__________________________

“The new moon is upon us. They’ll be here in two days.”

Jonghyun looked over the curtain wall of the Fortress. They’d begun preparations for an all-out battle five days ago. First was the evacuation of the Prae villages to inside of the Fortress. The space was large and accommodating and would offer more protection. Able bodied men and women, Alpha, Beta, and Omega alike, were giving the chance to join the guard as a last line of defense between them and the non-fighting civilian who would be concentrated in the Great Hall and Dongbang library during the fighting. Shifters were also enlisted to do non-combatant jobs such as helping the healers prepare, assisting with food preparation and weapons making. InWoo gave a succinct class on the art to the general population and most took his lesson to heart.

“I keep going over it, over and over and over in my head. This is what I’m here for. This is why I fought tooth over nail to be the Alpha of Dinfire. This is what Kangin died for. Because I’m supposed to be here. This is what I’m supposed to be here for.”

Kibum rubbed his swollen belly. “You used to get on my damn nerves with that military bull. It was the only thing you talked about and I used to wonder, what drives a man to want to fight so much–”

“It’s not just fighting,” Jonghyun rushed to defend himself. Kibum gave him a look, as if to say, I know.

“–Then I realized how important this was. All of it. The military and the weapons and how clans interacted with one another. In Wheph, that’s supposed to be our job. To think. But I never truly understood until our recon group was kidnapped. I understood allies and missions and fighting so hard to live you died.” Kibum turned to Jonghyun and Jonghyun’s hands fell to his belly. “When people talk about fate, they talk about Jinki and Minho and prophecies and red string. There is more than one kind of fate. Fate is you and me, and this child, in this place. Fate is you making your village proud, this clan-collective proud. Fate is you helping save the day.” Kibum grabbed one of his hands and brought it to his lips. “Fate is me returning from Rockfall to find you alive. Fate is you coming home to me.”

“Bummie,” Jonghyun murmured. “I promise–”

“Don’t make promises. I hate them. Fate already has it handled so you don’t have a choice. Words don’t mean a thing.” Kibum swung towards the curtain wall. “What else is there to prepare for?”

“Rhyna Ghali hasn’t shown but luckily Yejin and Fatima are here. They’ve been training us for months now on how to combat this and our anti-Vampyre battalion amongst the Lycans and the wolves is pretty damn good. Fatima discovered they are resistant to Vampyre venom, so even better for us. Eunsook and Sulli are in place, so we should hear from Wheph today, and Nichkhun, Vic and Tiffany’s got Mott Argan covered. If it all goes well, this won’t last but a few days. If they get desperate they might try to prolong it to starve us out, but it’ll be difficult since they won’t be able to surround us. We are too close to the Dinfire and Ves for that to actually work.”

Kibum sighed. “A few days and so many lives will be lost. All because some idiot wants to destroy Prae. Power is so dangerous. So ridiculous. I hate it.”

There was a noise at the stairwell and Jonghyun was greeted with a stiff salute by the sentry captain, a master archer by the name of Sooyoung. She began to inspect the stations the archers would be stationed and began kicking at the curtainwall to make sure it was secure. They didn’t have many catapults stations but they had enough. They would start boiling oil the next night to protect the gates from any siege engines or explosives such as the ones the Vampyres had used the first time. But those were all secondary lines of defenses. They were more than confident no one would be breaking their lines. No one would be attacking Prae directly.  

Jonghyun felt really prepared. He knew that he wasn’t. He knew that’d he never been in a war. That honor belonged to Yifan. And he knew he didn’t know what to expect once the sun set on the second day and when the sky would be drowned in the darkness of a new moon but he knew he would be ready for anything. He had a village, a clan, his leaders, and his family to protect.

It was what he was born for. This was his fate.

 

 

 

Brea looked out over the field where they soon would be preparing for battle. He tried to process the blankness he felt. Usually before a fight he would feel the blood pumping in his system, tingling under his skin. He felt nothing.

Well, he took that back. He felt confused. People all around him were scampering about, preparing this and preparing that and they moved like water slowly being frozen to him. He looked at some of the younger soldiers sitting around their campfires, some telling stories, some telling their fears. He knew that for some, this would be their last nights alive.

He wondered what he was fighting for. He wondered who he was fighting for. Was he fighting for them? For Prae?

“You weren’t there! I was there in Durkhai that night! Both of them were...amazing! I don’t know much about mages but I know power when I see it. To think, they can fight alongside their wolves!”

