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“Don’t worry, they fit together perfectly,” Avi said, knowing where my head had gone.
“Come on, I need fresh air,” Kane grumbled. Stuck in our own bubble, I hadn’t even realized how loud it had gotten until he mentioned it. As I refocused on the room, it became even louder, filling up with the college kids.
“Gods, yes,” I said, gathering trays and trash to carry up. Of course, my alphas weren’t having that. Niko and Kane grabbed the trays before I could, walking them up to the return line. We rushed back to our respective rooms to gear up before meeting in the lobby. West was busy, so I threw him a wave before stepping outside. The parking lot was just as busy, the other half of the crowd working to load up the two buses they had parked right up front. We skirted around them and down the drive. Thankfully, it was an uncharacteristically warm day. My heavy coat seemed unnecessary, but poor Avi was still shivering in his.
“You want my coat, Avi? I’m ready to peel it off. It’s warm today,” I said. He narrowed his eyes, assessing if I was being serious or not, then shook his head.
“I’m questioning your sanity, but I don’t want to look like a baby,” he admitted. “Have to toughen up against this cold since it seems we’re stuck here.”
“Can we grab coffee first?” Kane asked even though we’d just finished cups with breakfast.
“My prince charming,” I simpered, hooking my arm through his and steering us toward Connie’s. “You had me at coffee.”
He beamed. “Glad someone here has taste.” That comment came with a side eye at the others, though all they did was shake their heads.
“My heart would beat out of my chest in protest,” Niko laughed.
“She has tea, too,” I reassured him. “It’s a basic shop. We don’t have a tea or herbal shop here, but it’s passable.”
“We may need to put in an online order,” Niko said, then he made a funny face like something about the words had tasted odd. “We need to figure out cards and stuff. We can’t go without forever.”
That caught my attention, but he didn’t elaborate any more for me. I’d be patient though; they’d shown me the same respect.
The moment I pushed Connie’s door open, I froze. My fingers instinctively went to my amulet under my shirt, and I shot a panicked look at Levi. He had gone pale, his copper hair starkly standing out against the whiteness of his face now. His eyes met mine, both of us shaken to our core.
“Good morning, gang, is this the rest of your group I’ve been hearing about?!” Connie yelled, oblivious to the panic that had settled in my soul.
“It is,” I said in a strained tone. Kane, Avi, and Niko froze, scenting the air before giving her a smile and pulling us back outside. Levi and I didn’t protest, only letting out a surprised noise before regaining our footing.
“What’s wrong? That was some intense panic in there,” Niko questioned. “Levi? Farren.”
“A dragon has been there,” I finally choked out, barely audible so we weren’t overheard. The smell of dragon fire was unmistakable. “But if they aren’t masking, how are they alive?”
“Is that the weird magic I scented? I saw a fae and had assumed it was them,” Avi noted. They all reached out for both of us, offering comfort to calm our racing hearts and minds.
“It’s out here too,” Levi said as he put his nose in the air and breathed in deep. Following his lead, I did the same. It was definitely stronger, and there was unmistakably more than one of them. The intertwining scents differed slightly. Of course, there was the underlying scent of embers and magic, that spicy powerful undertone, but that wasn’t all. A sweet scent like berries was mixed with mint of some kind, and an almost spicy scent. They didn’t go together, meaning this was a group.
“There’s more than one. But how? Why?” I asked. “Do you think us finding each other caused it? Some kind of call to action?” Even as I said it, it sounded crazy. Kane dragged us further down the road until we were standing in the tiny park that was sandwiched between the library and city hall.
“Call to action?” he demanded. “I don’t know much about you guys, so what the fuck does that mean?”
“It wouldn’t matter anyway,” Levi pointed out without answering Kane. “Only a royal could do that, and isn’t it purposeful?”
“Iamroyal,” I clarified. It wasn’t something I thought about anymore, so it hadn’t crossed my mind to share that particular detail when we’d exchanged secrets. His eyes widened even more, and he immediately dropped to one knee, a fist over his heart. “Oh gods, no. Get up. I’m not a royal anymore! I have no people to lead.”
“It seems your people are arriving,” Niko said gently. Those words hit me like a punch to the chest, my breath stalling as it sunk in.
“What stronghold were you from?” Levi asked as I unceremoniously dragged him to his feet, giving him my best attempt at a glare even though my brain was broken.
“Haizea,” I admitted, knowing this was about to get even crazier. His knees buckled again, but Kane growled and grabbed his coat, forcing him to stay upright.
“I feel like I’m being left out of a conversation, and it’s pissing me off,” he growled.
“And this is quickly becoming a conversation we shouldn’t be having outside,” I added in defeat.
“We should head to Kylan’s. I know you both live in secret, but we need them if dragons are coming,” Niko added. His tone was so serious that I didn’t immediately shut him down. But he was asking a lot, a whole fucking lot. “Their alliance could save our lives. Avi and West are strong runeworkers, but adding Kylan to the mix will make their runes and wards unstoppable.”
“Cadmus agrees,” Levi said.
