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Chapter Sixteen
Skylar
I threw the pizza crust down on my napkin. It tasted like cardboard but I knew I had to eat something. “It’s been too long.”
“It’s been three hours,” Elias said. “There were times I had to spend three hours just admiring the queen’s newest paintings or gowns. It happens.”
I stood, leaving my cozy position between Elias and David. Sitting between them wasn’t having its usual comforting effect on me. Madison had left with the promise to return soon and I couldn’t help but feel like something had gone terribly wrong.
“We should go check,” I said.
“Sure, let’s go check and get busted and blow her cover,” David said. “Sit down, Skylar. Relax.”
I walked toward the kitchen then turned and walked back. Elias and Xander watched me from the couch. David was sitting on the windowsill and Shelly was sitting on the chair in the corner, taking a pull on her vape pen. She was the only one who didn’t look like she was on edge. What exactly was she smoking?
It didn’t matter. Nothing was going to calm me right now. We were moments away from finding out if my plan was going to work. What if it failed before it even started? What if Madison was caught? What if she was already dead?
The mages were upstairs in the guest room. They needed sleep more than other kinds of supernaturals and there wasn’t a whole lot they could do right now. Their next part came later and I needed them to be on top of their game to help get my mates safely into the palace.
Everything had to go perfectly. Which meant I needed Madison to be safe and needed her to get back here very soon.
The door glowed pink and I rushed forward, eager to make sure Madison had returned unharmed. She nearly ran into me as she emerged through the ward.
I studied her for signs of injury for a moment. “You alright?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
Shelly gently pushed me aside. “Let me see.”
I moved away while Shelly lifted her hands in front of Madison’s face. The whole room was silent as we waited for Shelly to finish her assessment. It was vital that Madison still had full control of her thoughts and actions.
“She didn’t even try compelling me,” Madison said. “She either trusts that I’m still under her spell or she was willing to let me follow this plan.”
Shelly lowered her hands. “Your mind seems to be your own.”
“How did it go down?” I asked.
“I told her our story about you nearly killing me and then taking pity on me. She laughed through the whole thing. Called you weak,” Madison said with a frown.
I opened my mouth to say something but Madison cut me off. “There’s more.”
“More?” I asked.
“Here comes the bad news,” Elias growled.
“Your pack is fighting back.” Madison was looking at Xander now, her expression serious. “The queen told them she’s got you captive so they’ve been trying to break in and some have even started to go after vampires they meet in the streets. That war we were worried about? It’s here.”
Xander ran his hand through his hair and a vein bulged in his forehead. I could feel the anger and frustration rolling through him in waves. His wolf was threatening to rise. How I knew that, I wasn’t sure, but I knew it was true.
My own wolf felt like she was pacing, as if she wanted out but wasn’t sure how to manage. It was an odd feeling and I wasn’t sure what could happen. If I let my emotions out of control, would I turn into a wolf like I’d heard in the stories about shifters? Or would my demon side make me different? There was so much I still didn’t know but right now wasn’t the time to test it out.
“This doesn’t change the plan,” I said. “Madison, does she want you to bring me in?”
Madison shook her head. “She wants Xander.”
My heart fell into my stomach and it felt like the room was unsteady. There was no way we could send Xander into the palace. The stone might not work on me, but it would definitely work on Xander.
“No,” I said.