Frowning, Brea walked towards the sound. He recognized that voice.

Kaleitha!

She was leaned over the fire with the other soldiers, her burgundy and gold Durkhai armor glinting every time the flames danced across its surface. Her long brown hair, so similar to her mother’s, was swept up in a tight topknot and mirth swirled in her eyes. He felt his wolf tense up with surprise and then anger. He marched over to the campfire and hauled her up by her arm.

“Kaleitha! What are you doing here? You said you were going to Rockfall with your mother and brother!”

She snatched her arm out of his hand. “No, I didn’t. I said I would think about it.”

“Someone needs to protect them! It’s your job.”

Kaleitha rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. No one needs to protect Rockfall. That’s why it is what it is! It’s impenetrable! It’s the safest place in Prae. I won’t waste my talents in a place where they won’t be utilized! I need to protect this land. I need to protect my Alphas.”

Brea growled. “He isn’t your ing Alpha, Kaleitha. He’s a goddamn–”

“Omega?” she shot back. “Like Braeden was? You remember Braeden, don’t you? The son you let die?”

Brea exhaled heavily, tired of having the same argument with his daughter over and over and over again. “Braeden picked that fight, Kal. I tried to stop him. I tried to get to him. I tried. I...I couldn’t.”

“He wouldn’t have picked the fight if his father hadn’t made him think he was worthless,” she spat. “If he didn’t think he had to prove himself to you each and every time he so much as blinked or breathed because he was born differently than what you wanted, he would still be alive. You’re no better than the people we are fighting.”

Brea’s patience snapped and he snarled in her face. “Because I want to hold a liar accountable? We have laws, Kal, traditions and values and heritage and no one should make light or take advantage of it!”

“You want him dead. So do they. The only difference is that man, our Alpha, our leader, wants to protect us all. And he wants your help. You’re just too bigoted to realize that you're fighting against your own people. So, yes, I will be fighting for this clan. Because it’s my duty. He may no longer be our Alpha Beta in name, but he is my Alpha Beta in spirit. Shouldn’t take him spitting out some babies and bribing you with them for you to recognize that.”

Kal turned from her father and rejoined the other soldiers at the campfire, diving right back into her story as if she’s never stopped. “And his wolf, Caleo? He literally blankets the Alpha Prime in power!”

“Now how do you know that? That didn’t happen in Durkhai!” another soldier said in retort.

“So what! I heard it on good authority!”

Brea gave his daughter one last withering stare as he walked off and the sounds of their conversation melted into the background. That girl has too much of her mother in her. Nadia is headstrong and defiant and Kal took right after her! He didn’t care what she did, he grumbled, upset and hurt. She was an adult. He walked back out of the Fortress gate, taking his time to stare up at the compound. Two plaques stared back at him. One, stone, carved with Lee Jinki’s name and status into one. The other, made of wood, carved with Choi Minho’s name. The initials HB were carved into it and he recognized the name instantly. “Hezi.”  Brea scoffed. Hezi was the blacksmith in Durkhai. He’d commissioned his first set of armor with that old fool.

Brea sighed and continued walking. It seemed everyone had made up their mind. Everyone but him.

Rubbing his face tiredly, he continued on towards his tent. Still numb. Still confused.

 

 

 

Jinki watched silently as Minho secured the last clasp to his battle armor chest piece. There wasn’t much to show for stature in Prae. They didn’t believe in carving your metal with your accomplishments like they did in Dinfire and they didn’t have pockets full of sigils from other clans like they did in Durkhai.

Their newly commissioned armor was a resplendent gold with accents as dark as night. Before Minho attached the forearm guard, he the bracelet on Jinki’s wrist.

“I…” he frowned as if he were searching for words. “I stayed up all night to drench as much of me into this. It doesn’t carry much of my scent but it should be enough to...you know.”

“I haven’t lost control in a week, Minho. The visions...they come and they go but...I can ignore them. I’m okay.” Jinki gripped his chin softly. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t. You can’t. I’ve told you this isn’t your fault. We’ll find a way to free you of this.”

The bracelet shifted on his wrist as his mate continued to work. They’d sent the servants away, the ones who normally would help them prepare the thick and heavy armor but…this was a time for them. His gaze lifted from the bracelet, to his ring, then to Minho’s bracelet and ring. “Promise me something, Minho.”

Minho groaned loudly and stepped away, his own armor noisy with his movements. “No.”

