There was no time for a wedding. I didn’t need one anyway. Axil was mine and I was his. I’d been declared queen by the council, there was no need for fancy dresses and dancing. I’d never wanted any of that, I just wanted him. We were accepted by our people, as mates and monarchs, and that’s all that mattered to me.
We’d left Axil’s lead Royal Guard in charge of the war effort. The wolven troops were set to ride to our aid immediately but we could not wait to travel with them on foot. The fae king needed us now. Axil had spoken of Lucien and his dear friendship and unshakable alliance with the kings of Avalier that summer at camp when we were fifteen. How he went once a year to a retreat to spend time with them and strengthen their bond. Though it seemed like they’d fallen away from each other for some time, it was like no time was lost between them now.
I watched happily as Raife and Axil caught each other up on all they’d missed as we rode atop the dragon king. Next to us, Kailani and Madelynn flew on Arwen’s back.
“Married. I never thought I’d see the day,” Axil said to Raife over the roaring wind.
Raife smiled. “You don’t let a woman like Kailani get away.” He looked across the clouds at his wife and I couldn’t help but match his smile. I instantly liked Raife: any man who spoke so kindly about his wife was good in my book.
“So, what—” Axil started when a frigid chill slammed into us. Suddenly we were in the center of a snowstorm that had come out of nowhere.
I knew the winter king had a reputation of having an awesome power that he couldn’t quite control, and now I was seeing it first-hand.
By my calculations we were still in Archmere, elvin territory, where it did not snow this time of year if ever. Raife looked concerned, his brows knotting together in the center of his forehead. “The war must have gotten worse since we left only a few short hours ago,” he said.
The dragon king swooped low, below the thick snowy clouds, and a horrifying sight came into view. Thousands of soldiers, for as far as the eye could see, were attempting to infiltrate Archmere.
There was an ice wall, growing along the border as I looked and blocking the men from advancing across.
Elvin warriors ran to meet them, their arrows sailing over the ice wall and impaling the Nightfall soldiers.
“Get me lower!” Madelynn screamed next to us and Arwen swooped down towards the army of men on the Nightfall side.
Drae followed his wife and then suddenly we were in the thick of the war.
“There’s so many,” I breathed. Axil reached out and threaded his fingers into mine as we peered at the carnage first-hand. Dead bodies were strewn on either side of the border, Nightfall warriors wore metal glinting contraptions on their wrists and some flung wind and fire like a fae.
Madelynn had told us of the Nightfall queen stealing magical powers but until now, I hadn’t seen it for myself.
“No,” Axil growled and chills broke out on to my arms. I followed his line of sight and my heart leapt into my throat.
A wolf.
It was smaller than a real wolven and less muscular, and it was running on the Nightfall side.
“They steal our magic but it’s not as good or effective for them,” Raife told us.
Rage burned brightly inside of me and that’s when I got to witness the full extent of Madelynn’s awesome power.
Her battle cry came first, and then a wall of wind slammed into the Nightfall offensive, bodies were tossed into the air like leaves, thrown back hundreds of feet. Trees snapped in half and the very grass was ripped from the earth. She’d cleared the entire border for a hundred yards without harming the ice wall or a single elvin warrior.
“Take that, Zaphira!” she cried from atop Arwen and I looked over at her in awe.
These women, these queens that I now was equal to in status, were awe-inspiring.
“She’s amazing,” I breathed.
Raife smiled. “Probably more powerful than Lucien, but don’t tell him I said that.”
We flew over more fighting and carnage, making our way to Thorngate as Madelynn helped to equalize the war from above. But the closer we got to the Nightfall City castle border, the more things looked bleaker on our side. Raife paled beside me as we stared at the bodies of fallen elves and fae alike. It looked like the enemy had somehow gotten over the twenty-foot slick ice wall.
“How did they do that?” I asked, peering over the side of the dragon and then down to see things more closely.
“Some of them can fly and—” The words died in Raife’s throat as we all watched a creature on the Nightfall side leap over the barrier with ease and land in Archmere.
