Page 36 of Wrath

What the fuck happened when we were away? If someone hurt Dair, I would find a way to make them pay. I would tear their eyeballs straight from their sockets, shove them up their ass, and?—

“I can answer your first question.” Davia straightened in the chair, a feat I didn’t think was possible considering her posture had already been immaculate. She pointed at the map in front of her. “We have a second camp set up here.” She gestured towards where the Mage Kingdom bled into the Vampire Kingdom. “And here.” She pointed towards another spot on the map, this one directly next to the capitol building. “We hope to send the majority of our troops into the Vampire Kingdom next in order to free the humans there. With the mages on our side, it should be a walk in the park.”

An uneasy feeling spiraled through me. I couldn’t help but remember my time at the Vampire Kingdom, when I was kidnapped and sold at the Blood Carnival. There, I had met alittle boy, who had passed away in the resulting battle. His sister, Mary-Lynette, was being looked after by a close friend of mine—Axel, the ex-assassin for the seven kings.

I wondered how they were doing, if they were surviving the capital’s politics. I hadn’t heard from them in far too long, and I made a mental note to get in contact as soon as possible.

“We need a larger force if we have any hope of freeing the humans from the Shifter work camps,” B added.

Lupe’s expression darkened at the mention of his father’s activities. The bastard might have been locked away in the dungeons, but his influence remained regardless.

“But if Z completes the Wrath trials, then wouldn’t the shifters have no choice but to follow us?” Bash interjected, a taut frown on his face.

“I told you before,” Davia began, “that not all mages are accepting of this change. Some have decided to back the rightful rulers, while others are stuck following the old ways. Mages, more than any other nightmare, are closer to humans in a lot of aspects. We’ve always suspected that there were mages who sympathized with our cause. It was surprisingly easy to get the majority on our side.”

“And who knows when the next trial will occur,” added Jax, absently fiddling with a piece of paper. He began to tear it into tiny ribbons, his gaze fixed on the table.

“All of this is interesting and all,” I cut in, my tone scathing, “but it still doesn’t explain to me why the fuck Dair is in a wheelchair!”

Silence descended in the tent—an acrimonious type that had unease skittering down my spine and my body turning into one giant goose bump.

Dair had endured unspeakable torture at the hands of his father and brothers. Daily, he would have his legs cut off and then receive a potion that would grow them back. The cyclecontinued for years until I put a stop to it. However, Paco gave Dair a potion that was supposed to extend his time with two working legs. And if Paco was here, then that meant he could get a refill.

“Z—” Dair began in a placating voice.

“Don’t Z me. Why are you in a chair? Where is Paco? Why hasn’t he?—”

“Z, I chose to be in the chair,” Dair interrupted.

The sharpest edge of my anger dulled.

Surely, I hadn’t heard him correctly. He couldn’t mean?—

“What?” I gaped at him, struggling to find the words.

My other mates exchanged looks over my head, and then Devlin stood. “We’ll give you two a moment.”

He seemed a lot more willing to grant me one-on-one time with Dair than he had with Ryland.

Mali, B, and Davia trailed after my mates, leaving me alone with my mermaid.

For the first time since I arrived back at the camp, I allowed myself to look at him—reallylook at him, without six other mates around, all demanding my attention.

Dark bruises marked the space beneath his eyes, and his golden skin was paler than usual, but other than that, he appeared…fine. His burnished gold hair shone in the candlelight, the strands appearing darker where they hid in the shadows, and his blue eyes were bright and sparkling.

“Don’t look at me like that.” A wry grin tugged up the corners of Dair’s mouth.

“How am I looking at you?” I asked softly.

“Like I lost my mind.” He pushed himself away from the table and wheeled towards me.

Unlike the tent we were staying in, this one had a smooth ground—almost as if they’d erected the tent over wooden floorboards.

“I just don’t understand,” I confessed, reaching for him.

His strong arms picked me up as if I weighed nothing and settled me on his lap. I’d always loved how strong he was, how safe and secure I felt in his embrace.

“I love you, Dair, and that doesn’t change if you’re in a wheelchair. But why would you choose?—”

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