“Minho–”

“No,” Minho said, his voice dropping dangerously. “No. I’m not going to put you down like a dog. I will fight for you. If I have to chase you to the ends of this earth, if I have to walk into hell to grab your hand and pull you back I will. Don’t ask me to abandon you. Worry about Prae and nothing else.”

Jinki exhaled and the sound reverberated in the empty room, sounding harsh and labored. “Go ahead of me. I need a moment.”

Minho’s hands fisted at his side, his forehead wrinkled with a thought or a word or a thousand he wanted to say before the lines smoothed out and he nodded. He made a slow walk from the window to the door, pausing before he left. He glanced over his shoulder.   “I have faith in you, Jinki,” he whispered, soft enough to be sincere and loud enough for Jinki to hear.

Jinki mouthed “Thank you” and his mate left with a smile, the door shutting behind him with a quiet click. Yet the moment the door closed, Jinki clutched at his head, his hands shaking as the pain shot across his forehead like a lightning bolt. The suppression had helped but not much. Yes, he hadn’t lost control, kept whoever wanted to sink their fangs into his mind at bay but the visions ate away at his confidence, his security, and his emotional balance. He inhaled deeply and willed his hand to stop shaking.

“Get it together,” he demanded of himself. He didn’t have a choice. Instead he concentrated on the feeling of Minho, the bond still bright and effervescent in his mind. It helped clear the fog. He concentrated on his children, their smiles and their smell and how their existence highlighted a path to clarity in his head. That’s all he had to do. Concentrate on them.

Everything is going to be okay. You will be the leader you were meant to be.

Hey.

Jinki heaved a sigh of relief. You’re here. You went quiet last night.

I’m trying to reserve my energy. You knew I wasn’t going to leave you, not on a day like this. I’ll be by your side until the end. You can count on me.

I’m nervous, Caleo.

I know but I’m here. I’ll try my hardest to suppress the visions but it will create a power stall. I’ll have to funnel my energy into that, and it will leave you without my protection momentarily. It’s a weakness they may try to exploit. Try to balance it, use me only when necessary.

Jinki laughed. You may not know this but I’m a pretty good fighter. One of the best. The best, actually.

Ha! I see you’re back to being an arrogant son of a .

The Alpha Prime of Prae inhaled, the sweet comfort of feeling like himself washing over him.

Hey, Jinks.

Yes, Caleo.

I know the visions are bad but you gotta understand we all care about you. You understand that those visions aren’t real, right?

You? Jinki chuckled. You care?

Yeah. Caleo said quietly. I do. So. Let’s survive this, okay? For your mate and mine? For me and you? For those adorable babies of ours?

Jinki nodded. Let’s survive this.

He walked to the door and opened it to find Minho standing there.

“I was going to go to the stable to wait for you but…”

Jinki looked around, making sure there were no guards or servants around, before he leaned over and kissed Minho on the lips, their armor clanging together, making him smile “Thank you.” He slid his hand into his mate. “We have a war to win, don’t we?”

Minho nodded. “We do.”

 

 

 

Yoon was sure he’d never seen Toggo mad. He’s seen him upset. He’s seen him annoyed but he’d never seen Toggo drop the cool exterior of superiority to be actually mad. And he wasn’t just mad. He was downright pissed off.

“Where are the ing reinforcements from Mott Argan? Vivo! Someone get a damn answer!”

Vivo rushed into the room the Iustus generals were using as a war chamber with a large weathered map in his hands. He tossed it out over the table, attempting to smooth it out. Edison glanced at it and rolled his eyes. The Old Se’hai leader was more than likely was just an angered yet Yoon didn’t know how Edison reacted to bad news.

Vivo began pulling flat coins and pyramid shaped pieces out of his pockets, arranging them across the map. “They’ve got us surrounded on three sides, which we knew was a slight possibility given the location of the Fortress and the surrounding clans, as well as our positioning however,” he placed a large dragon near the river that split Prae in two,” once we were stationed at the river, the forces from Wheph were supposed to join us.”

Toggo twisted towards Viz. “You told me that they did.”

“That’s what I was told,” Vivo answered.

“Who,” he seethed.

“Gausius,” Vivo answered quietly. “They showed, just not in the numbers we were expecting. They say a high ranking member of the Blue Crescents by the name of Sulli showed up with instructions from you to split our forces, send half out and the other half, to remain in Wheph. She had the VENIAT.”

“What the did you just say? Who?”

