Page 45 of Wrath

I remained where I was, watching him go with an uneasy feeling trilling through my veins.

Turner’s desperation was making him crazy—crazier than usual, that was. How long until he snapped completely and did something he couldn’t take back? I needed to talk to the others and decide how we wanted to proceed. Someone needed to keep an eye on Turner and make sure he didn’t do something that fucked up all of our plans.

But even as I thought that, that wary feeling exploded outwards like a bomb, debris and shrapnel shooting in every direction.

Turner had already left the resistance base. I knew that in the depths of my soul. He wasn’t the type of man to just sit around when the people he loved were in danger.

Now we just needed to figure out what, exactly, he planned to do.

FOURTEEN

Z

God, I thought my head was going to implode with the revelation that the mages had willingly joined our side.

But to discover that my mates thought I was capable of somehow…changing sins into virtues? That threatened to send brain matter in every direction.

I scrubbed my hands down my face and leaned back in the rickety wooden chair. Early morning sunlight illuminated the walls of the tent, painting everything in a pastel shade of orange.

I spent more time in this particular tent than anywhere else, even the one reserved for me and my mates. I was intimately familiar with every tiny tear in the tent’s fabric. Every water stain marking the wooden table. Every figurine adorning the immaculately smooth map.

B, Mali, and Davia had arrived a few minutes earlier for the meeting. HH had come shortly after that, dark shadows beneath both of his eyes and his hair disheveled. I still didn’t see Turner, the only other member of the council.

I’d learned from B that the two mermaids who’d helped us arrive here had joined the army near the Vampire Kingdom’s border. What remained behind was a skeletal crew.

We did haveonenew addition to the ragtag team.

Paco was only wearing a pair of pants, and even that was a battle Bash had to fight for. His gray chest hairs were braided—because why the fuck not?—and he wore a pair of glasses without any lenses. The eccentric mage was currently eyeing the pastries on the table as if he were envisioning… well, not eating them. I didn’t even want to know what he’d do if he got his hands on those donuts.

Crazy old fuck.

“We need to figure out how to stop Aaliyah’s army,” I said without preamble.

I anxiously chewed on the tip of my fingernail. I hadn’t done that nervous habit since I was a little girl. I honestly thought I’d grown out of it.

Restless energy skittered beneath my skin, and I stood and began to pace.

Devlin caught me one of the times I passed him and coiled an arm around my waist, pulling me to a stop. When I glanced at him, he silently grabbed my wrist and removed my nail from my mouth. I glared but obliged without complaint. The second he released me, I began to pace again.

“We have scouts searching for them now,” Davia said calmly. I envied her sometimes. Even when facing down a threat like we’d never seen before, she managed to remain calm and serene. “They’ll report back as soon as they know more.”

“We’re not positive her army is even trying to free the kings,” B pointed out gruffly. His eyes had been following me this entire time, and his right brow began to twitch. “Now sit the fuck down before I have a stroke watching you.”

I narrowed my eyes but continued pacing…until an exasperated Devlin once again stopped me and yanked me into the seat beside him. When I glared at him, he simply shrugged unrepentantly before focusing on the others.

“What creatures do you think Aaliyah raised this time?” Bash ran his fingers through his ash-blond hair. “I know the scout couldn’t give us a description, but you guys must havesomeidea what we’re dealing with.”

“Does it matter?” Dair placed his strong arms on the table with a sigh. “Whatever it is, we know that it’ll be scary and hard to kill.” He slid his gaze to me and offered a tentative smile. “And not every terrifying creature wants to be kept as a pet, Z.”

“Pet?” HH frowned.

“Yeah. Z has a pet kraken.” Bash waved a hand in the air flippantly. “Slippy. The bastard tried to kill her.”

“Because he was under Aaliyah’s control, just like the others were,” I pointed out, a tiny piece of my heart chiseling and turning to dust.

I had no doubt her newest army would be under her command as well, unable to control their actions.

And I would have to kill them.

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