a lot to do yourself, you’ll be really busy. Lots to do and lots to plan. We’ll be right here with you again. We won’t be long.”r />
  “I love you so much.” I can’t lose them. My heart breaks just thinking about potentially losing them.

  “I love you too.” Rune tips my head up and gives me a slow kiss which makes my head spin. Invading all my senses, leaving nothing behind but how he makes me feel, how he tastes, how he loves me.

  “And so do I.” Finn grins, but I can see the pain in his eyes, before he closes them and kisses me too. His kiss hard, heavy, desperate.

  I try to feel everything, try to imprint everything in my mind so I’ll never forget them, so I’ll forever remember them. So I’ll never forget this moment, in case I do lose them... In case they...

  “Shhh. Shhh.” Phoenix’ arms around me are warm as Rune and Finn slowly step away, their hands on me lingering, but then they’re really gone.

  I hide in Phoenix’ hair, not able to watch them walk off, even as I can hear their footsteps move away from me, into the dark forest, twigs snapping under their boots, leaves rustling as they move through them. When I can no longer hear them I twist around, right in time to see their shadows disappear between the trees.

  No. No.

  A keening sound escapes me and I feel so useless, so scared. No. I can’t lose them. I slide to the ground, my legs having lost all strength, and the next moment the air fills with the sound of large wings, before a warm and strong body covers mine and we’re caught in our own little safe haven under his wings.

  Kit’s sobs wrack our bodies and I cling to him, not able to let him go, not him too. Kit and Rune had a huge argument right before he left and Kit wasn’t even here to say goodbye to Rune. But he can’t have been far away, if he’s here now. He must have been right on the roof or something, watching us, watching Rune leave, his heart breaking as badly as mine.

  Another round of sobs rattles through me and I push as close to Kit as possible. I’m scared. I’m so scared.