Paige 0003

Paige 0003
I nodded. “I will be. Alex and Thorn went on a mission. I’m just… jittery without them.”
She gave me a soft smile. “They’ll be okay.”
“My queen, please,” Aggie called.
My heart lurched. Whatever she had to say was important.
Yasmin squeezed my hand. “Go. Be safe.”
“I will.” With a quick fierce hug, we parted, and I rushed to the door. Asher slipped out first, then me and Aggie. Felnick already stood there with six other guards waiting for an order.
“Down to the office. Felnick, call in more guards because you’re in with us. I want four guards to stay here with my family,” I told him.
“Yes, my queen.” He dropped behind to organize the men while we kept going until we reached my office.
Once inside with the door closed, I went behind the desk and faced Aggie, demanding, “What’s wrong?”
“Grace didn’t come back last night,” Aggie said, ringing her hands together in front of her while Asher slowly moved around to my back. Aggie went on, “She told us she had to head into the city to get more herbs. Something she’d done in the past, but she never came back. I overheard two of her close friends say they hoped her plan goes well. I don’t have a good feeling.”
The door banged open, and Felnick entered with Alma in his arms.
“Alma,” I cried and rushed around the desk, only to have her grin over at me.
“Put me down, handsome. Maybe next time we can do a different kind of riding?” Alma winked up at him while he blushed and set her on her feet.
“What’s going on?” I asked, stopping at her side and taking her arm to lead her over to the chair.
She patted my hand with her free one. “Don’t fret. I’m fine. Just exhausted from all the darn stairs in here. May I suggest getting elevators?”
“Noted.” Asher grinned.
“Good.”
“Miss Alma, you said it was urgent to get here, which was why you asked me to carry you,” Felnick said.
“Oh yes.” She smiled. “I’ve seen it. The council will soon know of our existence. War is coming. How you choose to approach it will decide on the outcome.”
“Can’t you just tell us what way to approach it?” I asked.
“No, dear. The powers that be won’t let me.”
“Can you tell us when at least?” Asher questioned.
“Nope.”
“But it must be soon since you’ve told us now,” I said, more to myself than anyone.
Alma smiled up at me as I leaned my butt against the desk in front of her.
“Soon could mean anything. Days, weeks, or even a month,” Felnick added. I glanced to him and caught him looking away from Aggie quickly. She didn’t see his hungry gaze as her eyes were on the floor.
Until she lifted them and said, “I could go there. Pretend—”
“No.” I shook my head. “What you’re already doing for us is a risk. I won’t have you attempting a bigger one.”
“But—”
“No” was clipped. At first, I thought it was Asher. I turned to him, but he shook his head. I glanced to Felnick, who stood with his fists clenched, his jaw locked, and glaring at Aggie like he would kidnap her to protect her.
“I can do whatever I wish, Felnick.”
“Oooh, this is good.” Alma clapped.
“You cannot when you are so willing to risk your own life all the time.”
Aggie’s hands dropped to her hips, and her chin lifted in defiance. “Who are you to tell me?”
Felnick’s teeth ground together before he bit out, “You’ll find out exactly when you’re older.”
Aggie snorted. “That makes no sense. I’m old enough to know now.”
Oh, this was awkward because she totally wasn’t getting his point. He wanted her in a naked way. He wanted her in a way he had a say in her future and decisions.
“Fine. You want to know who I am to tell you why I won’t allow you to risk your life?”
“Yes.”
“Right now? Here in front of everyone?”
Her head jerked back. Confusion washed over her features, dipping her brows and pinching her lips. She opened her mouth, closed it and then opened it again to stutter, “Y-Yes, um, at least, I think so.” She glanced at me. “Do I?”
“Yes, you do,” Alma said.
Aggie nodded down at her. “Okay.” She looked back at Felnick. “Then yes, I want to know.”
“I’ll be the man in your future, Aggie. I’ll be the one in your bed, claiming you as mine, and you’ll be the woman who will want to stay there and not risk her life because you’ll see a future with me.”
Wow, that was awesome.
Aggie’s cheeks shot to a deep red. “Uh… no.”
Felnick blanched. “No?”
Alma scoffed. “Oh, don’t you pretend you don’t like him. You’ve been crushing on him since you were a youngin’ I heard.”
“Alma!” Aggie yelled.
Felnick was now looking smug. “We’ll talk more about this later then.”
“I…. What…?” She shook her head. “No, we won’t.” She glared.
“We’ll see.” He faced me. “My queen, your guards will be ready for when the time comes for war. I’ll even ask around to see if there are others willing to join the fight.”
Alma gurgled. We all looked to her; she shook her head.
My brows drew down. “No to others joining?” I asked. She winked. “But war is coming here, we’ll need all the people there are if what I hear about the ruthless council is right.”
Alma shook her head but said nothing. Obviously, she couldn’t speak on the matter.
“Alma,” Asher called. She gazed up at him. “Is the war coming here?”
She winked. That was a yes.
“We’re missing something,” I stated. Alma touched her nose.
“The council will come for us?” Aggie asked.
Alma winked.
“If they come here, will we win?” Asher asked quietly. She shook her head.
“Which is why we don’t need more guards,” I said quietly. “They’ll win no matter.” Alma winked, then gurgled, but I was lost in the fear. It was like an invisible fist surrounded my heart and squeezed it tightly. I couldn’t lose anyone. The people, my people, we had to get them out. Oh God, my family. The kids. All the children.
The door opened and Nate strolled in. “Alma, do we have a chance if we take the fight to them?” He’d been listening at the door.
When Alma lifted her hand and shook it side to side, I knew it meant it was a possibility. It still meant risking my men, my guards. It meant there would be a war with only a slight chance we’d win. But if we didn’t take it there, go to them, we didn’t have a chance at all.
“I don’t fucking like this,” Nate announced.
Everyone nodded, looking dejected.
“At least there’s a better chance for us if we go there, or we’ll risk losing our lives and the people under our care,” Felnick said. We could all hear the tension in his voice, the worry.
I dropped to my knees and grabbed Alma’s hands. “Can we run? Can the mages and witches move our community someplace else?”
She shook her head. “The fight is inevitable.”
“Meaning even if we move, it’ll still happen in the future,” Nate said.
Asher’s hands landed on my shoulders. Softly, he said, “You knew this would come, love.”
I bit my bottom lip and nodded. I straightened and turned into him, gripping his T-shirt. “I just didn’t know it would be so soon. It kills me knowing you will all walk into danger with me.”
“If we don’t, the council could ruin so many more lives. They’ve killed innocents, probably kidnapped some more. They need to be stopped, and we’re the best chance to do it.” Nate told me things I already knew; it didn’t mean the mind-numbing fear would ease.
Asher tucked my hair behind my ear. “Take that fear and switch it to anger when the time comes.”
I wished I could walk into the battle on my own. However, I wasn’t stupid. For the people, I would have a better chance of protecting their future with my men and whoever would be willing to go with us at my side.
“I will,” I told him, because I knew I would.