Page 61 of November Reign
The drink had an indescribable flavor. There was the kick of rum, then the taste of apples, but there was something else to it. All I knew was, I liked it.
Our companions all waited until we’d taken the edge off the tension with our drinks.
“You know?” I asked Parker.
“He’s my brother, of course I know all his schemes. I happen to approve of this one and so will you once he cuts the crap and explains.”
Damon gave a dramatic sigh. “When we came to petition the royal court to adopt Barr with the privilege of him becoming a royal, we explained why we wanted the protection that would bring. We also asked for Barr’s chosen mate to be given the same thing. The kings and queens love chosen mates. Fated are, of course, special. They are given by fate after all. They just like when their demonkin are so in love they choose to have that bond. It’s so hardto break it.”
“Tangent, Damon. Get off it.” Parker rolled his eyes.
“The court became stuck on the idea of protection and what Basil plans to do to demons should he win back control of the coven. He won’t just stop at Northarbor. It’s clear he wants more power than this corner of the world can give him, yet our grimoire is one of, if not the most, powerful in the US.”
“So the royals are worried.”
“No,” Mori said, “they’re angry. For centuries we have been subjected to the curse of the contract. Owned by masters who use and abuse us.” Mori looked at Toth. Both of them had suffered under a witch contract.
“Yet,” he continued, “they understand the majority of witches hate the power they hold over us. We would like to find a way to break the curse, something we can only do if we work together in harmony.”
“Which Basil doesn’t want. He wants to use you.” Oak stirred his drink. “So we have a common enemy.”
“Yes, which is why every willing royal demon will be there for the final confrontation with Basil and his ilk. When you call for it, help will come.”
Get Ready
Thyme
To be completely honest,the revelation about the demons shocked me to my core. Not because I didn’t think they should fight. They had legitimate cause to fight against the oppression Basil wanted.
No, it was more down to my biases against royalty. I had thought they would be similar in outlook to the royals of the human world: out of touch with the plight of the common people.
These royals, they loved their people. They were ready for their right to be free, even though the royals were already safe from a witch contract. Finally, royals I could respect.
There were so damn many of them! Over the course of the night while we celebrated the adoption and Barr’s mating, more and more of them, from every type of demon, came to tell us they would fight if we needed them.
Parker was prepared for them. Quite a few of them had cell phones. They worked in their realm just as well as they did in ours. He had an app for themto download that would send out a signal when we needed them along with a location so they would be close when they portaled in.
“You should come to the mansion,” I found myself offering. The others stared at me. “After the rest of the coven is gone, we can teach them ways to protect themselves from attacks.”
Gregoris nodded. “A wise idea. We should make additional protective charms they can wear in battle.”
He spoke as if it was a foregone conclusion there would be a battle. I suppose, in a way, it was. Basil wouldn’t give up until he was dead, and he’d make us fight for that to happen.
Ever the plotter, Damon sided with Gregoris. “In small groups over the next few days. We can give you extra charms for you to hand out on this side.”
The royals left, happy with the decision.
“Should we ask Sweetwater for their help?” Oak wondered aloud.
“No,” Toth said. “They have too much to deal with. Northarbor isn’t safe for them. We need to leave them out of this. If we really needed them, they would be there, but it is too risky.”
“It’d also bring more enemies on us,” Damon pointed out. “The aviary isn’t fully convinced by Basil. Not all of them buy what he’s selling, so he has limited numbers from them. When it comes toSweetwater, they are all against them. It’s like a cult in the aviary. They’ve got them brainwashed into thinking the pack is going against the goddess.”
“Sweetwater gets messages from her. She’s visited them!” Cody’s face was lit with wonder, but also confusion. Like him, I didn’t understand why the aviary couldn’t see they were wrong.
“So we keep them out of it. That’s fine. The royals might be the turning point we need to win this.”
I hoped Oak was right.
