I looked a little closer. It was a dagger, smooth and white. The handle was a bone of some type — actually, the entire thing looked like it was carved from a bone — The handle was thick, with symbols etched into it, before it tapered up to a very sharp point.
“It’s fae,” I breathed, confirming my earlier suspicions, unease cramping my stomach. They often carved weapons from the bones of magical creatures. It made for quite the powerful piece, as had been demonstrated here today.
“Who would have dropped off fae weapons on their doorsteps?” I asked, trying to make out the other blades they had held.
Kade shook his head. “Someone who knew the wolves were looking for a chance to end us. Someone who also thought we would never suspect our own people and they would be able to get close.”
“The winter queen,” I snarled. That bitch. It had to be her, or the Dark Fae Lord. Either way, they were using far more underhanded methods than I had expected.
A groan from the corner distracted us both, and Kade stepped forward, his hands claws at his sides. I pushed past him when I realized it was just Vinnie. The older man was blinking rapidly, looking around as he tried to figure out what had happened. When he saw the state of the hallway to his bathroom, he went very pale.
I helped him sit up. “Are you okay?”
He nodded a few times, unable to look away from the bloody carnage Kade had left in his hallway.
“Glad to see you’re okay, King Kade.” He looked away finally, up to the bear shifter who was standing above me. “The way you held your cool, tried to reason with them. Well, it was nice to see a bear not just attack, even when you had all the right.”
I freaking knew they wouldn’t be able to get the drop on Kade. He had let them go, trying to stop a fight, trying not to hurt my people. And they had ambushed him with fae magic. Vinnie must have still been conscious for that part.
“Sorry about the mess, Vin. I’ll have my magic born clean it up.” I extended a hand and Vinnie took it, grunting as he lifted himself up.
“It’s not a problem. Won’t be much of my pizza place left if we don’t win this war.” He looked at the ground, trying to smooth out his features.
“We’re going to win,” I assured him. That was my place, to assure my people even if I wasn’t sure myself.
The next few hours passed in a blur. Violet, Nikoli, and Rowan thoroughly checked the surrounding area for more rogue wolves, and thankfully there were none. Then they all worked with Baladar to fully clean and close my wound. Violet’s temporary care had kept it pain free for a short while, before it started to weep and throb with pain again. Baladar was reasonably concerned about the weapon, and said he would do some research into what sort of bone it might be. I explained my theory about the winter fae leaving it there, which definitely increased his worry.
By the time we got back to the royal estate, there were no outward signs we had been attacked. Clothes were changed, blood cleaned, faces blank. Panicked shifters were the last thing I needed; they were already on edge. I would hide as much of this from them as I could.
I went straight up to my office, to find Blaine waiting there. He took one look at me and jumped up from his chair.
“Ari, what the hell happened?” His large hands wrapped around my biceps as he pulled me closer.
I collapsed a little into him, and in hurried whispers told him everything. By the end of the story, he was pacing back and forth across the room, looking far less cool and collected than usual. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to go to the fae lands now? I don’t want to leave you unprotected.”
I sank into my office chair, thankful there was only the slightest twinge in my shoulder now. “I would love to keep you with me, mostly because I want to make sure you are safe.” We had already lost too many of our inner circle. My dominants. With this new attack, I was rethinking everything. “But if the war is coming, we need to share information between our armies. I need someone I can trust in the Otherworld. Someone who can keep an eye on everything. That someone is you.”
He didn’t argue again, even though he didn’t look particularly happy. A knock sounded against my door, and I called out, “Enter.”
Rowan walked in. “I have opened the doorway to the Summer Court. It’s time.”
My chest tightened and I bit back the words that would stop Blaine from leaving. He was still staring at me, those intense green eyes locked on my face.
“Thanks, Rowan,” I murmured. “We’ll be right there.”
She nodded, and then left the room. Standing again, I approached my old friend, and a million unsaid things drifted between us in a single look. “Be careful.” I swallowed hard. “Report back to me via the flowers and magical mirrors whenever you can.”
He gave me a firm nod, acting all business-like, until his arms swept around me and I was pulled into a tight hug. “Please don’t die, Ari. I can’t live in a world without you.”
I let myself relax against him again, forgetting in that moment that I was the queen, with all the weight of my people’s lives on my shoulders. Being with Blaine felt — at times — like stepping back to a more carefree Arianna.
After he left, I knew I was on the verge of freaking out, so I started to do some work. Which was the reason I told Kade I was going to my office in the first place. Catching up on some of my queenly duties.
Despite being late at night, everyone was busy. Working.
The magic born were working on the spell to find the dark crystals, Kade was dealing with his bear-king duties, and I was about to make multiple conference calls with other pack alphas, coordinating battle and attack plans, mobilizing our armies.
Sometimes it felt like being queen was all paperwork and phone calls.
Finn joined me at one point, resting his head on my thigh as I dealt with another set of worried alpha wolves. By the time I hung up, my head was pretty much on my desk I was so tired.
Get your butt to bed, My Queen. Kade’s voice in my head was a welcome relief, and I decided it was time to rest. A lot had happened today.
On my way.
Kade was in the room when Finn and I entered. I knew he’d only made it back just before me. “How did everything go with the bears?” I asked, kicking off my shoes as I walked. They flew across the room in different directions, but I was way too tired to care.
He met me halfway across the massive suite, his eyes dropping to my shoulder. “More importantly, how’s the wound?” A murky energy still floated around him. I assumed it was lingering aggression from the fight.
Reaching up, I rubbed at it unconsciously. “It feels … okay. Nothing too crazy. I’ll live.”
I received an exasperated smile in return. “You better live. And the bears are all good now. We just had some disputes about who was in charge of the different dens. You’d think in times of war that sort of stupid shit would stop, but unfortunately it seems nothing ends the internal squabbling.”
I almost laughed. I’d been dealing with similar things too, all the time wanting to tell them to get their acts together. My diplomacy was pretty much gone at the moment.