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I dragged in a breath. “I think I need to go alone. Just me and the monarch. And if she brings reinforcements, fine. She has to see that I trust her. She needs to know how much I want this towork.”
West bristled, as I’d known he would. “No. Sparks, it’s too dangerous. She tried to have youkilledthe lasttime.”
“Not her,” I reminded him. “Some other fae, who acted without her knowing. Not discouraging something like that is different from giving an order. And she swore not to let anything like that happenagain.”
“I trust your judgment, Ren,” Nate said. “But I don’t like the sounds of this either. We could come along to the meeting place, but hang back from the actual spot, farther down thepath.”
I shook my head. “That’ll look like an empty gesture. Aaron, I need one of your kin to drive me out there, and I’ll make the rest of the trip alone. I’ll fly, in my dragon form, from the road—they won’t find it easy to lay any traps that way. If this attempt is going to work, I can tell this is how I need to doit.”
Even Marco was frowning. West’s face had completely clouded. It itched at me, seeing how worried they were. Feeling it in niggling threads through our mate bond. But my certainty rangdeeper.
“I’ve come a long way since that first meeting,” I added. “I can handle this. You allknowIcan.”
West let out a sharp huff. “You have. And we do. Just…” He met my gaze searchingly, with so much concern and affection in his eyes it made my heart ache. “Be careful of the fae. And come back as quickly as youcan.”
If even West agreed, there wasn’t much the other alphas could say. My hand clenched around the straps of the bag that held the tablets. “I will. I promise. Now where’s thatcar?”
Chapter 18
Aaron
I restedmy hands on the sun-warmed railing of the balcony and looked down over the courtyard. It was as crowded with my kin as it had been when I’d arrived with Serenity at my side just a couple of weeks ago. But now the energy around the estate was fraught, notcelebratory.
Everyone knew the vampires would be back for another battle tonight. More firewood had been heaped on top of the ashes of last night’s protective ring. My guards were stalking warily along the walls and wheeling overhead, keeping watch even well before the sunset.
We hadn’t told anyone about the armored trucks yet. I didn’t want to start a panic until I found out the results of Serenity’s last-ditchplan.
Footsteps tapped against the floor behind me. My sister came up to the railing, leaning her elbows on it as she considered thecrowd.
“We held our own the last two nights. They haven’t wonyet.”
“No,” I said. “But it’s been a near thing. If they manage to gain one moreadvantage…”
Alice’s mouth flattened. “Everyone who’s able bodied is ready to defend the walls. The scouts along all the roads will alert us as soon as the bloodsuckers show their faces. We’ve got extra tanks of gasoline; everyone’s carrying a lighter…” She paused. “But yeah. I don’t know how long we can keep doing this. Especially if the vamps up theante.”
“Well, all we can hope for then is that we manage to up the ante right back atthem.”
“Yeah.” She glanced in the direction Serenity had gone. “Do you really think the fae might agree to helpus?”
A question I’d asked myself so many times in the last day. “I think Serenity will do everything she can to convince them. Maybe it’ll be easier for her to see a way to mend the damage that’s been done between us… She has information none of us had before, other than the past dragon shifters—and she’s looking at the problem with fresh eyes, without decades of prejudices already builtup.”
“There are prejudices and then there’s just sound judgment,” Alice said. “I guess the more important question is, do you really think we cantrustthe fae if they do offer to lend ahand?”
That was a subject I’d been puzzling over too. I rubbed my mouth. “I don’t know. Serenity has proven herself to be a good judge of character sofar.”
“But she’s stilllearning.”
“Yes. Sheis.”
I didn’t need to say more. I knew my sister could decipher the tangle of my emotions. Serenity was on her way out there right now to face the fae monarch, the strongest of those flighty but powerful beings, on her own. Our dragon shifter was so powerful, and becoming more so every day, but if the monarch found a way to break the treaty she’d sworn to… I didn’t know if I’d ever see my mateagain.
“Should we prepare forthem?” Alice said cautiously. “The fae, Imean.”
“Howso?”
“Comehere.”
I followed her down through the house and into the dim garage out back. A truck had come in with several tanks of gasoline. A thick chemical odor rose off them. Alice tipped her head to it, folding her arms over herchest.
