“If you can trust him.”
“Right.”
“And how did you decide you trusted him enough to bring him?”
“Because even though he’d heard by that point which mages were going, he never once asked to come.”
The limos pulled off the highway, the land flat and covered in dried golden grass. Smaller planes were parked to our right, and a few jets were stationed a little closer.
“Oh,” I said, taking in what Austin was saying. “But won’t it mess with his head if he sees this mage?”
“Maybe. But then the basajaun said that, and…” Austin shook his head. “Something clicked. I can’t describe it. I feel it in my gut that he should come. That he needs to be in the tiptop of my hierarchy. He will help me protect my mate better than anyone else in the world, because he knows what it’s like to lose one. He won’t wish that on anyone.”
The limo slowed as we passed a mostly empty parking lot. A small building accompanied by a tower rising into the sky hunkered in front of us. An open hangar sat to our right, a large jet waiting for us to board.
Butterflies swam in my stomach. I’d never so much as flown first class. This was a sort of luxury I’d never experienced, and it was somewhat alarming that my excitement level was competing with my churning worry about meeting a bunch of conniving mages and a guy I was going to try to kill in not-at-all-cold blood.
“My life has taken a very strange turn,” I muttered to myself, nearly plastering my face to the window so I could stare at the jet. “Ever since my divorce, my life has been just plain weird.” After a moment, I asked, “Did you ask him how he might react if he sees that mage?”
“Of course. I also asked him if he thought he could handle standing idly in a room where that mage might be sneering at him. He said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I find that hard to believe. Oh my God, Austin, there’s even a red carpet.” I beamed at him, patting his arm. I felt like a little kid in a candy shop with unlimited funds and zero restrictions. “There’s a red carpet. Look! The door thing is coming down. The steps. This is awesome. I mean, the whole nature of this trip is the pits, but this one shining moment is awesome.”
“I found it hard to believe as well, until I realized that Brochan is emotionally dead where his family is concerned. He cauterized the wound, shoved it into a cold, dark box, and shut the lid. He won’t have a problem handling it because he won’t be able to feel at all. In theory.”
“That’s not healthy, Austin,” I said, shifting away from the display of luxury to look at him. “One day he’ll snap.”
“Yes, he will,” he said, his eyes full of fire. “And so help me God, I will arrange it. I will get him into a room with that mage, flip the lock, and let Brochan have his vengeance. No one should be allowed to get away with what that mage did. He created an altercation where there wasn’t one, he wouldn’t back down when he should’ve—when he was in the wrong—and he mass-murdered innocents. Children! If the Mages’ Guild allowed something like that to happen—if this is what it looks like when they ‘police’ their own—then I’ll take matters into my own hands and police them myself. Sebastian was right. No one comes together like shifters do.”
The limo stopped in front of the red carpet, my door perfectly aligned with it.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, “this is my best life and worst nightmare, all wrapped up in the same day. Why can’t I just have normal good things going on without the crap that always seems to go with it?” I pushed out a breath, trying to still my excitement. Trying to force down the swell of anxiety. But neither emotion cooperated.
The limo driver opened my door, and I tried to remain calm. I took his hand and stepped out in my long, swishy black dress and my neck full of jewels. I’d nearly forgotten I was wearing all of that.
“So what you’re saying is…” I stepped to the side, waiting for Austin to get out on his side and come around. Apparently, the old slide across wasn’t in vogue.
The rest of the limos were stopping behind us, lining up for their turn on the red carpet.
“Oh my God,” I said again, butterflies fluttering through my stomach. “I hope there are, like, little baskets of goodies and chocolates and stuff on the plane. That would really make this amazing.”
Austin dropped his hand to the small of my back and guided me toward the steps.
“What you’re saying,” I started again, “is that you will build a castle around my keep, manage the very powerful creatures I have called in, and also create some sort of massive shifter organization that sticks it to the Mages’ Guild and Momar?”
Austin paused as I grabbed the railing and started climbing the stairs in black three-inch stilettos. I should’ve worn flats.
“Yeah,” he said, following me up. “Might as well, right? Beyond the initial meet-and-greets, your people don’t seem to need much muscling around. I might as well look for a bigger challenge.”
I laughed and stopped on the stairs, stepping down one so my back connected with his front. He placed a hand on my hip, and I paused for a moment.
“You’re a good person, Austin Steele. I’ll help you claim vengeance for him, and for every other shifter they’ve wronged. If I live, obviously.”
