Page 75 of Renegade Kings

“I think we’ll save the summer and winter magic for tomorrow,” Fizzle said, a hint of pride in his voice. “And perhaps after we find a bigger training area.”

Alyssa laughed as she walked over to her old friend, who took the opportunity to fly to her shoulder.

“I guess I’ll find someone to fix the hole then.” Rhidian’s voice cut through the silence. “You always were trouble when you were training. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the rose bushes I took the blame for.”

Alyssa shrugged. “Repairing roofs isn’t really in the remit of a queen.”

The confidence in her voice didn’t match the lingering worry in our bond, and I pushed as much reassurance towards her as I could. The slight smile on her face showed that she’d felt it, along with the love and appreciation that flowed back to me.

“Finally ready?” Rhidian asked.

She thought for a second and then nodded. “It’s time. And I’ve got an idea for how to make Arik hurt in ways he’s going to be feeling for a long time to come.”

Rhidian grinned, and he wasn’t the only one. This was what we needed. We needed action, a plan that saw us moving forward. The people here had been waiting in the darkness for too long, hoping to not be discovered. They needed to see that Arik was just a man, one that was capable of not only feeling pain, but finally being put in the grave he’d long deserved.

“Well… long live the queen,” Rhidian said, a deadly smile spreading across his lips. “Shall we move this conversation to the war room?”

Chapter 27

Alyssa

We spent hours pouring over the map. Hours looking at the plan from every possible angle. By the time we were ready to call it a night, I was exhausted, but the guys looked like they were practically vibrating with energy.

They were clearly good at what they did. They gave insight that none of us would have considered and adapted well to adding to the possibility of relying on magic they’d never had to account for before.

A lot of what we needed to do was riding on how much power I could wield. I’d have to achieve magic on a scale that I’d never even considered possible, let alone thought I could do. I’d told them I could. Even after the display in the training yard, they seemed reluctant to fully accept it. What I didn’t tell them was that what had happened back there was only a fraction of what I could do.

Since returning to Nymeria, something had unlocked inside me. And then every time I’d used my magic it was like a door inside of me had pushed wider open.

I could feel it now, hanging partially open, and it freaked me the fuck out, because I had a terrifying suspicion there was more to come.

My eyes moved to the bedroom window as we settled into our suite for the night. Whatever was growing outside in the forest was important. Important enough that the dryad and both Fizzle had hinted there was more to come.

Whatever it was, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I wasn’t ready for it yet. I was only just learning how to regulate the power I had inside me now. It might have seemed like I was fully in control back there, but in reality I was at the edges of my limit, and there had been a part of me that had just wanted to let it all go and see what happened.

A part I wasn’t sure I liked.

“You can take your eyes off that window,” Dean whispered into my ear as he pressed against my back. “There will be no night time expeditions tonight.”

I turned around as he wrapped his arms around me, feeling like I owed him an apology. We hadn’t really talked about this yet and he deserved the same apology the others had. Even if I suspected he’d completely ignore it the same way they did.

“I’m sorry…”

His fingers pressed over my lips to silence me, and then he replaced them with his lips. I felt every emotion he held in that kiss, the worry, the desperation, the longing. It all echoed to me through our bond as his lips bruised mine with a fierce dominance.

I was ready to climb this man like a tree. Needy to feel my mates crowding around me as we lost ourselves in each other and forgot about the world for a while.

When Dean pulled back, I chased his lips, not ready for the kiss to end.

“You’re tired and we have a lot to do tomorrow. Even if the thought of bending you over that bed and reminding you how much we care about you is enough to make me know I’m going to be hard all night, it’s not happening. You need sleep.”

Dean stepped back, and I pouted in disagreement. Unfortunately, it was ruined by the yawn I couldn’t hold back.

Wielding all that magic came with a price when you weren’t used to it, and I was definitely not used to it.

Maddox laughed, darting between us as he snatched me up and carried me towards the bedroom. At least now I wasn’t the only one pouting, and Dean looked far more ridiculous doing it than I had.

It was actually kind of cute, but I resisted the urge to tell him. I already knew it wouldn’t be received well.