Flames of Fury

Magnolia

None of us got much sleep last night. I wish I could say it was because Ro and Varian spent it feasting between my thighs, which admittedly they did, but that’s not what kept us all up.

Cole and Calla wouldn’t sleep anywhere except in their fathers’ arms. They crave their warmth, as do I.

I laid between my mates, and my babies laid between us, creating a cocoon of heat and love that allowed us all to get a little sleep.

Day will break soon over the mountain’s edge, bathing the grove in a delicate, pink and orange light. Calla is still asleep in Varian’s arms while Cole nurses back to sleep.

One day, years from now, when we think back on this day, this moment will be documented as the calm before the storm. A moment where we aren’t Alphas and Queens avenging our packs and colonies, a moment where we aren’t warriors bracing for war.

Right now we’re simply a family like any other.

But this moment is nearly over. Cole has fallen back asleep and Ro comes sauntering out of the shower just as I’m transferring my boy to his crib next to Calla.

“You should start getting dressed and ready to go, Princess.” He says to me softly, his tone heavy and somber. From our bond I can feel how much they want me to stay out of the fight, but they know they can’t ask that of me — not this time.

Plus Varian is not-so-secretly salivating at the thought of watching me fight again.

I slip into my closet, get dressed, and gear up. I stash a variety of knives in each of the pockets in my pants and vest. We’ll be in close quarters for the fight so I need to be prepared for anything.

The wall at the back of the closet holds all of my twin blades. I’ve made each of them with my own hands, and I’ve fought and spilled blood with each of them, too. Some are made almost entirely of wood, others a mixture of wood and steel.

Today I’ve chosen my obsidian blades. They’re solid pieces of Damascus steel curved like a bow. At the ends rest two thicker blades, like meat cleavers tacked on to the end of a spear. Rather than a steel blade, the lethal edge is made of obsidian stone.

Naturally forged from lava spewed from the depths of hell, obsidian stone is highly resistant to heat — even my heat.

The blades are light and agile, sharp and strong — they’re fucking works of art. And I’m going to paint those walls red with them tonight.

“Goddess, you are a sight.” Varian groans, shamelessly drinking me in as I walk out of the closet adjusting the strap that holds my blades to my back.

“When this is over, Love, we’re going straight to the woods where we first found you and I’m fucking you right there in the wild like my wolf begged me to the day we met.” Varian promises me before engulfing my mouth with his, lapping hungrily at my tongue, feasting on my lips.

“Goddess you guys are weird.” Kat barges into the room, not bothering to knock, with my brother a few steps behind her.

Varian is not deterred by her arrival or her comments. If anything he nips at me even more forcefully than before, I can taste the blood that drips from my lip where his canines nicked me.

When he pulls away I chase his lips, like a desperate, hormonal fledgling.

“Good morning, Kat.” Ro greets our siblings, giving me time to regain my composure. “Ready, Princess?” Ro purrs at me appreciatively, his eyes rapidly oscillating between woodland green and the black of night.

I slip my gaiter on, leaving it loose around my neck, and scoop up Cole and Calla from their cribs. “Yes, Alpha.” I bite my lip to suppress my grin. I know they go crazy when I call them that, and dressed like this — similar to when we first met — it’ll all but kill them that they can’t devour me yet.

Lucy and the rest of the kitchen staff have set up breakfast for us in the war room. They’ve managed to feed not only Grove and Shadowmoon warriors, but those that teleported in from Rose Wood and Pine Grove as well. Together we have close to eight hundred warriors ready to fight with us, for us, to avenge my family and make our people safe again.

Every guard and warrior is busy strategizing, circling points on the map and wildly gesturing with their hands to our allies across the table.

A hush settles across the room like a wave as I enter the room. The kings and their respective head guards all approach me and shake hands in greeting.

“Thank you for being here today, gentlemen. It means a great deal to not only our colony, but to me personally.” My expression is warm but all business.

“Anything for the next queen of Twilight Grove.” Mark, the king from Rose Wood, says sincerely as we shake hands, earning him warning glares from my overly-Alpha mates.

“Let’s head outside and group up. I want to head out before daybreak.”

“Yes Ma’am,” they all bow at me from the neck and call their warriors and guards to file out after us.

I find my parents, uncle, and Ro’s and Varian’s parents waiting for us in the foyer before the main entrance to the palace.

My father and uncle are all charm as they shake hands and smile at old friends from our allied colonies who have answered my call for aid.

My mother, meanwhile, is as stoic as can be. A pillar of calm, stability, and strength, seeing our armies off to battle. The only thing that cracks her iron composure is seeing Cole and Calla and snuggling them when I hand them over to her and Accalia.