“A high ranking Blue Crescent member–”

Toggo’s forehead pinched and a little more red bleed into his eyes. “I was told she was captured in Morocco Song,” he seethed. “Hell, she should be dead by now! Why haven’t you heard back from Folarin yet?”

Vivo tilted his head to the side. “Why would I have heard back from Folarin?”

Toggo whirled on him. “Because I explicitly instructed you to send him after her!” he roared.

Vivo crossed his arms across his chest and stared down at Toggo. Vivo was a tall man, solidly built and most would confuse him for a warrior rather than an advisor. He had a stately yet intimidating aura. “I received no such command. I don’t even know who this Sulli woman is.”

“The guard came with an update from Morocco Song about her capture.”

Vivo looked at him like he was stupid. “Why would I send a guard to deliver a message? I have twenty-seven pages who would have come directly from me.

”But that guard! She was…she was…” Toggo’s rant trailed off and his eyes narrowed. “The guard,” he hissed, tugging on his beard. “The guard…she was here. She was right under my nose the entire time! She…she must have heard everything! That’s how we lost that brat, Taehyung! My gods!"

Minzy, Toggo’s right hand mage, must have caught what he wasn’t saying and gnashed her teeth. “That .”

“You want to share with the class what’s on your mind?” Edison tried, bored with Toggo’s angry mumbling.

His fist clenched at his side. “It doesn’t matter now,” he grunted.

Edison glared at him because he was more than confident it mattered. And Yoon was sure he would press the Alpha for more information later. “What is of Wheph now?”

 Vivo cleared his throat. “Once they had the VENIAT and once they cleared most of the forces from the village, rebels from the east reclaimed Wheph.”

Yoon pinched the bridge of his nose before taking a seat at the table with the map. “Who was it?” he asked quietly.

“Lark’s Nest and Rhyna Ghali, my Lord.”

Yoon’s fist came down hard on the table. “That’s your fault, Toggo. Explicitly. We should have never, ever, brought Sangre into this. Now the natural enemy of one of the biggest contingencies of our fighting force has taken back a village and are heading here as we speak!”

“My fault? It was your son who couldn’t even convince their royal to stay on our side! She told them everything!”

“A son who would have been better off dead for all the problems he has caused and he wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t brought him here!”

“He isn’t here, Yoon, you insufferable idiot. He ran away because his father tried to kill him!”

“He des–”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!” Edison screamed, finally losing his cool. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. I don’t want to hear about your miserable ed up families!” He pointed to Vivo. “Get a messenger out to Mott Argan. They can supply the reinforcements!”

“Mott Argan is keeping Dinfire from seig–”

“Their army is ripping ours apart. We built this war strategy on numbers. Numbers you two reported for months on end. We show up at the battlefield and they’ve got the entire Arctic North at their backs! Who cares what Dinfire does when Prae’s combined forces are eating us alive? Pull them back from Dinfire and prepare them to cross the river to aid us. They can counter Wheph. Easily.”

“Is it time for me to get rid of my personal enemy yet?” Everyone whipped around to look and the newcomer curled his lip and crossed his arms at the frosty yet surprised welcome. “What are you all staring at?”

“How–when did you get back? How did you get back in here without anyone on the other side seeing you? Without us seeing you?” Toggo asked, his lip hitched.

“I’m a mage. I used magic, what else do you think?” he said dryly. “And no one answered my question. Is it time to separate Jinki from my precious Minho? I’m growing tired of waiting. It’s the only reason I’m here and the only reason I continue to stay here.”

Minzy shook her head. “There is too much positive energy. You said it only works in a swell of negative energy and they sure aren’t feeling negative.”

“We’ll save it as a coup de grâce, if we survive that long,” Edison added.

“So, all I need to do is conjure up some negative energy to get what I want started? You guys must be losing terribly.” Domonkos rolled his eyes. “You should ask for something that’s actually difficult.”

Yoon eyed the eccentric, flamboyant dark mage. “What do you have in mind? Strategically?”

Domonkos wagged his finger. “I don’t do strategic. You want an outcome, I can give it to you. As always you just have to accept the consequences that come with that outcome.” He reached into his long white robe and pulled out a talisman with cryptic letters written on it. “The heart wants what the heart wants. If the heart is denied that, the heart either grows stronger or...it dies.”

Yoon’s brow rose. “Meaning?”

“Hjärtat sjuk. Red magic.” Yoon heard Minzy gasp. “The same sort of red magic your mate used on you. You remember how you almost died that night?” Domonkos laughed. “You barely survived the heartsickness.” The smile on his face dropped. “You shouldn’t have.”

