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“Then open two,” Nova’s voice had Leaf turning.
She arrived with the other Well-blessed women. He was happy to see they all wore protective gear, even Clarke.
“If you think you can take it,” he said to his mate.
“I can take whatever you throw at me.” She smirked.
“Then we’ll portal to Helianthus. Jasper’s on standby. I’ll open the portals. Everyone else, find your stations. Wait for orders.”
They scattered. The last to leave was Cloud. He looked far too bitter for Leaf’s liking. Almost like he’d hoped Clarke had lied about her vision, and the battle was still at Cornucopia.
Leaf took Nova’s hand and asked, “You ready?”
She nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Even though she hadn’t caught the fever disease again, and she’d had her gift used repeatedly over the past three days, he still worried he would drain her. All Well-blessed women had reported physical consequences when their mates borrowed too much, too fast. But the time for doubt was over. Their lives depended on getting Jasper and Aeron’s army here.
The smell of ozone blasted into the air as he conjured the first portal. It targeted true and opened on the beachside sandy shore, just outside the Helianthus citadel’s glimmering outer walls.
“We’ll cross,” he told Haze, who’d returned and directed the evacuees into a line. “I’ll hold the portal open from there and deliver the message to Jasper’s guards. When I signal, get started sending people through. In about five minutes, I’ll create a second portal right there—” He pointed to the area beside the current portal. “Ensure no one stands there, or they’ll end up dead.”
Shouts from guards through the portal revealed Leaf had been noticed. Keeping hold of Nova’s hand, he armed himself with a shielding spell in case they attacked first and asked questions later. They stepped through, and the guards lowered their bows and arrows.
The smell of seaweed, brine, and bird shit assaulted his nose. The ocean crashed somewhere behind them.
“D’arn Leaf.” One of the guards pushed forward. “What’s the news?”
“Tell your High King that Maebh is at the Order as predicted. He must rally his troops and join us immediately.”
The guard nodded, then sent another off to find the king. Leaf stepped to the side and opened a second portal with ease. Then he shouted through the first, “All clear, Haze.”
The first civilians walked through the portal, and the Helianthus guards directed them to the beach, far from where the soldiers would arrive. Everything went smoothly until two riders on horseback approached at a breakneck speed. Evacuees leaving the Order stopped. It caused the flow to bottleneck. Haze’s loud shout on the other side caused the problematic evacuees to return and wait.
As the first rider drew close, Leaf recognized Jasper’s black-tipped brown hair whipping around his face. His glass crown was absent, but he wore intricately embossed leather armor fit for a king. Aeron galloped behind him on a mare, his long brown hair in a single braid. His armor looked like carved wood—maybe it was. As the Spring Court King, Aeron had access to the best wood weavers in Elphyne. Both kings wore a steel sword between their shoulder blades, still taking full advantage of their Guardian gifts.
Jasper reined in his stallion and pulled to a stop before Leaf. He glanced at Nova, frowned in confusion, then back at Leaf. “So it’s true?”
Leaf’s brow arched in question. “That Maebh is attacking the Order? Yes. The second portal is for your armies, per the missive we sent.”
Aeron hand-signed to Jasper with sharp movements, his face growing impatient.
Just as irritated, Jasper hand-signed something back. “Yes, I’m getting to it.”
It seemed the two kings had spent time learning the old-world gesture language Aeron needed to communicate without his sense of hearing.
“Getting to what?” Leaf snapped.
Jasper’s expression turned grim. “You may recall a stone sarcophagus in the Summer Court palace gardens left from Mithras’s reign. We never checked inside until recently.”
Leaf’s gaze narrowed. Agitated voices from the other side of the evacuee portal drew his attention.
“Hold that thought,” he said, then shouted for Haze to send people through again. He was beginning to feel his mana stores drop from the expenditure. It wasn’t much, but he was aware of movement. He returned to Jasper, who had an indignant look on his face. Clearly, thekingwas unhappy about Leaf’s interruption. He’d have to wait a little longer because Leaf hadn’t introduced Nova yet.
“This is my mate,” he said, holding up the hand linked with hers. “Nova Morales, this is Jasper, and that’s Aeron.”
Nerves flittered through their bond, but she smiled graciously at the two kings. Jasper sniffed in her direction. His fur-tipped pointed ears lowered briefly before perking up. Contrition washed over his expression, and he inclined his head to Nova.
“I should have realized who you were. Congratulations on your blessed mating.” He screwed his nose at Leaf. “I think.”