I kiss each of my babies goodbye before their grandmothers head for the safe house. It’s probably the first time Ro, Varian, and I immediately agreed on something. With nearly every guard coming with us to Drow Hollow today, there will be few people left behind to watch over my mother and children. I was the one who suggested they shelter at the safe house, Ro and Varian agreed and insisted that his mother join them there as well.

Kat says goodbye to her dad, but Ro stops her before she can follow Incandis out the front door.

“Kat, go with mom and Ianthe to the safe house. We need you to stay with them and the twins while we’re gone.”

“What? No! If mom and Ianthe are watching them then why do I need to stay behind too?” Kat does her best not to sound shrill.

Ro’s eyes flick to my brother’s for half a heartbeat before returning to Kat. I don’t think she caught the movement but I did. This isn’t coming from the guys, this is coming from Incandis — he doesn’t want her in the fight.

“Because it would be a relief to know you were here watching over our children.”

Kat scoffs, “that’s a load of bullshit.”

“You really want the truth, Kat?” Ro doesn’t look at Incandis again, but I see my brother tense up behind Kat worried that Ro will out him as the reason for her staying behind.

“You don’t have nearly the level of training required, you’re not fireproof, and—”

“Neither are the rest of the Shadowmoon warriors,” Kat interrupts him but he continues on without acknowledging what she said.

“—ultimately I am your brother and your Alpha. You’re staying here.” Ro’s voice deepens with every word and he practically barks out the last sentence.

She brings up a good point about the fireproof part, but what Kat doesn’t know is every wolf has been outfitted with grove gear. Not only will our fabric tolerate their shifts from humans to wolves and back again, but the material is threaded with our dragon scales and will protect them from most flames.

Kat is livid and normally I wouldn’t interfere but we don’t have time to argue. “Kat, I need you here. Ianthe and Accalia might need to leave to deal with something and I’ll need someone reliable to be there for Cole and Calla. Can I count on you?”

Kat purses her lips. She knows that she can’t disobey her brother’s Alpha command but now I’ve given her the illusion of it being her choice to help me.

She nods her head, begrudgingly accepting my request, and heads outside with Incandis.

Runidar is one of the last to file past us and out into the courtyard. The only people behind him are Xander and Ember.

“We’ll be waiting for you outside, Princess,” Ro kisses my head and walks out the palace doors with Varian and Runidar.

I wait to see their frames disappear down the steps before looking at my two best friends. “Hey,” I give Ember a nervous smile.

She grabs my hands in hers, giving them a light squeeze of encouragement, “you sure you don’t want to change your mind?” She asks me.

I shake my head “no,” she and I have already discussed this ad nauseam. “No, I can’t bear to send you back there, even if it is by my side.”

She nods somberly with understanding, I think secretly she’s relieved but I’d never ask her to admit that. She throws her arms around me and crushes me to her, “no theatrics, you hear me? Get in, kill him, and get out.”

I return her embrace and try to lighten the mood. “Me? Theatrical?”

She pushes us apart only far enough so she can look at me skeptically through an arched brow before we both give in to soft laughter.

“Keep her safe, Xander. You both better come back alive or I’ll kill you myself.” She hugs me tightly once more before turning away from us and walking quickly out of the room without a second glance back.

“She’s awfully fiery for a healer,” Xander muses.

“You’re realizing this now?” I tease him and lead us out to meet our army.

There was a time early in our friendship when I thought Ember’s fire had died out in the depths of the Hollow. But like her name suggests, there were enough embers of her true self still burning hot deep within her. They just needed to breathe in fresh oxygen to reignite.

I stand on the top steps in front of the palace overlooking the men and women before me who have volunteered their abilities, skills, and lives to be here with us. They have sectioned off into four groups, each one a mixture of all four colonies containing earth elementals, teleporters, and shadow walkers.

“Rose Wood, Pine Grove, Shadowmoon, and my own Twilight Grove, thank you for being here today to fight on the behalf of our people. Our task is simple: eradicate Illian and his followers from existence and free those who have been oppressed under his tyranny and have sought to resist and rebel against him. Our enemies are cunning and ruthless, but they serve only themselves. They have no loyalty but to power and no motivation outside of rank and status. They are no match for us. Kill our enemies, free the innocent, and should you find Illian before I do…bring him to me. This ends today.”

The crowd erupts in a thundering cheer just as first light begins to spill down the mountain side.

Varian and Ro each kiss me like it’s the last time, neither of them caring that hundreds of eyes are bearing witness to their declaration of love and ignoring the cat calls and heckling from their pack mates.

“Be safe down there, Love. That’s an order.” Varian commands me. Then he and Ro head to the East and West groups while Incandis and I split north and south.

“Let’s scorch some earth. Teleporters, on you!” I shout out to each quadrant.

First orgasm goes to the one with the highest kill count. I link to Ro and Varian, shooting each of them a Cheshire Cat grin before Xander and the others teleport my group to our designated location.

This will be fun.