Page 76 of Cosmic Power

“There’s residual energy leftover from the portal they opened. I believe I can tap into it and trace it back to where it originated from.” Elias answered, ignoring the glare from Zvetari.

Luther was doubtful. “Zvetari said when you first arrived here you tried multiple times to return to your world, but you could never find it. How is it that you can do so now?”

“We tried days after we got here. By that point any residual energy leftover from the portal had dissipated. This one is still fresh. I’d say we only have an hour or so before it fades entirely and any chance of tracing it back to them is gone.”

That was good enough for Luther. “Alright. Open it.”

“No! Just wait a fucking minute,” Zvetari blasted, blurring between the two of them and pushing them apart. “This is not happening. You’re not risking your life to rescue one little shifter. It’s not worth it.”

“Now hang on, Zvetari, there may be some benefit to having him go,” Elias began. “Think about it. Their mastery over the portals far outweighs ours. For all we know, they can return here at any time now that they’ve found us. There’s no running this time. We can’t pack up the entire world and move them somewhere safe. Half the population doesn’t even know the Supernatural exists. The only way for us to save everyone is by fighting and eliminating the threat.”

“What happened the last time we tried to do that?” Zvetari bit out, his jaw clenched. “They murdered millions of our people.”

“This time, what I’m proposing is we take the fight to them before they have a chance to bring it here. If we let your sire go through the portal, he can do recon. Study their layout, defences and weaknesses so that when we arrive, we know exactly where to hit them.”

“He won’t get the chance,” Zvetari hissed, eyes glowing red. “You don’t think they have some sort of alert process in place letting them know someone has portaled into their world? He’ll be dead before he can gather any intel.”

“Uh, excuse me, Your Excellencies?” Thaddeus cut in, raising his hand. “I believe I may have a solution to that.”

If Luther wasn’t so enraged by this entire situation, he would find Thaddeus’ schoolboy behaviour amusing.

His maker pointed a black claw at Thaddeus. “You, be quiet.”

“Now, come on Zvetari, you must admit Elias has a point,” Vargas—the Ancestral Shifter—cut in. His silver hair was the same shade as Zamorra’s. He kept it long and braided back so his face remained clear. He was tall and had the body of a professional wrestler, riddled with muscles. His blue eyes blazed silver and all it did was remind Luther of Zamorra. “The last time we went up against the fae, we didn’t just lose; we were annihilated. We barely made it out of there with our lives and we left some of our people behind in the process. That has never sat right with me.”

“Yes, yes, I know.”

“Now we have a chance to make it right and ensure history does not repeat itself. Sending someone ahead into their world to gather intel on their forces and defences could be the tipping point we need to finally beat them.”

Zvetari gritted his teeth, clenching his claws at his side. He opened his mouth when a raspy voice spoke from the double doors.

“You should let them do it, Father.”

Luther turned slightly, catching sight of Daeva leaning heavily against the doorframe. The cut along his throat hadn’t healed properly. Whatever blade caused it prevented his natural healing ability from working. Lenore and Elias were able to stop his wound from bleeding and roughly patch it up, along with the gaping hole in his stomach, but both would leave horrible scars on his body.

Zvetari blurred to his son’s side, taking his arm and carrying the brunt of his weight. “What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting,” he chastised.

“Screw resting. I want a part in this.”

“There is nothing for you to be a part of.” Zvetari led him over to the golden throne at the end of the room and forced him to sit.

“Stop being stupid,” Daeva breathed heavily, clutching his stomach. “You know they’re right, so stop being a stubborn asshole and help them.”

Zvetari looked affronted. “I am not an asshole.”

Chuckling softly, Daeva replied, “You can be.”

Luther agreed. He focused on Thaddeus. “What’s this solution you have?”

The dark mage smirked, his swagger returning quickly now that he wasn’t addressing the Ancestral beings. “Well, I’m so glad you asked, Luthy. Remember that nifty little spell that was being used to hide the identity of the people responsible for distributing Night Flare?”

Luther frowned. “Are you talking about the spell your little underling did? The Camouflage spell?”

Thaddeus clicked his fingers. “That’s the one.” His eyes glanced at the imprisoned fae standing behind the red and white force field. “I can do the same thing to you. All I need is a quick ten minutes to study their physiology and then I can replicate it onto you. That way, when you arrive through the portal, they’ll just think you’re one of them.”

“I’m coming with,” Void said, stepping up to Luther’s side.

Luther had to suppress a groan. He had almost forgotten about the shifter’s presence. “There is no need. I don’t need any help.”

---