Kade shifted forward in his seat, long arms extending across the table. I felt his approval through the bond, and sensed the others around the table also approved. It was a good idea. But who would I send? It would have to be someone I trusted, who was a top warrior, who had a lot of knowledge of our world. Blaine ideally would be the best choice; he had been to the Otherworld, he knew what to expect, and he was a top fighter and strategist.
Part of me immediately refused to put my best friend into harm’s way like that, but I knew he would not appreciate me holding him back from this. I needed to think on it, discuss it with him. Kade could also send one of his bears so that each side had a representative, and they could bring their knowledge back to train with us here on the Earth side.
Realizing I needed to say something to Caspien, I smiled. “That’s a great idea. We will need a day or so to organize our people, but consider it done.”
He gave us a small bow. “Send your warriors through when they are ready. Rowan and Violet can create a portal. Also, Rowan has a special mirror. You can watch over our progress through that.”
Kade and I both walked with the prince as he left the room. “Tell your father thank you for the gifts.”
Caspien nodded. “I will. Good luck.” And then he was gone through the double doors, presumably off to the fae lands.
As I turned from the door, I found Rowan and Violet behind me. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I told the magic born again. “And ... I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Dalia. I know you two were friends. Her loss is a great one. The world needs more fae like her.”
Rowan’s delicate features crumbled for a brief second, before she recovered. “Thank you, I truly miss her. But she went out like a warrior. She will be honored by the gods.”
I nodded my agreement.
Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. “We have a run this morning, with all of the wolves and bear shifters. One last run together, so training might have—”
She interrupted me. “I will prepare some training exercises for you. You do what you need, and we can meet when you return.”
I gave her one last hug, and then directed one of the guards to show her to her room. She would be in a suite close to mine, one of the more luxurious.
Calista wandered over. She had been in the kitchens no doubt, judging from the slightly pink hue to her cheeks. It was always hot and steamy in there. “Okay, so the buses will be out front in approximately twenty minutes.” She swiped across her tablet a few times, checking everything over. “They’ve already picked up shifters from most of the points, and it looks like almost everyone is coming along for this last shift.”
My wolf stirred in my chest. She was a lot quieter since my fae magic had unlocked. It seemed to soothe her in a way the mecca never had, but knowing we were so close to shifting had her shaking that coat off and baring her teeth.
“Let’s grab some breakfast first, and then we’re good to go,” I said. I could see from the grins of the others in the room that my wolf wasn’t the only one who was excited.
First run for bears and wolves together. Here was hoping this didn’t end in disaster.
There were dozens of buses in a line as we left the city behind. Normally the queen would not ride with the other shifters like this, but Kade and I believed that by mingling with the shifters we would show them the bond between us. They needed to see our mateship.
We were heading to a shifter-owned property in Upstate New York. It was over a hundred acres, which was not a huge distance for us to run, but it would do for today. This was more about letting our beasts out one last time before the buses were cut off, and the second and final wave left for California. It would take about three hours to get there normally, but with a little Violet and Nikoli help, we cut that time in half.
I spent most of the trip dozing against Kade. He had me wrapped up tight in his arms, and even though we didn’t talk, it was a very comfortable sort of silence. We were content.
When the buses finally arrived, we all exited. Throngs of shifters had already arrived before us; the buses had been running all morning. The energy was high and with mixed emotions, excitement for the run and trepidation for the oncoming war. I walked over to Kade and his war counselor, Gerald.
“You’re asking me to cower!” Gerald was saying.
Kade looked tired. We’d been in this war mode for weeks now, and it was taking its toll. “I’m asking you, my most trusted counsel and friend, to go to California and train Nathanial in the event Kian and I perish. He is the last of our bloodline and will need wise and strict council if he is to become king.”
Kade and I had spoken and agreed that both of us dying in this war was a possibility. We needed to take action to set up for the future of the monarchy.
Gerald gritted his teeth. “I should be on the front lines with you.”
Kade placed a hand on Gerald’s shoulder. “There is no one else I trust with this task. Kian is stubborn, he strongly believes that during war time, his place is with our people. As long as there is no immediate threat to the children, he’s only going to be there long enough to settle his son in. I can’t command him to stay. So it has to be you that teaches the young our ways.”
Gerald sighed, resigned, and nodded. I then stepped forward, making my presence known.
“Ready for this run?” I asked excitedly. Finn stood a few feet away from me, scanning the crowd of shifters.
Kade looked out into the mix of wolf and bear shifters as well, almost looking emotional. “It’s a historic day. Bear and wolf running together.”
I slipped my hand in his.
“Hopefully this is the first of many times we do.”
And with that, Kade called for everyone to begin their shifting. We all stripped where we were. I might be queen, but nudity was nothing to shifters who so often had to call on their animal. My shift was seamless, my new energy giving me a speed to change I had never had before. And practically no pain.
Finn actually wagged his tail for a second, overcome with excitement.
It’s been too long since we ran together, I told my familiar, padding over to his side. I was a lot smaller than him. Usually he was the largest in the pack, but with so many bears around he was average size.
Much too long. I’ll bet I’m still faster though. He gave me a wolfish grin and I playfully nipped at his neck.
The sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh filled the clearing, and once bear-Kade was beside me, a hulking mass of brown fur, I tipped my head back and howled. Kade roared next to me, the ground shaking with the vibrations. Howls and roars rang out and I took off running, hoping to secretly catch Finn off guard. No such luck. Finn and Kade were right on my heels, as were the rest of our people.
I had been secretly worried that this experiment would fail, that seeing the huge difference between a bear and a wolf would really scare our people. But if anything, the fact that we ran, hunted, and were free in the same animalistic way only brought us all closer.
That day we ran as one, and it further cemented my hope that one day we could all be living happily ever after.