Page 101 of Cosmic Power

“But I should have,” he said, shaking his head. “I should have seen Maddox’s betrayal and Leilani’s plan coming from a mile away, and stopped them before they got the chance to do any of it.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself. I don’t blame you one bit. Barnabas had been hunting me since before I was even born. He was going to find me eventually. There was nothing you could have done.”

A small ball of green light zoomed towards them—almost too fast for the eye to see—leaving a cloud of green dust trailing behind it.

“Navi!” Zamorra cried out, a big, beaming smile breaking out over her face. “Oh, if I could hug you right now, I would. I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for me. Thank you for following me. Thank you for being with me, comforting me. And thank you for finding Luther. You’re one of the reasons I’m standing here right now, alive.”

The pixie smiled, her blazing red hair floating around her, her beautiful translucent wings beating swiftly at her back. She gave a deep, elegant bow, like one would do after giving a grand performance on stage.

Zamorra chuckled. “I’m so glad to see you. You have no idea.”

Navi touched a hand to her heart.“You too,”she replied, even though Zamorra couldn’t understand her words.

When the pixie looked at Luther, she narrowed her eyes and poked out her tongue. It seemed even after they’d worked together to find Zamorra, Navi still didn’t like him very much. He almost chuckled at the grumpy look on her face.

“Come on,” Luther said, motioning down the corridor with a tilt of his head, “the sooner we pass this information along, the sooner we can leave.”

Loud, angry voices drifted towards them as they made their way to the day room at the front of the mansion, passing several vampire Servants of Zvetari’s House as they cleaned the floors and dusted the furniture.

Luther nodded slightly at the guards stationed every few feet, their black clothes embroidered with Zvetari’s House symbol, signifying their allegiance.

When they got to a set of mahogany double doors, Luther pushed them open, coming to a stop before the five Ancestral beings as they argued with one another around a circular oak table. Power hummed in the air, their voices overlapping and dripping with anger with each word they spoke.

“I’m telling you, our best chance of winning—of survival—is to attack now! Hard and fast! Before they see it coming,” Praxis boomed, his tail flicking aggressively behind him. His red-skinned body held a mountain of tension, his muscles bulging and contracting with each movement he made.

“I agree,” Vargas blazed, his eyes flashing silver. Luther couldn’t tell what type of creature lived beneath his skin. He sensed its power, the overwhelming strength it possessed. Whatever it was remained hidden to him, like it was concealing its identity. “The information Justin and Lex gathered only confirms how screwed we are. If the fae get a foothold in this world, it’s over. We need to hit them first.”

“Exactly!” Praxis barked, slamming his black-clawed hand on the table. “Why are we still even talking about this?”

“Because it’s not that simple!” Zvetari bared his fangs in frustration, his body shaking. “Evenifwe somehow manage to convince others of the coming war, we’re outnumbered ten to one. It’s not only the fae we’re up against here. It’s also all the shifters, vampires and demons they have captive.”

“Then it’s time the humans know of our existence. This is their world, too. They should have a hand in defending it,” Praxis countered.

Elias shot to his feet, his chair falling to the ground. “No. Involving the humans will do nothing but cause mass panic. They’re not ready to know the supernatural exist.”

“And let’s be honest, the humans are more likely to attack us than the fae,” Lenore added, anxiety riddling her face.

They all seemed oblivious to the fact that Luther and Zamorra had entered the room, their complete focus on each other as they argued amongst themselves, trying to come to some sort of an agreement.

Luther cleared his throat, but they couldn’t hear it over all the bickering. Frustrated, he put two fingers in his mouth and blew a loud, high-pitched whistle. Zvetari, Vargas and Praxis winced, covering their ears in discomfort. Lenore and Elias glanced his way, their magic simmering at the surface, red and white lightning sparking around them.

“Luther,” Zvetari placed his knuckles on the table and pushed himself to a stand. “Did he talk?”

Irritation pricked at him, at his maker’s complete disregard of Zamorra at his side. The only reason Zamorra even talked to Faxon was because Zvetari demanded it, and he didn’t have the decency to acknowledge her presence? It irked Luther.

Zamorra wasn’t one to be ignored, though. Oh no. Not his Little Alpha. She squared her shoulders and stared Zvetari down, that snark he loved so much rising quickly.

“Why don’t you try asking the one you actually sent down there?” she said, her voice strong despite the powerful creature glaring at her.

When Zvetari’s eyes glowed bright red with anger, Luther shifted his body to shield Zamorra on instinct, a warning growl slipping from his lips at the aggressive look his maker was giving her.

Cursing, Zvetari looked away, knowing full well the longer he stared at Zamorra like that, the angrier Luther would become until he lashed out. Males were extremely protective over their females. Even though Luther had yet to claim Zamorra properly, his maker knew she was his. Any aggression towards her would be paid for with blood.

After taking a calming breath, Zvetari flicked his eyes back to them—back to Zamorra—and repeated his question.

“He did,” she answered. She relayed what Faxon told her word for word, pausing slightly when Praxis snarled at the mention of the fae’s plan for their world.

“See!” The Ancestral Demon pointed at Zamorra, his fury palpable. “The longer we sit here with our thumbs up our asses, the more time we give them to get their armies in order! We need to attack now!”

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