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1
SATURDAY EVENING
I laughed at myself for ever thinking war discussions were easy. How naïve that line of thinking was. Then again, how was I supposed to know any better?
The only war I’d ever prepared for was against Galina, and back then—a whopping six weeks ago—I had little say in matters and less knowledge than I had now. I longed for the days when I was simply Veronica Neill, barista by day and master acquirer by night.
“I cannot find it in myself to believe the queen is involved,” Adam LaRue, the archangel of Miami’s DEA branch, repeated for the umpteenth time. I lost count hours ago. Despite his words, the archangel’s bright blue eyes betrayed his doubt, and his pristine white feathers fluttered as he leaned back in his chair.
We sat in a conference room within the Death Enforcement Agency’s headquarters in downtown Miami. Adam had given us one of the largest rooms, which had become our war council operations center, similar to the one back in Haven. But instead of hand-drawn maps on rolls of parchment, the DEA used fancy, expensive pieces of technology.
Glass panels resembling transparent whiteboards extended from the ceiling and rested against the long back wall. On one, maps of Miami identified the few portals into the Otherworld as bright yellow dots, while several other panels displayed topographic details of the fae realm.
A small wet bar took up a corner, and it had been well-used today, maybe for the first time. Windows took up one wall, allowing us to monitor any disturbances in the hallway.
Today, seven of us took up space at the oval table that comfortably allowed a dozen, with plenty of room for people to stand and move about. Except everyone else was busy with other preparations or resting, something I was very jealous of at the moment.
Regardless, I did my best to pay attention over the last few hours as Adam, Pietr, and the drakony alpha Imos discussed the impending war against the fae man Colin Ó Broin. If it came down to it, maybe all the fae. We didn’t know how many were involved in Colin’s plans yet.
“Queen Fiadh has always been loyal to the DEA,” the archangel added as if he hadn’t mentioned that several times already.
The fae queen and Adam had a long history, governing their own realms for centuries, if not longer. Technically, Adam only oversaw the southeastern corner of the United States. Still, his reach was likely similar in size, considering how much larger our realm was than hers.
Because she oversaw the entire Otherworld, Queen Fiadh held a higher title than the archangel. Her word was as good as her gods’ and goddesses’. Adam wasn’t a king, and he had to obey his god’s law above all else.
Anyway, Thane, Ivan, and Lena chimed into the conversation as well, though the four of us agreed the others were the true war experts. As the hours dragged on, it didn’t matter that we all came from different backgrounds and species. War was war.
Except following the back-and-forth conversations between warriors who’d trained for this type of scenario from birth was like trying to read a book with tiny handwritten print when you’re dyslexic. And I knew how challenging that was from personal experience.
The only thing keeping me awake now was my coffee with our takeout dinner.
Did I mention my brain was turning to mush?
“Or perhaps that’s only what Fiadh wanted you to think,” Thane said beside me.
His thick black hair was tousled from running his hand through it all day, and his ocean-blue irises appeared almost black thanks to the dark circles under his eyes. He’d been going nonstop since waking up to find me missing four days ago, not that any of us had gotten much rest lately.
“Until we know the depth of the fae’s deceit,” he continued, “we can’t say one or another. We must plan for the worst.”
My mate might not have trained for war like Pietr, Imos, or even Adam, but he had plenty of experience negotiating with and studying Community members during his five years as a reaper. If he thought there was a chance, no matter how slight, that the queen sided with Colin—or commanded him to carry out these terrible acts—then I would take his word for it.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, welcoming the distraction. It was just an email advertisement for a gym, but it reminded me I needed to check on Kit. I’d texted my best friend hours ago, shortly after we arrived in the human world and after a brief trip to my penthouse for a proper shower and change of clothes.
I loved my bestie, but I had priorities.
Besides, Thane had said she was fine.
I’d used one of my backup phones since I’d long since lost my real one in Mirdrakona, but Kit had all my numbers. Staying silent for so long wasn’t like her, and considering she was likely still at her mother’s house—aka the Devil’s—her silence was even more nerve-wracking.
I typed out another message, “Girl, you can’t possibly be so busy you can’t message back. Come to the DEA ASAP before I do something crazy.”
There. That threat should do it.
After all, I had a history of crazy.
“You’re sure he’s returned to the Otherworld?” Pietr asked, drawing my attention back to the conversation.
As captain of my royal phoenix guard, Pietr was a strategic mastermind. He also had the most mesmerizing eyes. His irises swirled between all the colors of the rainbow, a unique trait he shared with his mother, Inessa.