“Of course you’re going to live,” he said softly, waiting for me to keep going. “You’ll be the heir that lives forever.”
Shivers covered my body and lead filled my stomach. I hoped those weren’t his famous last words.
Eleven
A fleet of limos awaited the Ivy House crew at a nondescript landing strip at the base of a mountain range in Colorado. White peaks rose with jagged edges into the sapphire blue above, the air scrubbed clean by the dense trees surrounding them. A single tower rose into the sky behind the woods.
A prickling of warning moved across Austin’s skin, prompting his animal to grow restless, urging him to shed his skin and slip into those trees, to scout the area. Brochan stepped up next to him, his body tense, his eyes distant.
“Do you feel that, sir?” he asked, in a submissive way to alert Austin to the danger. If Austin had needed it, here was further proof the shifter had no problem relinquishing his alpha mantle, even in pressurized situations.
“Yes.” Austin watched the basajaun descend the stairs and then strut off into the trees, disappearing immediately. “The basajaun can speak to trees. He’ll assess the danger.”
“I wondered how that other one up north knew I was in its territory,” Brochan said softly, scanning the area. “I was roaming when I caught its scent. I didn’t feel like circling around, so I changed my direction to downwind and hightailed it. It got around and in front of me. That thing was not fun to deal with. I hoped never to see one again.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill it.”
“Are you kidding, sir? I’m not that stupid. No, I fought it until I could prove I was a risky challenge, and then I bartered with it. I didn’t know they could talk to the woods. I’ve always heard they’re prickly to deal with and they don’t often bother with anyone but the basajaunak.”
“Usually that’s true, yes. Until Jess charmed this one, I’d given him a large berth. He’s downright placid when it comes to her. It seems he thinks their fates are intertwined.”
“Ah yeah. Fate. Tricky bitch.”
“Yes. Very. But this basajaun has been incredibly helpful to have around.”
“It’s magic.” Jess stopped next to the open limo door, the driver waiting beside it in a tux similar to Mr. Tom’s. “What you’re all sensing is magic. It’s everywhere around here—on the runway, draped between the trees, on the ground… It’s basically an elaborate tripwire system, but I don’t sense anything terribly dangerous. Roam at will.”
“In other words, they think anyone sneaking into the area will be using an airplane,” Hollace said, following her.
“Yes.” Jess checked her watch. “We need to get going. Basajaun!” she called. “Come on. You can check things out when we get closer.”
The basajaun emerged from the trees, his hair sticking up from his shoulders and his bow tie absolutely ridiculous. He was taking a page out of Mr. Tom’s book, apparently.
“There is nothing around this area. No watchers,” he said.
“Magic is doing the watching. They don’t need people.” Jess gave the jet a final, forlorn look before ducking into the last limo. Her team would arrive right before her and spread out around her for cover so as to give her a grander entrance.
“Yes, miss, I know you are severely disappointed.” Mr. Tom walked closer, frazzled, his arms braced on his hips and his wings rustling behind him. Niamh and Edgar walked behind him. “But how was I supposed to know they wouldn’t stock the jets with snacks and drinks? Really, all that expense and they only provide water and ice? I think they cut corners for magical people, that’s what I think.”
“I think they expected magical people to read the fine print when that is their job,” Niamh berated as Jasper descended from the jet. He immediately turned to monitor the service staff carrying down the luggage.
“I looked over the fine print, I thought,” Mr. Tom murmured, turning and walking back toward Jasper, scanning the luggage as it was brought down and put in a neat pile to be divided up between the limos.
“Beautiful.” Cyra sauntered in front of Austin and spread her arms, gazing at the mountains around them. Fire ballooned up around her like wings. “I would love to take a moment for flight.”
“No time,” Austin responded. “We’ll make sure to take advantage of the area before we leave.”
“If we aren’t being chased out.” Edgar scratched his head, and little white flakes drifted to the ground.
Nathanial stopped with Austin and Brochan. “Barring any unforeseen challenges, the gargoyles from town should arrive tonight,” Nathanial said. “I haven’t heard of any problems, so I assume they are on track. They have been instructed to touch down a ways from the entrance. Hopefully there’ll be a place to land that is hard for non-fliers to reach. They’ll turn to stone until needed. I don’t know if we’ll be able to use them, but if we can, they’ll be on hand.”