 

“What does that mean?” Toggo asked. Toggo had never been mated and hadn’t cared about it until it suited his power hungry needs. He didn’t understand a thing like heartsickness. How it eats you from the inside. The pain. The desolation and loneliness. The desire to die.

 

“Do it,” Yoon said. He stood from his seat and loomed over the map. “They all deserve to know what that feels like.”

 

 

 

 

Nichkhun was used to trees. Morocco Song was his playground growing up, and the trees were just as much a part of him as his own hand or beating heart. Nichkhun was very used to trees.

He glanced over to his right, seeing Tiffany blending in with the tree line. Her bright red hair was pulled back away from her face and he gazed at the profile of fire and power she made. She had a soft face, one that seemed naive and innocent, but Tiffany was one of the deadliest people he’d ever met in his entire life. He loved her. He really did. They’d grown up as children in the trees, the best of friends. Inseparable. He doesn’t remember how he came to love her, he just woke up one day knowing that he did.  He would wake up, get his chores done, do whatever hauling his mother needed done, spend a few hours near the whirlpool sandpits, learning them as his father instructed, before taking off for the trees.

She’d be there waiting for him, her whip at her hip, and her weapon of the day across her back. She was particular to a long handled spear, one she would use to hunt with. She said it was more efficient than a bow and arrow. Nichkhun said it was a silly weapon, because if she missed, she was out of a spear and dinner. It was that day that Nichkhun found out that Tiffany never had just one weapon on her. He would look at her, the anticipatory smile on her face, and know she was the sun warming his face.

The wind carried the sound of whispering, too quiet for anyone not trained for the melodic timbre of her voice. He looked to his left, just passed one of Lower Lord Tiger’s men, at Victoria, who, along with Kyuhyun, was giving hand signals to her own unit. He should have made her his mate. All that bull about freedom and–it was all bull. He wanted his cake and he wanted to eat it forever. They all deserved more than that. Tiffany deserved more than that. Kyuhyun, Victoria’s other lover, deserved more than that. He could imagine them all pretending that this could last forever, the fanciful disregard for a bond, the nonchalant apathy they pretended they accepted. It was really all bull. Morocco Song would have appreciated someone as strong and loyal as Victoria to lead it. She was everything he wanted in a mate, needed in a mate. He wanted that bond with her. He’d loved her first and frankly, he would love her until he died. She looked over at him as if she could read his thoughts and smirked and winked and despite their situation, Nichkhun wanted to laugh. He wondered why he was being so reflective. It could be because he could die today, but then again, Nichkhun was never all that scared of dying.

He concentrated below the tree line. The plan had been simple, a variation on Yixing’s plan before he and the others were captured months ago. It was an added bonus when they’d heard the call for retreat from their Dinfire siege. It was smart on their part to keep Dinfire from traveling to the river to attack them in the rear but it wasn’t smart enough. Now all their forces were concentrated here. Less work, less hunting. He knew that would disappoint Tiffany. She loved to hunt.

Victoria gave a call, similar to a hawk’s cry and Nichkhun looked back over. She motioned down with her head. He followed the direction of her signal and saw that the ground forces were in place. Lower Lord Tiger’s willing assistance in this battle was right on time. He and his forces could handle air assaults, it's what they did, and it’s what they were good at. Lower Lord Tiger and Countess Mirae would stop them from reaching the river.

The older man looked up and grinned before silently unsheathing his heavy claymore with one hand. Nichkhun nodded, gave one last look to the people on his left and right before he whistled his signal.

Seconds passed in eerie silence before an explosion went off in the distance, somewhere in between their location and Thicket Wu where the Blue Crescent and Iustus occupations were amassed. Nichkhun uncovered his ears and shook his head trying to stop the ringing in his ears. When it passed and the dirt fell back to earth and the smoke cleared there was silence. He counted in his head.

One…two…three…four…five…six…sev–

War yells and battled cries filtered through the trees from the ashes of the explosion.  “Let’s go, Purest,” he whispered to his wolf. Purest reared up, his excitement palpable as he howled.

Nichkhun pulled two long daggers from their sheaths at his side and waited patiently. The first peek of the opposition through the woods was at daybreak, the sun in their eyes and weapons in their hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lord Tiger give a one handed signal to his mate, Mirae, and watched as her forces silently moved through the foliage to the east, creating a wider barrier between them and the river. Across the river would be the back of Prae’s the newly freed Wheph, Rhyna Ghali and Lark’s Nest, who were closing in on Iustus. He couldn’t have that. None of them could.