Chills rushed up my arms.
No. It couldn’t be. They were nearly all wiped out.
The creature ran to the nearest elf warrior at a speed I could barely track and then grasped her by the head, bringing her neck to his mouth. As he drank from her, my fists tightened at my sides.
Necros.
“Maker, help us,” Raife breathed. “The necromerians have taken Nightfall’s side.” His voice was hollow, full of shock.
“No,” Axil said and I could hear the astonishment in his voice. “They’re neutral. They haven’t fought in a war for eons.”
It was true they were reclusive outcasts among all Avalierians but as more and more of them soared over the barrier, we realized they were no longer neutral.
The necros were blood-sucking creatures that walked upright like men, and yet could leap a hundred feet into the air and break your back in half with one snap. I hated to admit that fear consumed me then.
I’d never fought a necro before, or seen one, before this moment. Only had I heard stories of their kind: I thought they couldn’t go out in sunlight but clearly that was a rumor. A female necro with long black hair looked up at Drae and then crouched. Within seconds she soared into the sky as if she were flying! She launched right at us when Drae belched a stream of fire and then she fell to the ground with a thud.
My heart raced as I took in the entire scene. Turning to Axil with wide eyes, I reached for his hand. “We have to help them.”
Innocent elvin people were being slaughtered.
Axil nodded, leaning over the edge of the basket saddle. I knew what he was about to do. I’d never seen him use the king’s power and after witnessing Ansel use it wrongly, it made me nervous. But if he could stop those bloodsuckers from killing elvin, I was all for it.
Drae swooped low to the ground and I steeled myself, unsure whether Axil would throw his hands up or shout a command, but no. He just glared at the dozens of advancing necromerians and one by one they stumbled over their feet, then became like rigid soldiers, and I knew he had control over them. They marched without animation over to the nearest weapon or sharp object and impaled themselves upon it. I winced at the sight but I also approved.
This was war and when you were at war, it was a case of anything goes.
Raife clasped Axil on the back in gratitude and Axil nodded. It was one of the darkest things I’d ever seen. To make someone end their own life … but they’d chosen their side and we had to see it through now. Until the end.
After taking care of the necromerians, Drae flew us higher and into Thorngate where the temperature plunged. Thick chunks of snow fell from the sky as I pulled my furs tighter around me.
In no time at all we were landing before a giant white castle, blanketed in snow.
This was the famed Winter Court.
Madelynn leapt off of Arwen and bolted inside, seemingly in search of her husband. I followed Raife who led Axil and I past front steps filled with soldiers, and inside.
The moment we crossed the threshold, I was blasted with the warmth of a fire, and was grateful for it. Madelynn was there hugging a handsome-looking very tall fae with ink-black hair. They pulled away when they saw us and Lucien Thorne took one look at Axil and me, and grinned. “You came.”
I wasn’t sure if I were imagining it but the pupils in Lucien’s eyes looked clouded like snow. Whatever storm was happening outside, he was somehow controlling it in here.
Axil stepped forward and embraced his friend. “Of course I came: you sent the box. I had no choice.”
Lucien chuckled and by now Arwen, Drae and Kailani had joined us.
“The necromerians have joined the fight?” Raife said beside us.
Lucien looked stressed, reaching up to rub at his temples. “Right after you flew away, we got the first wave of them. Didn’t understand what I was seeing for a second.”
The dragon king let out a low whistle. “I wonder how Zaphira got the necros to agree to fight against us.”
“Who cares: how do we defeat them?” Arwen asked and went to stand next to her husband.
Everyone turned to look at Axil, myself included.
“Can you control them all?” Lucien asked.
Axil shook his head. “An entire army? I’m not sure my mind can do that alone.”
“I understand,” Lucien said but he appeared distraught.
“Alone?” I asked, noticing that Axil had used specific wording.
He stared warily at me, almost as if he didn’t want me to pick up on that. “I could, for a short period of time, share the king’s power with another dominant wolf.”
