Page 66 of Reign

Connor gave me a cocky smile which I knew was to reassure me. It didn’t. “King, Hell-beast, shadow fae, and wolf, remember? I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, ‘Course you will.” I crossed my arms over my chest, my gaze fixed on the strong column of his throat where my claiming marks were white against his skin.

He stepped closer, but I still couldn’t look at him. I had a terrible feeling about this attack. I couldn’t tell him, though, because I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. He cupped my face and tilted my head back.

“Look at me.”

I did.

His gaze softened, turning my insides to mush. “What’s wrong? Are you mad at me for making you stay behind with Ava and Lance?”

My heart hurt as I studied his ridiculously handsome face. I grabbed his fae armoured top, the material silky beneath my fingers, and yanked him forward. Did he think that’s why I was unhappy? “No, of course not. It’s just, I don’t know. It’s...I have a bad feeling about this.”

The rough skin of his fingers left a tingling trail down my cheek, then he leaned down, resting his forehead against mine. “We will win. We have to. Sophie knows how to use the Halo. We will be fine, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Yeah, okay.” I kissed him lightly, still not convinced.

We headed down to the courtyard of the compound. Even Tyen was accompanying our assembled pack. She and Connor were going to shield all our people from the city cameras that would pick up our movements. That, and the spies who worked for the authorities, were a real threat.

Rawson had confirmed the Rift was in an old abandoned car lot near Greenwich Park. He’d been watching it and fighting the demons alone since getting back to London. He’d heard about the King of Shifters when he’d come to the Gambit a few weeks ago. After that, he’d been going to Balthazar’s club regularly, hoping to see us.

The images Rawson had taken on his phone of the Rift were from all angles, the most useful looking down towards the ground. He must have been hiding in the rafters to get them. The gateway itself wasn’t visible, but he’d snapped some images of grainy black shapes as they seeped up from the ground. He’d even got some video of the demons slithering into the bodies of the dead their brethren had collected. It was disgusting, and no matter how much I didn’t want my friends, or my mate, to go near that place, I knew this had to be stopped. All of these deaths were my fault. They were searching for Satan’s key...me. It made me wonder if this would ever stop, even if we managed to close the Rift.

Connor halted and pulled me close again. We held each other’s gaze, so many words said yet not a single one spoken. He lifted me, and I curled my legs and arms around him before I kissed him fiercely. I didn’t care if the whole world was waiting for him. No one shouted or jeered now. Tonight, some of them might not come back, Connor might be one of them, and they all knew it. He pulled away before I was ready to let him go and put me down. His face fell into a hard, inscrutable mask, but he touched my face once more before he turned away.

“Owen!” He bellowed. And that was it; my mate had become King to the people who awaited him.

“Hey, how you holding up?” Blue asked.

I gave her a weak smile, swallowing down the nausea that plagued me when Connor left my side. “Fine. You will be careful, won’t you? Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

Blue lifted her brows. Our instincts had kept us alive in Faerie. “What do you mean?”

My sigh wafted a few strands of her hair. “No idea. Fire isn’t happy. She’s bubbling under my skin, and she hasn’t done that since Berith tried to control us.” I met her gaze. “Just watch your back, okay?”

“Oh c’mon, I’ll be fine. And where’s my friend? What have you done with her? She’d never ask me if I was going to be okay. I’m a kick-ass chick, and she knows it.”

I laughed. “Okay. Okay. I’m blaming pregnancy hormones. But yeah, I know you’ll be fine. You are kick-ass. And you also have an ancient Faerie prince by your side, who is one of the best warriors in his world. You have fae armour and fae weaponry on top of your own awesome skillset, so yeah, I know you’ll be fine.” But I was still worried for her. She wasn’t up to full strength.

“Damn right I will.” She hugged me tight. “Just make sure you’re safe too.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on. I’m behind these walls, and with all the Faerie magic Walker left protecting this place, we’re all far safer than you.”

“Cool.” She glanced across the compound’s yard. B’nar was easily visible, his blue hair gleaming amongst the other people milling around. “Listen, I’d better go before princey comes searching for me. It’ll only piss him off.”

“True, but I thought that was your mission. To piss him off while you’re still awake.”

She laughed. “Yes, but maybe not while he holds all the weapons. He’ll have to give me one tonight, or I won’t be of any use, so…” She wiggled her brows.

“Yeah, like you’d shoot him.” I rolled my eyes.

She shrugged, and her face twisted comically. “I guess it would be a waste of a pretty face,” she murmured.

Grinning, I gave her a hug before she wandered over to B’nar. I stood back with Ava and Lance as Connor addressed our pack to ensure they were all clear about their roles. They all had throat mics, earpieces, and fae weaponry that sent lethal doses of ice magic into the enemy, freezing, then exploding them. There were explosive devices, knives, and they all wore the tight-fitting, silky fae armour on their torsos, everything they needed, really. Walker had really come through. Except that he had disappeared this afternoon and no one could locate him. B’nar didn’t know a thing but calmly pointed out that his father followed only one person’s rules, and that was his own. Connor was pissed off at the High King. He’d been hoping Walker would come through with a fae army to help. He had reassured everyone we didn’t need Walker's help, but I knew how much was riding on Sophie closing the Rift. If she failed, we’d need all the help we could get.

As the focus of the operation, Sophie was to be protected by five brothers. Drake, Reed, Myles, Kawan and Stone. She was where I should be. It should be me out there closing the Rift, just like I had in Canada. My hand landed over my lower abdomen. Except…

I watched as Sophie moved surely between the men, checking her weapons. At least she was a strong fighter. I could only hope that she stayed alive and that Connor wouldn’t lose his sister tonight.

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