Page 29 of Foretold

“Okay,” I call out. “Be safe! I don’t want any unplanned nieces or nephews.”

“Had enough of unplanned kids?” Bane teases, and I elbow him in his hard stomach. He grins, and I feel like it hurt me more than him.

Axe chokes on his beer, his lips curved upward. “We’re all waiting for our mates. We’re not going to chuck a Rave.”

“Oh, please don’t make that a saying,” I grumble while they all chuckle at my expense.

“You’re okay, though, right?” August asks, his brown eyes not leaving mine. “You know you can come to me.”

“I know,” I say, everything in me softening. “You have all been amazing, and I’m lucky to have you.”

I mean every word.

They would all have my back in anything, and I appreciate that more than they know.

When it’s time for me to return, Bane walks me outside the club, our arms almost touching. The air has cooled down, and he wraps his leather jacket around my shoulders without me asking. “Thank you.”

“You sure you want to go back?” he asks, shifting on his feet.

I nod. “I promised I would, but I’ll be back soon. This place has turned into my second home.”

He takes my wrist and lifts it, eying the bracelet Zython gave me. “You need us, you know what to do. If you say my name, I will come. It will work for any of us. I see Rave gave you something similar.”

I absently touch the necklace. “He did. Between you all, I think I’m pretty safe.”

He murmurs ‘hmmm’ in reply, and I stop and turn to him. “What’s the history with you and Rave? When you first saw each other, you already knew each other.”

And clearly, they aren’t the best of friends.

“As princes, we’ve all been around each other at some point or another,” he explains, staring up at the moon and stars before bringing those dark eyes back to me. “When we were growing up, they used to make us all compete against each other in fighting and sporting events to see who the best was. Often, Rave and I were the last two standing. So it’s always been pretty competitive between the two of us.”

My eyes widen as I picture that.

“And most of us have already been to war. I’ve met Rave on the battlefield several times, and we’re usually not on the same side.”

“You’re all so young to have seen so much war,” I reply, closing his jacket around me as the wind picks up. The war when the veil opened was the worst one our realm has seen, with some trying to fix the veil and others wanting it torn down. Many lives were lost, and, of course, in the end, the veil was destroyed.

“I’m older than Rave, but yes, sons of kings were bred for this reason,” he replies, shrugging. “We fight their battles until we prove ourselves, and then we usually become them.”

“We can all forge our own path,” I say, offering him my hand.

But I don’t know if that’s true.

As a seer, I know exactly how our paths are cut out for us.

“Why did you cut your hair?” I ask him, staring at him. “Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks good on you.”

He grins and runs a hand over his new, shorter style. “Demon magic requires some give and take. A sacrifice.”

I tilt my head to the side. “What magic did you use that required a sacrifice?”

He swallows hard, his throat bobbing. He hesitates as ifdeciding whether or not to answer me honestly but then nods once. “When Rave took you back, I put a protection spell on you. I felt out of control, not knowing if you were okay.”

I lick my suddenly dry lips. “How does that work exactly?”

He shifts on his feet. “No one would have been able to physically hurt you. It doesn’t last long, maybe a few days, but long enough to give me some peace of mind. It’s pretty dark demon magic.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

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