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“The time is near,” Rafe says. “The leaders I’ve spoken to are ready at my notice. War is imminent.”
“If we’re all going to fight, there will be no one here to protect Devyn,” Azarius points out, making my heart crash against the floor beneath me.
So they’re talking about me. Am I often the topic of conversation during these business meetings? Or is this a rare occurrence? I have so many questions, but Azarius presses on and cuts off the voice in my head.
“Without the extra protection wards, she won’t be safe here.”
It’s nice to know that even when I’m not around, he’s worried about protecting me, but my stomach sours at his admission. If they can’t be here with me and I won’t be safe here alone, what does that mean for me? Where will I go?
Rafe replies after a brief pause. “What do you suggest, Azarius?”
The silence that follows is agonizing, and I almost wonder if they can hear the frantic beat of my heart against the floor the way I can. It’s so loud, deafening, and I almost don’t hear his answer because of it.
“We should send her home.”
My eyes fly open wide and my jaw drops. What? He can’t be fucking serious. Azarius wants to send me home. Back to Earth? I can’t even begin to list everything wrong with that suggestion before Elio comes to my defense.
“Absolutely not,” he snaps, making me breathe a slight sigh of relief. “She’ll be in danger and we won’t be able to protect her. At least if she’s here, she won’t be completely alone.”
But Azarius is ready with a rebuttal.
“Protect her?” he counters. “We can’t protect herhere. She was almost kidnapped last time and there were only a handful. What happens when the entire realm is fighting? It might not just be the Malevs that come for her.”
I clench my jaw against the ache forming in my chest, but it doesn’t do any good. I loathe the truth in his words. I know he’s right, but I don’t care. I don’t want to go home.
Leaving my mates isn’t an option, even if it means I’ll be safe. What if they don’t make it to come back for me? What if monsters in the human world find me and there’s no one to protect me? The thought turns my stomach and I want to scream.
Rafe has to agree with Elio. He never wanted to send me home in the first place because I knew too much–I’d seen too much of the monster realm and it was a risk to send me back. Surely he’ll want me to stay too.
“Azarius is right,” Rafe says, crushing my last bit of hope. “She’s a liability. Keeping her here will only put her in danger.”
A long moment of silence hangs in the air, and I imagine the look on Elio’s face. Hopefully he’s as angry and disappointed as I am, even though he doesn’t argue. Rafe’s word is law here, and even if Elio disagrees, there’s nothing he can say or do.
If Rafe decides to send me home, that’s what will happen. As much as I’d love to storm down to the dining room and give them a piece of my mind–remind them that they don’t own me like a trophy and I can do whatever the hell I please–I’m frozen. Too stunned to think or react. I can only lay there and continue to listen as the conversation picks back up.
“The sooner we can get her out of the realm, the better. I’ll leave that to you two,” Rafe says before changing the subject. “Take her tomorrow and make sure you’re not followed.”
Tomorrow?I feel like I’ve been suckerpunched. Why so soon? That’s hardly enough time to say goodbye to any of my men, and there’s no telling how long they expect me to stay gone. How long will a war between monsters and Malevs last anyway? Days? Weeks? Months?
I feel sick.
“Yes, boss,” Elio and Azarius say at the same time.
“And as far as Ignatius goes, I haven’t heard anything,” Rafe continues, changing the subject. “It either happened recently or no one is talking about it, but I’ll find out what I can. I can’t make promises but…”
“Thank you,” Elio cuts him off, his voice flat.
“I want you two to scout the perimeter every few hours tonight. Make sure you weren’t followed,” Rafe demands. “And after you deliver Devyn home tomorrow, you can pay our allies a visit. Tell them to prepare.”
Uninterested in the rest of the conversation, I push myself up off the floor with arms that feel like jelly and sit on my knees, staring down at the hardwood.
They’re sending me home.
A few months ago, going home to my apartment with Cara was all I could dream about. Now, it sounds like my worst nightmare.
What am I supposed to do without my mates?
Where am I going to live?
