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I was looking forward to it.
Scrying opened up aone-way mirror. If I wanted to talk to my best friend after, I’d have to risk making a portal and either going to the realm of the living and painting a target on my back or dragging my best friend to Hell for a second time. My gut twisted, remembering the way she’d described how she’d felt here, where her wolf was locked away. Maybe I’d be able to hold a portal open long enough for us to communicate. But the first thing was to see that she was okay after thebattle.
I was in the courtyard under the shade of the once-petrified tree. I sat cross-legged, nestled in its roots. A bucket of water was in front of me. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was easy to transport.
My magic reached out into the universe, searching for Daphne. I willed the pool to show me she was safe. I told myself I’d know if something happened to her. She was strong. The water shifted under my power, rippling as it turned from water into a window.
My stomach dropped as the scene unfolded in front of me.
Daphne was sprawled over a couch, her palm bloody against her stomach. I wanted to lunge through the water and get to her, to make a portal and heal her, but that would only risk alerting the Moon Bitch of where to strike.
I was prepared to do it, though. The only thing that stopped me was the way the water shifted, zooming out so I could see those by her side. The pack elder who had healed me, the Alpha’s mother, was by her side, grinding a combination of healing herbs in a mortar.
The second figure was more surprising. Xander stood over his grandmother’s shoulder, his back stiff. Curious, I waved a hand over the bucket, shifting the angle of the image so I could see his face. His green eyes were narrowed with concern. A fresh scar covered his face, running from his upper left brow across his nose to his cheek.
The male who had given him that was almost certainly dead.
“How long until she wakes up?” Xander demanded. Though they couldn’t hear me, I could hear them as easily as if they were in the room with me.
“She’ll be fine once she rests,” the elder replied. “Which she’d probably do more easily if you stopped hovering. She’s young and strong.”
My heart unclenched as I forced myself to exhale in relief. Shifters were extremely durable—present company excluded, at least when I’d been alive. If the elder said she’d be okay, I trusted her.
“Now, go tend to our pack. Our people need you, Xander.”
A haunted look crossed his eyes. Alpha Heir no more, I realized sadly. Shifters could recover from a lot, but not having their hearts ripped out.
I broke the mystical connection, not wanting to pry on Wind-Blood affairs. I’d check in again soon, once Daphne had time to recover and we had more of a concrete plan. At least the Wind-Bloods had survived the attack. It was foolish to attack wolves in the heart of their territory. Yes, you could take them by surprise. But they would fight harder, to the last breath, to defend what was theirs.
What a stupid loss of life.
I wished I could have believed that would be the last of it. But we were on the brink of war, and a lot more blood would be shed before we could have any semblance of peace.
Chapter XV
The week passed witha flurry of activity. Daphne recovered in a matter of days, which I knew because I scried on her every few hours, if only to reassure myself there wasn’t another attack. Once she was up and about, I reached out to her and Xander. I caught them up on what had happened, and they filled me in on the battle. It was as devastating as I’d feared. Worse, there had been no clear reason. Moon-Ghost had simply wreaked havoc and then retreated.
Jett had led them. He was still alive.
Stefan continued to ready the forces of Hell. I’d come to learn Hell was more than just an empty plain and a single city. In the main realm, there were hundreds of towns and settlements, the largest of which had troops stationed. Stefan had a point; there was no sense spreading ourselves thin. Any attack would target me and Cole, so they should be close to us. Makeshift barracks were established outside the gates. I helped raise base structures with my magic, while soldiers refined them so they were habitable.
There was so much to do, I barely realized the day had finally come.
Cole had convinced me to marry him.
It hadn’t been hard, really. All I’d ever wanted was a person of my own. One who I could count on. One I would die for. And in Cole, I had found thatand so much more.
That said, I had definitely enjoyed making him work for it. He hadn’t minded the task, bringing me to the edge over and over until finally, I agreed to be his wife.
The coronation and wedding would be one joint ceremony. There were two reasons for this—one, it was easier to secure. Two, it minimized the amount of time it took up. Cole had offered to put all that aside and have two if I wanted, but I didn’t care about appearances. I just wanted him.
The male I would fight armies for. Go to Tartarus for.
Button a thousand impossibly small buttons for.
The latter one was proving a challenge. I’d gotten into the habit of wearing my own green creations and quite enjoyed the freedom that offered me. I’d tossed the idea out of doing something like that for the wedding. Hecate had firmly discarded the idea. She gave me a speech about how the ceremony was a show of power, and our looks should reflect our station, and when I’d pointed out that being able to make my own clothes with magic was a statement of power, she finally admitted they did nothing for my figure and she refused to let me ascend to the throne that way.
The enchantress just liked a good fashion statement. She never looked anything less than perfect, and she wanted no less for me for the coronation.
