Page 27 of Called By Fate

"Sounds familiar. He's done that, or worse, to me on several occasions," I tell them, which makes them all snarl or, in Vinson’s case, full-on growl.

"I can't wait to rip his fucking heart out," Elian grits out.

"No, you leave that to me. That shit is personal, and he is mine." I give him a snarl of my own. We have a sort of mini standoff, his eyes bouncing between mine until he rolls them, admitting defeat. Or that's how I'm taking it at least. Hard to tell with Elian.

“Anyway, that's when I lost it,” Vin continues, and I feel an echo of his rage in my chest. “No one hurts a woman around me and lives to tell the tale, but I was so weak. I did manage to get a punch in though, and it was so fucking sweet. I might've broken his jaw too." I grin at him and tighten my grip on his hand. "But in the end, I couldn’t do much else. That's pretty much the last thing I remember before waking up with a dagger to my chest."

"We'll find a way to make them pay, Vin. I promise."

"I know you will, my Moon."

“Anyone have any ideas on where to get started?” I ask.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but not only do the Elders have something protecting them physically, they also have something shielding their minds too," Reed says. "I couldn't get a single reading off any of them, or the servants while we were there."

"Dammit," Kaos grunts, rubbing his chin. "I was really hoping to gather some intel on them while we were there."

A thought occurs to me, and I smirk. "We do have some intel. Hell, we have the next best thing. Their sons. They have to know something, right?"

The door to our cabin opens and the trio walks in with Emma in tow. Speak of the devils and they shall appear. Adam, Nick, and Niall look tired and so does Emma, but they’re at least wearing more casual clothes instead of the fancy ones the Elders require. I’m assuming they borrowed some because I don’t remember seeing them pack anything.

Adam must’ve overheard my statement because he says, "Don't get your hopes up too soon, Shadowbringer. I'm afraid we don't know as much as you're probably hoping. As you can imagine, our fathers kept us at arm’s length our entire lives. We've never been as cruel as them, although I can't say we were always saints."

"No one's a saint, Adam. We all have shit in our past that we regret. It's the future that defines you. I'm glad you’re here, though."

"Do you have any idea how they're able to deflect attacks so easily?" Elian interjects, straight to the point as always.

"No," Niall responds. "We've been trying to find out for years."

"But I can tell you every assassination attempt we've witnessed, and there have been many, they've come out unscathed each time. Poison, blades, magic, bullets. It doesn't matter. Nothing harms them," Adam adds, rubbing his jaw. It has to unnerve them not knowing. I know it does me anyway.

"Fuck," I say, running a hand through my hair. "Okay, let's shelf the Elder conversation for today. We could spend hours going in circles about it and I'm getting a headache just thinking about their devious bullshit. Is there a way to get the word out about this being a safe haven for anyone who wants to defect?"

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Vinson says and stands up. "The shifters have figured out a way to securely get messages to those who have family or friends at different estates. I can get word to them about it. The problem is, I don't know if they will report us straight to the Elders or not. My gut says the majority won't, but the Elders have dirt on pretty much everyone. Then there's the issue of getting them safe passage here."

"I think I can help with that," Matilda says, joining our conversation as she walks through the front door. Huh, guess I was the only one who didn't get the memo about a meeting in our living room. "There's a little trick I learned a while back with paper. I can imbue some of my portal magic in the ink and if they have no ill will toward our cause, and accept the invitation, they'll automatically be transported here when they’re ready. If not, the ink will catch fire, burning the only proof they have so they can’t take it to the Elders."

"That's fucking genius," I breathe in awe, then turn to Vinson. "And you can get these invites to the shifters safely?"

He nods. "I have several connections, my Moon. We know how to be discreet and sneaky. We have to be."

Dang, it's handy having connected mates. “But what about the Night Weavers who wish to flee? Surely not everyone agrees with the Elders’ bullshit.”

Nick snorts. "That's an understatement, but they have just as many loyal followers as they do disloyal ones. It'll be hard to know who's friendly and who's not."

"I can help with that," Elian states. "I still have a connection or two in the Elites."

“Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” I demand. “Aren’t the Elites super loyal to the Elders? It’s their whole fucking job to do the bastards’ bidding.”

He shakes his head. “Not all of them truly want to be there. They are the best of the best though, and the Elders havemadethem loyal. But they’re fixing to learn that loyalty has to beearned.”The bloodthirst in his eyes calls to my own, and I seriously want to jump his bones. Fuck me, I’m losing it. My shadows want to go caress him for it, but I hold them back. Just barely.

"He’s right. Some of them are only a part of the Elites because our fathers are holding their families hostage or have some other depraved way of keeping them compliant. It's what they're good at—playing on people's emotions," Nick confirms.

"It's true," Adam agrees in disgust. "They live for the game."

“It’s a start, anyway,” Elian says thoughtfully. “I’ll see if I can find any potential allies there first.”

“Fine, but please be careful,” I say to him. “I know our magic is bolstering the fuck out of this place, but we're responsible for a lot of lives here and I don’t want any retaliation attempts.”

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