160: Ada's POV
160: Ada's POV
Phoenix had been right about it feeling different. It felt very intentional and responsive. Not every touch felt the same or as electric. With our wolves, everything seemed to get muddled and be exciting. This seemed more authentic. Like we were listening and responding to each other’s bodies and wants. Every nerve wasn’t activated all at once.
As nice as it would have been to lie with each other, I needed ‘a few hours' rest. I’d fallen asleep quickly after our romp, and had awoken some time later to find that I was covered with a blanket and Dagger was resting on a bed across the way. I was still naked beneath the blanket.
When I sat up, I found a stack of fresh clothes and a note signed by Heath explaining that they were the only ones in my size. After verifying that Dagger was asleep, I stood. My body was stiff, and I found myself reaching up and working my body into a deep stretch. Dagger didn’t move a muscle, his breathing even. I slowly got dressed, keeping a half an eye on the High Fae. They had found me male trousers and a loose-fitting tunic, which I tugged into the waist of the pants.
I undid my braid, raked my fingers through my hair, and then redid my braid quickly. There were no portholes in this room, so it was only lit by the flickering lights of lanterns and candles. In this particular instance, almost everything had burned out. After debating relighting something for Dagger, I decided to leave the room.
Blade was waiting outside the door, body rigid as he looked over the ship’s deck. When I stepped up beside him, he smirked, “Sleep well?”
I elbowed him in the side. “Shut up. Where’s Phoenix?”
“With Heath,” Blade sighed, leaning back against the wall. “Want me to walk you to him?”
My thumb jutted over my shoulder. “Dagger’s in there sleeping.”
He tossed me a look that said ‘so what’ and started walking beside me. We made our way across the ship and knocked on the door of a room off the stern. Heath, his brothers, Alpha Bryant, and Phoenix were hunkered over a large table covered in a map. They had a compass they were all looking at and a few pencils to mark things down.
Heath glanced up at me, and I nearly stopped in my tracks. Yes, he looked so much like Everett that it was sometimes hard to stomach being near him. But right then? He looked almost entirely like his own self. His eyes were softer, taking on a more honey-shaded brown than chocolate, and his face had creases from sun exposure and smiling. His skin was weather-worn and tan. I could tell he’d spent a good portion of his life sailing on open water. He was slightly taller than Phoenix and quite a bit more sturdy in the way he was filled out.
A smirk tugged up the corner of Heath’s mouth, and I realized I was staring. I knew he probably took it as a sign of attraction, but really it was just shock. I averted my gaze, trying to get a better look at Paul and Felix. Maybe they would each start to look less like Everett the more I was around them. One could hope, anyway.
Before I could get a good look at the other two Lennox brothers, Alpha Bryant cleared his throat, “We’re just discussing where we seem to be and the direction we’re headed.”
“And whether or not Velentaria is on our heels,” Heath grumbled, grabbing a pencil and circling something on the map.
Blade took a step closer, leaning over the map. “She isn’t following us.”
Paul snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Because I know her,” Blade stated firmly, pointing to the largest land mass on the map, which I recognized as the Kingdom of the Moonglade, “She got what she wanted. Velentaria no longer perceives you as a threat now that she’s disconnected you from your wolves. Now,” he scratched the back of his head, “She knows you have Fae blood and a few High Fae with you, but she’s cocky enough to not think we could do her any harm.”
Heath straightened himself, meeting Blade’s eyes. “Do you have any recommendations for a course?”
The High Fae tutted and shook his head. “I’m unfamiliar with the neighboring lands, and even with the majority of your— the Kingdom,” he cleared his throat, glancing warily at Phoenix. “King Phoenix will have the best insight.”
Nice recovery, I joked to him mentally, and Blade shot me a look. I shrugged, fighting the smile that wanted to spread across my face. Phoenix leaned on the table. “Would she be expecting a fight?”
All eyes turned to look at him. He rolled his shoulders back and continued to stare right at Blade. Blade gave a small shake of his head, grinning widely. “No. Not with your forces so severely depleted. She expects you to do what you’ve done— flee.”
“You’re not seriously suggesting we go back,” Felix growled, plopping down into a chair behind the table. “It’s suicide.”
“It’s strategic,” Phoenix countered, motioning to several things I couldn’t make out on the map, “We’re hundreds of miles off of the coast. She senses the use of magick as a fae, so we don’t use any. We go down to bare-bones old-fashioned sailing to get back,” he moved a ship to the other end of the Kingdom, “but we port here, in the Midnight Pack territory.”
I cocked my head to the side and finally took a step up to the table. “Why there?”
“It’s the furthest point from Oberon Castle,” Everett jumped in, explaining, “Your mate must think that there are some that will remain loyal to the Ashfords in the territories as Velentaria works to take them over one by one.”
“At worst, we don’t gain any army, and we meet hers halfway through the Kingdom,” Phoenix shrugged. “At best, we stay stealthy and can make it all the way back to Oberon Castle with a larger army, undetected.”
Blade’s grin only grew wider. Heath, Paul, and Felix exchanged hesitant glances. Alpha Bryant stood silently, simply observing the interactions. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “It’s better than running. How long will it take us to get there without magick?”
“It could be several months from where we’re at, especially to evade her armada along the way.” Heath rubbed his jaw. “I think we’d need to add a few more weeks and hit this island here,” he pointed to an island on a distant corner of the map, “We’ll need additional provisions, and I know some packs in this area.”
He had pointed to an island that was labeled as ‘The Kingdom of Blood and Shadow.’ Phoenix’s eyes widened. “You don’t know packs there; you know clans.”
“I had to find allies somewhere, King Phoenix,” Heath hissed out, “They will help us.”
I rolled my eyes yet again. “After our alliance with Finn, Phoenix, you’re really going to question allying with an island of vampires?”