Page 128 of Between Imminent Fates

Jax’s hand tightened around hers. “Are you … okay with that?”

Having defined herself by it for so long, she almost couldn’t answer. Now that it was suddenly out of her reach, it made her strangely vulnerable—but also gave her a peace she had seldom felt before. She had devoted so much of her life to worrying about the future that without it, perhaps she could finallylive.

She looked at her mate and said, “I don’t know, but I’m so glad I get to find out.”

Chapter Nineteen

Celeste

The Blaede and Danadapsychic networks were crumbling. With Zeke at their center, his depleted energy translated to instability in the foundation of their clans. Despite the lieutenants’ continued efforts to funnel their own strength into it, the heart of a clan remained its sovereign.

Once more tied in with Zeke’s clan, Celeste had begun to fade. She and Derikles worked side by side in the psychic network, attempting to build a bridge between Zeke and Tzuriel and one between Nina and Kaien. While Derikles formed the rudimentary connections, Celeste refined them.

The two of them were the only ones who spanned between Isaiah’s clan and the dual network hosted by Zeke. Shifting from one clan space to the other was simple, but it took time they didn’t have.

Every lieutenant had been asked to funnel energy to their drained sovereign in an effort to keep him—and their clan bonds—afloat. If they failed, the clan would dissolve, taking with it the support for thirteen hundred minds.

It would risk plunging the young and vulnerable amongst them into psychic shock.

Amps and healers from other clans had arrived on site over the last twenty-four hours, each of them contributing to the effort. Werewolves and Elementals had brought food, keeping Blaede and Danada Raeths fueled while they were burning energy at a phenomenal rate. The vampires functioned as go-betweens, keeping psychic activity and energy output low.

And still, Celeste wasn’t sure whether they would make it in time. Isaiah had had weeks of careful preparation to build the bonds that would transfer a sovereignty. Derikles and Celeste had days—if that.

The painstaking and detailed work was exhausting. Everything Isaiah had done was structurally beautiful, but hidden beneath existing clan bonds. To uncover how they connected and what was required to make them functional was exceptionally difficult.

As Celeste began to drift, Derikles’ stabilizing presence came around her.Drop out, Celeste. You need to eat something—and we have a visitor.

Swaying with weariness, she opened her eyes on the physical plane. She’d been seated in Tzuriel’s home, Derikles beside her. A headache pulsed between her temples, but when she groaned, a beaming face appeared before her.

“Toni.”

“Rise and shine, Celeste!” The Elemental helped her stand up. “It’s not every day I actually get to cook for someone else. Living in a House of vampires makes that difficult. We’ve got bacon, pancakes, muffins, scrambled eggs, and grits. Derikles, you’re coming, too.”

As they made their way toward Tzuriel’s kitchen, they found it full of starving Raeths and several other immortals working to keep the table full. Tzuriel and his mate sat alongside Remmus and Ava, the four of them shoveling food into their mouths.

The moment Celeste caught sight of the bacon, she was done for. She lost track of time as she fed the ravenous beast inside her, only looking up when a familiar psychic signature arrived on scene.

“Nice of you to join us, Nero,” Tzuriel greeted, downing his third glass of orange juice.

The sovereign didn’t waste time. “Key’s awake, friends! Jax found a way to get through to her, and she’s woken up!”

A round of applause went up, with voices shouting out congratulations. Though Celeste couldn’t be more overjoyed, a part of her couldn’t help but wonder why Nina hadn’t made the same progress.

As she stewed on it, the reasoning slowly became apparent. Nina had given birth to twins less than two years earlier. It’d taken Nina and Kaien’s mother decades to return to her previous strength after doing the same. Nina still hadn’t recovered fully before going into battle—and now she was paying the price.

“Is she okay? Is she herself?”

“Key’s doing well, all things considered.” Nero grinned. “Bonded with Jax, her mate, and woke up ravenous. As far as her foresight, we aren’t holding our breath. She said it’s changed—and we’re still not sure what that means.”

The hope in Celeste deflated. If Key couldn’t see the future, she wouldn’t be able to tell them in their plans to reveal themselves to the human population would be positive or well received. Fortunately, the future could wait. What she and Derikles were doing now was far more important.

“Either way,” Derikles said, “her waking up is a very good sign. It means that Nina, too, might be close to surfacing.”

Derikles had split his efforts between funneling energy into Nina and Zeke. If she woke up, their issue would hopefully be resolved, but if Zeke’s energy failed him, there would be no coming back from it. Even Derikles had begun to feel the effects of the energy drain. With Isaiah being similarly compromised, the Sylth sovereign couldn’t assist in righting Derikles’ energy loss. Jaeda was already here, helping to power Zeke, and Luna was close at hand.

“How is Zeke faring?” Nero asked.

“He’s losing the battle,” Tzuriel said, “and if we don’t shift the network soon, it’ll spiral out of control. He’s running dry.”

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