Page 92 of Bound to the Orc King

When May explains this is the Moon Goddess’s prison and we need to find her, Starfall digs at the ground with a hoof. “If the goddess fell to earth here, won’t she be right in the center?”

“It only works like that if she fell straight down.” May bites her lower lip and eyes the crater walls. “If she came in at an angle, she could be anywhere.”

“But the crater is round.”

“Yeah, but if the meteor is big enough, the crater will look fairly circular, even if the impact happened at an angle.” Her hand slices through the air, describing different types of descent. When we all look at her in surprise, she gives a little shrug. “I read up on craters after I visited one. I’m not usually sciencey, but it was so rad I wanted to know more.”

“Your curious mind does you credit.” I press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Let me try something.” Shadow shifts into his cat form, grinning wide. The edges of his shape flicker as he takes a step forward, then solidify. He yowls, the sound full of rage. “I wanted to walk around and see if I could find where she is, but I’m cut off from the shadow roads.”

Naomi brings the rest of my guard and their mounts.

Seeing so many of us standing in this desolate place triggers my magic. Premonition flows over me, flashing a series of images in my mind. They’re vague and gone in a split second, but it’s enough. Iknowwhat is to come.

“This is it. This is where we battle the dark fae,” I call out loudly enough that it carries to everyone. Then I turn to Naomi and grip her shoulders. “You must bring all the witches and their mates. They’re all supposed to be here.”

Naomi’s dark eyes fill with worry. “Even Olivia?”

“Even Olivia.” I nod.

Naomi blinks away. When she returns several minutes later, she surprisingly brings the tall blonde first.

Before I can ask why, Grace drops the net guns she’s carrying and spreads her gloved hands wide. Brightly colored spectacles with strange, smoky lenses pop into existence on her palms.

“Sunglasses!” May springs forward, grabs a pair, and positions them over her eyes before letting out a sigh of relief. “You’re the best!”

I put on a pair, and they immediately cut the sun glare, allowing me to see. “These are excellent, thank you.”

Grace’s cheeks turn bright pink, and she gives an embarrassed shrug. “They’re cheap carnival sunglasses. Guaranteed to break within a week.”

“A week is plenty of time,” I growl. “We have at most hours before the dark fae attack.”

Shadow shifts to his werepanther form and snaps up a green-framed pair. “What do you think? Do I look fabulous or what?”

May laughs and nudges Grace. “Did you ever expect to see a werepanther in sunglasses?”

The tall blonde shakes her head, grinning, and makes more of the shaded spectacles as everyone crowds around to get a pair.

Naomi brings the rest of the orcs and humans, everyone wearing cold-weather gear. Olivia arrives with a surprise. A flock of pixies cling to her, the pixies May befriended at our waterfall hideaway. Their pixie magic got them to the village in record time.

“Almost Pizza!” the tiny leader cries out, flying up to May. “We have come to save Alarria!”

“They’re not the only ones,” Naomi says and disappears again.

The meaning of her words becomes clear as she brings the cat sith Mist, the cu sith Riselda, and the unicorns Hurtle, Midnight, Storm, Aurora, and Dash.

Finally, she arrives with two naked younglings, who immediately shift into the dragons Drakonisrevener and Bellavesaria.

“What are you doing here?” Sheevora booms at her children. “The dark fae are going to invade.”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing here,” Drakonisrevener says, flaring his wings. He’s the same green as his mother and has grown rapidly in the last few months until he’s now about half her size.

Bellavesaria pushes her way forward, the feathery crest rising on her head. The purple dragon is still smaller than her brother, but she’s not to be dismissed. Smoke curls from her mouth in a reminder that her fire magic is as strong as that of the adults. “We want to fight, too.”

“Okay, that’s everyone,” Naomi says. “Now what?”

May steps forward, lifting her chin, every inch a queen. “Now we free the Moon Goddess.”

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