Another dominant wolf. Me.
“Let’s do it,” I said immediately.
He shook his head. “What if you get hurt or …” He peered at my stomach. I had wanted to pull Raife aside and ask if it was really true, if I was really pregnant but I didn’t have a chance. Maybe it was all just a ruse.
“I’m strong, you said so yourself, and any child we make will be the same,” I told him.
He sighed and then inclined his head. “Are you sure you can handle this?”
“Completely sure.”
Raife rubbed his hands together in excitement. “If you can share the burden of holding back the necros, it could save thousands of lives. Just long enough for us to break through and kill the queen.” He looked at Axil hopefully.
Axil glanced at me again as if he needed more confirmation that I truly desired to do this. I reached out and squeezed his hand, an idea forming in my mind. “I’ll bet we could get some horse saddles modified to fit on our wolven backs.” We were smaller than horses but not by much.
Lucien’s eyes lit up. “What are you suggesting?”
I gave everyone in our little meeting a sly grin. “Axil and I ride as a team with one of you on our wolven backs. We use our power to hold off any attacks and walk you right into the queen’s inner camp.”
Drae gasped slightly. “It’s brilliant. Yes! And Arwen and I can circle above trying to keep any air assault away from you.”
“I want to do it,” Raife said suddenly and everyone turned to look at him.
“Do what?” Lucien asked his friend.
The normally peaceful healer fisted his hands. “I want to be the one to slit her throat and whisper the names of my family in her ear before she burns in Hades.”
Whoa. It was a well-known rumor that the Nightfall queen had taken out his entire family, though it was one I hadn’t believed until right now.
Axil placed a hand on Raife’s shoulder and squeezed. “You can ride with me.”
“I’ll manage the troops at the front line with Madelynn. Freeze anyone who gets through,” Lucien said.
Madelynn nodded, stepping up next to her husband.
“And I will ride on Zara,” Kailani said and peered over at me. “If that’s okay? I know the Nightfall realm the best. I grew up there,” she added, a little shamefacedly.
I gave her an easy smile. “That’s perfect.” I’d given wolf-back rides to Oslo and his friends all the time, sometimes three of them at once. My wolf was ten times stronger than I was. I’d be slower than normal but that was okay: it was my mental acuity that would need to be up to the task if I were going to … control people against their will.
A nursemaid suddenly came over then holding two infants, one in each arm and I gasped.
They were so perfect and tiny.
With bright grins, Drae and Arwen each reached for a baby and pulled them to their chests, peppering their faces with kisses.
“They’re adorable,” I told Arwen and she looked up at me beaming. Twins were common in wolven births too. Sometimes triplets.
It made me think of the life growing inside of me and whether that had been one hundred percent true or not.
“Raife, can I speak to you for a minute?” I inclined my head to a spot a few steps away by the roaring fire.
He nodded and followed me.
Once he was standing before me, I grasped my flat stomach. “Am I really with child? I won’t be mad if that was a trick because it saved Axil’s life.”
He beamed at me. “You are. It’s very early but I see it as a small flicker of golden light in your womb.” He glanced at my stomach and I couldn’t believe how incredible his healing gift was to detect life even before a mother could. “And I don’t think using any mental gifts will interfere with the pregnancy at this stage.”
Tears lined my eyes but I blinked them back. “Thank you,” I told him and we walked back over to join the others. I knew with Axil’s sensitive hearing and the fact that we hadn’t stepped too far away that he’d probably heard. When I stepped back up beside him, he ran a hand over my belly and grinned at me. “Okay, I’m going to need some time to train Zara,” he said.
Lucien looked like he was mentally half here, and half with the storm outside. “When will your wolves be here?” he asked dreamily.
“It might take two days or more with such a large contingent but I can have a smaller elite force here within hours if Arwen and Drae are willing to fly them,” Axil said, peering at the dragon king and queen.
