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Somehow, though he’d been careful, the Ancient Fae had learned of his plans in sufficient time to save the bulk of her forces. But who had told her? Who was Camberlaune’s traitor?
~ ~ ~
Regan heard Ben call out her name and she responded until she could tell he was moving through the forest in her direction. Yet the moment she saw him, she knew something was off. For one thing, she felt his battle energy revving up.
The Guardsmen greeted him and he smiled, then lifted glowing blue palms in their direction.
Regan didn’t have time to do more than utter a startled cry as he fired at both vampires, hitting each in the chest. They flew backward, one landing against a tree and the other falling into a dense thicket of shrubs.
She stared at the men, horror-stricken. Their chests were caved in, smoke curled from their bodies and the stench had her stomach boiling. The men were dead.
“Let’s go, Regan. And in case you’re wondering, you’ll be bonding with me. I’m the one Margetta has chosen for you.”
Regan had to get out of there, fast. She levitated to make her escape, but Ben was a blur as he grabbed her. He then planted his hand on her head and her mind grew strangely fluid. Not a single thought could emerge except that she felt so tired and wanted to sleep.
Ben picked her up, cradling her in his arms. That’s it, Regan. A little trick Margetta taught me. Now, let yourself go.
Just before she fell unconscious, she felt herself flying through the air.
~ ~ ~
By the time Ian heard back from his squad leaders, he had all the confirmation he needed that Margetta had received a warning of the impending attack. The camp still had fires burning, food cooking in skillets, water boiling in pots. She’d removed her army with the formidable power she had at her fingertips but she’d begun the process long before Regan had destroyed the spell.
Ian kept shaking his head. He’d been damn careful. How could she have known?
His forward Guardsmen continued to plow through tent after tent, heading toward the stone fortress. But the response was always the same. The Invictus were gone.
When he reached the wall of the fortress, the same place he’d caught Regan in his arms two nights earlier, he had a sick feeling something had happened that he couldn’t face, couldn’t believe.
At least Regan was safe on the far side of the gorge.
He reached for Stone, pathing, What are you finding?
Nothing. There’s nothing here. Half my warriors encountered no Invictus at all. The rest battled a handful of wraith-pairs. That’s it.
Ian shook his head. Meet me at the fortress entrance. I think it’s on the north side.
I’ll bring some of my men.
Ian ordere
d his Guardsmen to make a clean sweep of the adjacent forest all the way to the gorge to make certain the Invictus really were gone. He then pathed to his squad leaders, directing them and their troops to do the same, including those belonging to his Shifter Brigade.
He levitated slowly to have a look, doing a 360 spin at the same time. He visually hunted for any sign of the enemy, but he found nothing. He then flew higher into the air to get a birds-eye view of the encampment. What he saw stunned him. He did a cursory estimate and realized he was looking at over five thousand tents.
Margetta’s army was beyond anything the ruling mastyrs had ever imagined. No wonder Regan had said that the woman didn’t seem worried. But how had Margetta known to remove her army?
It appeared he’d been right after all, he had a spy in his Guard or maybe the Brigade. But his mind refused to speculate who this might be.
That sick, twisted feeling returned, something so heinous that bile crawled up his throat. Part of him knew he was witnessing a traitorous act of enormous magnitude, but another part couldn’t even look it.
He saw the tower where Regan had been imprisoned. At least he knew she was safe from Margetta. He’d left two guards with her.
He made his descent on the north lawn where he could see Stone standing in a knot of his warriors.
Stone pulled away from the group. “Ian, what the fuck happened here? It’s as though they knew we were coming and pulled out.”
“I think that’s exactly what happened.” Ian’s temples throbbed. “But I don’t know how. I was so damn careful. Were you?” Maybe Stone was at fault.
