Page 164 of Kingdom of Aramis

“You gave him that just after I got my mark,” he snarls at his parents.

“We already lost one son, we weren’t losing another,” his mother snaps, and I whine as Brodie is filled with sorrow. Jesus, what assholes.

“That’s the same as my brother’s mark.” Hunter waves Talon forward. Talon is beaming, and he pulls Briden into a hug and ushers him away from the table so they can talk. Brodie stalks over to his parents and grabs each of them by the arm before forcefully removing them from the room.

“Well, I guess we won’t be celebrating Christmas with them,” I murmur to Nox as he puts an arm around my shoulders to comfort me.

Micah’s father is slightly warmer, and I get a positive response regarding the council position. He promises he will send his nominations as soon as he returns home.

Gretchin and Holly disappeared as soon as they congratulated us. I doubt we will see them anytime soon, but I am happy for them. I don’t really need a bodyguard attached to my hip at the moment with eight attentive, clingy mates to see to my every need.

We eat our meal, and the conversation around the table is lighthearted and joyful, but it kind of feels like it’s the calm before the storm. Nox keeps looking at his phone, and I know he received a message from his parents.

I sigh, aware this celebration has come to an end. I will not wait a moment longer to go after the children. The power flows through my veins, and short of my death, no one can take the crown from me, and considering I regenerate, my death is not likely to happen anytime soon.

“Tell me,” I encourage him. I know he’s been keeping quiet for the whole meal out of the need for me to enjoy myself, but I’ll be a lot happier once those children are reunited with their parents. They must be frantic with worry.

“My parents have a location. They said they are in an underground compound deep in one of the mountains of the rift. They said that not only can they feel the children, but there are hundreds of feral shifters there as well. They can’t get any closer, though, because there are wards and guards set up around the perimeter.”

My heart sinks. Hundreds of ferals, and I don’t have the book with the spell to fix any of them.

“And the Tidemans? Any sign of them?” Lucas asks.

He shakes his head. “They don’t know. They say people come and go, but they are all wearing hoods and capes, so they haven’t been able to identify any of them.”

“I’ll assemble the teams.” Bryson jumps to his feet.

“No.” I wave him back into his seat. “I can’t do anything about any of the ferals at this stage.”

“And it will be too dangerous to bring all of them back to our prisons to wait for the cure,” Micah adds, agreeing with me. “This will be a straight extraction. Titus can sift us into the mountain, we’ll grab the kids, and sift back out.”

“I’ll go back and sneak around once the kids are safe,” Titus promises. “It will be easier if it’s just me. I can move around without anyone knowing, and I can nullify any fae wards I come across.”

“What if they have witch wards?” Mia asks, and I frown.

“I don’t want you going without backup and end up stuck there,” I argue.

“Fine, I’ll ask my assassin brother who is part witch to come with me,” he compromises, and I’m satisfied with his response.

“The kids will probably be traumatized. They have been stuck in their animal form for a long time. Command them back into human form, but be prepared for them to become unconscious. It will be a shock to their system. Transport them back to the med bay here at the palace, and I will be on standby,” Sable instructs Titus.

“What about the people responsible? You’re not going to let them get away with this, are you?” Gracelin asks angrily, hugging Archie. I don’t blame her, she almost lost her son to those monsters. I would want revenge too.

“Not at all. We will poke around while we search the compound for the kids. If we come across anyone who seems to be in their right mind, and it’s safe, then we will apprehend them, but for now, our focus needs to be the children,” Hunter tells Gracelin, who seems to accept this.

“You should stay here,” Liam suggests to me, and I glare at him. I’m still boiling mad about him being naked in front ofeveryone. I’m aware it’s hypocritical, since I was just as naked, but this comment just makes me feel even angrier at him.

“I will not. I am coming too,” I tell him stubbornly. I expect him to argue, but to my surprise, he accepts it without complaint.

“We need to change. Will you excuse us?” Gryffin pushes back from the table, and the rest of my mates follow suit.

“Be careful.” My granny squeezes my hand. “Come to the bakery once you rescue those poor babies, and when you get a free moment, let us know how it goes.”

I promise them I will, and the nine of us leave to get ready for the mission.

We arrive in a clearing that Titus got from a picture Nox’s parents sent us. It’s bitterly cold, and snow swirls around as we get blasted by frigid wind. Nox’s parents step around a rock they sheltered behind and point out the carefully hidden entrance to the facility. They wish us luck before the three men put their hands on Lena, and then they disappear from sight.

“Unicorns can teleport?” I gasp, and Nox nods.