The husband and wife shared a glance and then nodded. “We can fly runs all night, holding two to four people each until we have enough.”
That was a relief. If they could get the Royal Guard here then the necromerians didn’t stand a chance.
Raife cleared his throat. “I appreciate that you’ve called your entire army for us, Axil, but if your power is great enough, we may not need them. We can end this tomorrow morning.”
“No pressure.” Axil laughed nervously.
Raife clapped his dear friend on the back. “I saw what you did back there with the necros. It was incredible. We just need that on a larger scale.”
Axil turned to face me. “Then if you’ll excuse us, Zara needs to train.”
We walked out of the living room and into a small library. It was cute that Axil seemed to know where he was going, which meant he’d been here before. Probably as a kid.
Axil looked around, seemingly stuck in his memories and then glanced at me. “You know what it feels like to pull on your dominant power and hold another dominant’s gaze?”
I nodded. As a female in a pack of strong males I’d had to do it often.
“Well, controlling another person against their will is a lot like that. But instead of holding eye contact you …” His lips thinned as he stared off into the rows of books in the distance, seemingly at a loss for words. “You hold the image in your mind of what you want them to do and … push it over them. You wrap them in it until they are forced to do it,” he finished and then shook his head. “I’m sorry I’ve never had to explain this to another person before. My father taught Ansel and I when we were younger.”
I nodded. “That’s okay. I think I know what you mean. It’s like holding a thought in your head of a person kneeling, and they kneel?”
“Sort of, yeah. Do you want to try it on me first?”
My eyes widened. Control Axil? Against his will? The thought felt so wrong and yet I knew he was the best person to practice with.
“Uh, sure,” I said hesitantly.
“You won’t hurt me,” he said, and then placed his arm over mine. “Hold my gaze.”
I had friends who were submissives and they said it was uncomfortable to hold a dominant’s gaze, that when they locked eyes with their alpha for too long, their insides churned.
Not me. It gave me a thrill. My heart would pound in anticipation of how long I would be able to hold it.
“I’ll have to bring you into Death Mountain pack,” he stated.
Even though I knew that was inevitable, my heart pinched a little at the thought of leaving Dorian, Amara, my brothers … Eliza. They wouldn’t be pack family anymore. But Axil was my family now, and so was this child in my belly and I’d have to join Death Mountain pack to truly be queen of the wolven.
“Okay.” I handed him my wrist upturned.
I locked eyes with Axil fiercely, gritting my jaw as he dragged a clawed finger down my arm and drew blood. The dominance of the alpha king was unlike anything I could describe to an outsider. Looking at Axil now, there was a knowing that he could take me in a fight, that he could take over my will, but also that he would protect me at all costs, that I could depend on him for anything. That’s what true dominance was in a wolf pack. My leader, my protector, my mate.
I gasped when he pressed his bloody wrist to mine.
“Zara Moon …” He gave me his last name and I had to suppress a whimper of surprise. It felt so right. “I claim you for Death Mountain pack and I share this burden with you. The magic of my forefathers.”
I gasped as I felt a literal tearing away from my brother, Dorian, Eliza, everyone in the Mud Flats. It was like a constant knowledge in the back of your mind that someone was there and now they were suddenly gone. It was replaced with new people, Axil and all of the Death Mountain wolves. Then I felt his magic, and I wasn’t prepared for the hot buzzing sensation to crawl up my veins and into my chest. I shuddered as the magic completely entered me and settled just under my skin.
“You feel it?”
I swallowed hard and nodded. It was an unnerving thing, like you were sharing your body with someone else. My wolf was there, and one other. This magic.
I realized then that I’d been holding his gaze the entire time without issue. “You’ll be more dominant while you carry the power,” he told me and then stepped five paces away from me, putting his hands at his sides. “Now make me kneel.”
I swallowed hard, trying to concentrate.
“Kneel!” I shouted with force, but nothing happened.
Axil shook his head. “You don’t have to say it. Ansel did that for theatrics. Focus on the vision of my kneeling and then wrap it in the magic and … throw it at me.”
