Page 29 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

Because Summer had held her, instead of me.

Because I wanted her to trust me. To rely on me. To cling to me the way she had clung to Summer.

Because I wanted to understand what her panic attack was, and how I could avoid doing anything to cause another one.

Because I wanted to rescue her from that fear, or those memories.

…The itch was foreign, but not unwelcome.

Not unwelcome at all.

“Damn.” Korrik grimaced.

I added, “Keeping secrets from the females doesn’t do anyone any good. They need to understand the full gravity of every situation, so they can decide for themselves. If you had one simple conversation with her, Dakota would never have risked her life the way she did.”

“Well now I understand why they picked him as king,” a woman muttered. “He’s the only one with common sense.”

I glanced over and found the oracle standing beside her hellhound. Priel growled at her, and she batted at his shoulder lightly. When he tugged her closer, she went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You’re still hotter,” she whispered to him. “But you’re kind of controlling.”

“Kind of?” he rumbled back.

Her laughter cut through the air.

“How strong is your magic, Aev?” Vuvim asked, and I lifted my gaze to the basilisk general. He had refused to join the new council, but that didn’t mean he’d lost anyone’s respect. Even the seelies would hear him out when he spoke.

“I’m still figuring that out. The mate bond multiplied it fiercely enough that without it, I now feel weaker than I am,” I explained. “And it’s been centuries since I had the chance to use it on anything but the prison.”

“Theoretically, it’s still strong enough to temporarily kill a klynna?” Vuvim checked.

“It used to be, so theoretically, yes.”

He nodded.

“If Dakota is putting herself in front of it, I won’t be focused on trying to down it,” I warned him. “I’ll be preparing to freeze its mouth and throat long enough to get her away from it in case she fails.”

“That could give us enough time to get basilisks in place,” Oren said thoughtfully.

“They have fire,” Teris pointed out. “They can break through the ice almost instantly.”

Our last fight had proven that to be true.

“It’ll distract a klynna long enough to get Dakota away and flood the skies with our warriors,” Fovea said. “So it’s definitely better than nothing.”

“I may be able to do more damage after she’s safe,” I added. “Assuming I can practice enough to get a real feel for my power again. The last time I killed one, I did so from the trees, while it dove past me. Replicating the situation well enough for me to kill it would be difficult at best, but I can at least delay it.”

“You saved our asses,” Korrik said unhappily. “And we may need you to do it again.”

“There are enough of us that hopefully we can avoid a repeat,” Oren said.

Murmurs of agreement rolled through the crowd.

“We’ll continue running our drills on the ground,” Fovea added. “If they’re going to attack us, we’ll be ready for it.”

The group parted, but I strode forward and caught Oren by the arm before he could leave. “I need you to carry Dakota into the sky,” I told him in a low voice. “I don’t trust any of the seelie to keep her safe.”

He dipped his head. “Assuming she agrees to it.”

“I’ll talk to her.”

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