Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“While we’re waiting for Winter to finish checking over your manor, we can share what we’ve learned about the fae recently,” Aiden said. “They have been doing more small attacks in suburbs surrounding Hartford, and there has been an increase in elves hunting in the forests.”
“But this time, their focus isn’t solely on humans. They’ve been targeting shifters and witches,” Ronan continued.
Moon shot to his feet. “No!”
Junjie’s hands squeezed into tight fists as he thought of Moon’s friends and coven brothers Sky, Redstone, and Maddox. The earth witches, Redstone and Maddox, had been fearful of the fae’s arrival, while the necromancer, Sky, had thought he would slip under the fae’s notice thanks to his unique brand of magic.
Chen put his hand into Moon’s, and the young vampire dragged it up to his chest. “Why don’t you call them right now?” Chen suggested. “If they need to move to the manor, we can make room for them.”
His mate had barely finished speaking when Moon was out of the room, his cell phone pressed to his ear.
But what about Leo?
The cat shifter had made it clear that he could take care of himself—reveled in his independence and self-reliance, even. Yet, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use someone watching his back and offering him a haven. A place where he didn’t have to worry about the fae finding him.
Unfortunately, Junjie didn’t know how to contact him. The cat was too independent, providing him with no way of reaching him if there was a problem.
“Do we know if they’re preparing to do another ritual spell to expand the reach of the forest?” Rei asked.
“It looks like it,” Aiden said with a single nod. “We believe their goal is to wipe out human cities to the west this time.”
The elf scrubbed a hand across his face. “Which would, of course, increase the power of the fae. Fewer humans. More nature. But it would also require more magical energy from the fae realm to maintain. If Trin pursues this course, he’ll be killing our people and the humans. No one wins.”
“The problem we’ve been having is that there are signs the fae have been more active during the day than at night,” Ronan explained.
Xiao Dan reached for his teacup but didn’t take a drink from it, as if he’d gotten lost in thought. “To hide it from us, since we can’t easily monitor them with the sun up.”
“We have access to some shifters, but…” Aiden’s voice drifted off to nothing and a new chill gripped Junjie by the throat.
“What?” Xiang snapped. “River? Wyatt?”
“Wyatt suffered an injury during the last tracking mission.” Ronan picked up the story when Aiden seemed unable to continue. “He’s almost recovered now.”
“But Bel is not taking it well,” Fox chimed in.
“Why would he?” Yichen demanded. “He’s already lost his house. Then he nearly loses a mate. Fuck the world. I’d go atomic.”
“That’s what we’re afraid of.” Aiden sighed, his shoulders slumped. “Bel is a scientist. Right now, his mates are keeping a close watch on him to make sure he doesn’t sneak off to make anything frightening.”
“Like the goo,” Fox added.
“Yes, I think I’ve heard about the goo,” Chen said after clearing his throat. They’d all quietly discussed the substance Bel had invented that melted people. As much as they wanted to be rid of the fae, something like the goo felt too horrible and dangerous.
“We have more daytime resources available,” Chen volunteered. He turned his gaze to Xiao Dan and smirked. “Huli enjoys spying on the fae and outsmarting them.”
“True. I will speak to him about it,” Shixiong agreed.
“I can also help,” Kai offered.
Xiang huffed and folded his arms over his chest. He wouldn’t be able to accompany his mate for the action since he would be stuck protecting his clan at home during the day.
“Not to be too nosy or anything,” Ronan drawled, scratching his jaw with one finger. “But you’re a dragon and practically a god, right?”
“Yes, that is correct,” Kai agreed with a prim bow of his head.
Junjie almost rolled his eyes. This was the same “godlike” creature who’d nearly lost his shit a few days ago when Meimei had shown him the social media filter that put a nonexistent chicken on his head.
“Can’t you use your magic to destroy the fae for us?” Ronan continued.
“It’s not quite so simple.” Kai seemed to deflate. He wrapped an arm around his mate’s waist as if he needed reassurance from Xiang. “I cannot differentiate between the fae other than Rei. That is only because I have spent time with Rei and gotten to know his particular magic signature. The rest are a mass of creatures with magic very different from my own. I couldn’t even pick out Trin. Killing the fae with my magic would mean killing them all, and Xiang has pointed out that it would be wrong of me to do that.”