Right.
Closing my eyes, I envisioned the king of the wolven bowing his head and dropping to one knee before me. I felt the magic stir to life inside of me and I opened my eyes and pushed that vision over him as if I were throwing a fishing net and capturing him in it.
He winced for a second and then dropped to one knee, head bowed.
I gasped, releasing the hold I had over him and he looked up at me with a grin.
“You’re a natural.”
My heart pounded as the power coursed through me. “You’ve had this the whole time?” I asked him, looking at my hands as if they were weapons.
He nodded. “The burden of a wolven king. Knowing when to use it and when to refrain. Something my brother never learned.” He growled that last part.
“How do you use this on multiple people?” I asked, thinking of the impending army of blood drinking necromerians we were about to attack.
He sighed, stepping closer to me. “Very skillfully.” He reached out and traced the side of my cheek. “Most men would want to tuck their woman away and hide her from harm, but I know how strong you are,” he told me, eyes blazing yellow. “I know that we can win this war, together.”
His confidence in my abilities made me smile.
“With that being said …”
I steeled myself for him to tell me to stay home because I was fragile, or pregnant, or both.
“How about I worry about subduing the masses, and you just make a path through it all so we can get Raife to the queen.”
He didn’t want me to take on too much stress and I understood that.
I dipped my chin indicating I understood and agreed. “No offense to the elf king, but isn’t he a healer and not a fighter?”
I hated to question his dear friend but was this man going to be able to kill the famed Nightfall queen, Zaphira?
Axil gave me a wolfish grin. “Raife could split an arrow from a mile away.”
Okay, clearly I had misjudged the great healer and had completely forgotten about the famed elvin Bow Men.
“But without his bow?” I asked; I hated to admit I had a bit of a prejudice thinking that the elves were weak warriors compared to the dragon-folk or fae.
Axil placed both hands on my shoulders. “The Nightfall queen killed his entire family. Poisoned them in front of him. Nothing burns brighter than the hatred he has of this woman. He will remove her heart from her chest with his bare fingers if he has to.”
I nodded with approval. Now that sounded like my kind of warrior.
“Then I’m ready. Let’s do this.” I stood tall and proud. I wanted Axil to know that I was with him, as his mate, his queen, no matter what.
He chuckled. “Easy there. Let’s practice a bit more first.”
FOUR HOURS LATER, after a large dinner and nearing 2 a.m., I had all the kings and queens of Avalier bowing before me in the drawing room. I’d been practicing for over two hours and Arwen and Drae had just got back from their second run. We now had a dozen of the elite wolven guard getting up to speed on the war with Lucien’s commander.
“This is fun,” I said.
“Okay, I think she has mastered the skill, Axil, my knees hurt,” Arwen griped jokingly and I released my hold over them all.
One by one they stood and appraised me.
“This will work,” Raife said excitedly. “If she can just get me within bow range of the queen, we end this.”
Lucien and Madelynn were mentally absent, but physically present using their powers to control the weather outside.
“There’s more of them,” Madelynn said in an eerie voice. “The necros. We should attack soon, at first daylight, for I fear if we let them amass …” Her voice trailed off.
Lucien nodded his agreement, his eyes looking far off into the room. “It’s now or never. We get a few hours’ sleep and then prepare to leave.” He motioned to me and Axil.
I’d always been fascinated by the power the fae held. To be able to control nature itself was incredible.
“My men are being briefed on the situation: I’ll let them know we ride at first light,” Axil told them.
I peered over at Raife and was alarmed to see him grinning.
Kailani cleared her throat. “Darling … what’s so funny?”
He shook himself, wiping the smile off his face. “Oh nothing, I just thought of the queen dying and gasping for air and got excited. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”
Kailani peered at all of us with wide eyes and reached out to pat his shoulder. “Let’s keep creepy thoughts to ourselves, darling.”
We all burst into laughter at that. Raife was probably the only one in the room who was excited for morning.
