AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Calum’s face was tense, and he knew there was no point in arguing with Fern now. Emmett turned towards the door and sniffed the air, his hands tightening into fists.
“Ten minutes, at the most.”
Calum unsheathed his broadsword, and a glimmer of magic ran across it. It transformed into a claymore in his bare hands. Emmett and the fae men’s eyes lit up at the sight, their enthusiasm turning to blood lust.
Calum turned around and took one long look at the joy that radiated out from the library behind him. He took a deep breath and magic ran through him, coming up through the earth and wrapping around his body like electricity. Finally, he turned to face Fern.
My mate.
“Fern…” he spoke, but she met him with such a fierce look that his face contorted in surprise. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“You were about to tell me that this is no place for me, that you love me, and I should go find somewhere safe to wait until this is all over.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
“It was going to be a wonderful speech,” Fern scoffed, “and you’d finish it by saying that I was the best thing that ever happened to you and was worth the wait. ‘No matter how little time we had.’” Fern air quoted the last part.
The surrounding crowd chuckled and quickly tried to hide their amusement from Calum. He gave them all a disapproving look before turning his attention back to her.
“Well?” Fern demanded. Calum sighed deeply.
“It was going to sound something like that, yes.” He smiled at her. “Do you know how to fight, Fern?” Fern turned around and looked at Emmett.
“Do you have a sgian dubh somewhere on that strapping frame of yours?” Calum let out a low growl when she complimented the other man.
Emmett pulled the small dagger out of his boot and looked at Fern expectantly. She nodded, and he tossed it to her. Fern snatched it perfectly out of the air without a scratch.
Calum let out a low whistle, “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
Fern smiled, going on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You don’t get invited to the vampire ball of New Orleans without knowing how to defend yourself.”
“You—what?” Calum made a rather undignified squawk in response.
Fern blushed. “Oops. Emmett knew. I thought you did too. We can talk about that later.” She patted him on the shoulder and moved to the side.
“Isn’t that always a massive orgy?” Mara chimed in, an intrigued smile appearing on her face.
“Okay, nope.” Calum pointed a finger at Mara, and she went quiet. “Not the time.” He took a deep breath, and the momentary brevity of the group vanished. It was a deeply unsettling scene as the party still raged on behind them while they plotted the imminent return of their greatest enemy. Emmett scented the air again and nodded, affirming that they were nearly out of time.
Calum pushed back against a generation’s worth of doubts and squared his shoulders. He had been waiting for decades for the chance to reclaim his throne—and this was what that would entail. Calum let more of his animal side take over, slipping into a role that he’d never forget how to play.
“We’ll meet him head-on,” he announced. “Mara, how are you feeling?” There was a devilish smirk in his eye, and she matched it.
“Hungry,” her voice dropped to a purr. She transformed further in front of them, her fangs elongating and claws extending. Mara’s eyes went completely black, and her hair fell to her waist. Even her clothes shifted, fading away until all she was wearing was a heavy, red cloak, her pale skin shining through the fastenings.
“Be gone and be well.” Calum nodded. Mara let out a cackling laugh that sounded more like a shriek and vanished on the winds. Only a blood-red blur could be seen slipping through the cracks between the library doors. “That will help even the odds.”
Calum turned to Fern and found her unphased. She sensed him looking at her and shrugged. “I have more questions.”
Calum couldn’t resist kissing her again. “I’ll answer all of them, my darling.” He turned towards the rest of their group and motioned towards the door. They followed Calum outside, the prince in shining, golden armor leading the way, his claymore at his side, to face off for the last time against their rivals.
* * *
Fern realized she was getting way too comfortable with surprises. It’s probably a trauma response. I should speak to someone about that. She mused to herself as she followed Calum out the doors of the library.
She tried to keep the panic off her face for Calum’s sake. These were her friends—her family now in a way—and they had been through enough. It was another cruel trick of fate that that their magic had returned, and they had only minutes to enjoy it before being catapulted back into an ancient conflict.
As the group made their way down the library steps, Fern took stock of their numbers. Calum, me, Emmett—he must count as more than one person, right?—and one…five…seven fae males. Oh, and another shifter.