And they wouldn’t.

“Desperta Ferro! Awaken iron!” Nichkhun screamed, his own battle call echoing through the forest canopy. Tiffany answered, Kyuhyun followed and Victoria war yell was high-pitched and hair raising as they dispatched into action. Their forces dropped in front of Lower Lord Tiger’s and Mirae’s line, surprising the mercenaries and keeping hired swords from advancing. Nichkhun sat back for a moment, wanting to watch his two First in action. Tiffany landed first, her spear ing through the throat of the first Iustus soldier to unfortunately be in her sights. She spun, yanking her spear with her, the squelching sound of blood and gore moving with her. She raised her spear high and down, stabbing through his chest and into his heart. She kicked him off her spear and continued to the next one, her red hair capturing the sunlight and making it appear as if she were a fire goddess.

To his right, Kyuhyun was doing his best to cover Victoria, letting his arrows fly as she ripped through the trees, her speed as a member of the famed Black Wolf tribe making her appear like a blur. She ran into one, full speed, the earth rippling with the force as she collided with him. She hoisted his body into the air and used him something akin to a battering ram to barrel through a group of soldiers. The sound of bones breaking as the man’s body bent and bowed at odd angles was…interesting. As they all scrambled to get to their feet, Victoria attacked them in tandem. There was an echoing sickening crunch of something breaking as Victoria brought her elbows and fist down, the appendages coming back bloody.

Nichkhun nodded, satisfied, before hopping down, too. He welded his daggers and jumped in the foray, slashing at necks and digging the knives deep into bellies. They were very good at holding the line, but anytime someone got past the Mott Argan defenses, Tiger and Mirae were there, slashing at the soldier until he was shredded to ribbons. Mirae called for another signal, and half of the forward line broke off and advanced forward, past the fighting, past the soldiers, while the remaining defense spread out in a zigzag formation, guarding the river to the north and Dinfire to the east.

“Nic, take your group and go! We can handle the rest!” Mirae yelled as yanked her sword out of the socket of a poor Iustus’s soldier’s eye. His screams of pain must have annoyed her, because she rotated hard and her sword disconnected his head from the rest of his body.

Nichkhun dispatched the Blue Crescent in front of him before looking left and right. Victoria nodded and Tiffany grunted before the three of them took off. “Kyu! Cover us!” he yelled. Victoria’s right hand man immediately pulled an arrow from his quiver and released, taking out a soldier in their path.

They gunned for the large tent in the center of Thicket Wu and were greeted by two guards. They charged from their post but Nichkhun got to them first, slashing the throat of one. The other, realizing he was surrounded, stumbled back into the tent.

Rushing after him, Nichkhun threw the tent flaps back, squinting, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darker interior. When he did, he pulled up short. A taller man with large dark eyes stared back at them. He had his arm around the neck of a Thicket Wu guard who looked like he was struggling to breathe. Behind him was Leehom, elder of Mott Argan, who, of course, did not look surprised to see shifters from Morocco Song.

“You move and I will separate his head from his body with my bare hands,” the man snarled, looking at Leehom over his shoulder.

Nichkhun could see a visible tick form under Leehom’s eye before he ignored him. “Are you faring well out there?” he asked calmly. “Have we fulfilled our part of the poor defenseless clan yet?  Is it enough?”

Nichkhun grinned. “Yes. It’s enough.”

“Good. Mark, you can move now.” The guard nodded at Leehom’s command and twisted hard, driving his elbow into the man’s stomach. The man let go with a pained grunt and it was enough for Mark to slip out of his arms and towards Leehom. He pulled a dagger from his ankle sheath and stood in front of the elder.

“You little ing–” The man pulled his sword and pivoted until he could see both Nichkhun, his party, Leehom and Mark. “You will not take this from me!  You will not win back this village! I will take what was taken from me! My son, Ogg, will have his–” the man stopped mid-sentence. Not because he’d run out of words or breath, but because a large sword was now protruding from his chest. “–reve...nge…”

Another Thicket Wu guard appeared as the man canted forward, dead. She smiled. “You gotta know your surroundings, my friend. Or at least remember to do a headcount when crying for vengeance and what not.”

“Good job, Eunji!” Mark beamed.

“Yes, to the both of you,” Leehom followed up. “And thanks to you. Should we call the signal?”

Nichkhun shrugged. “Any day now? I was hoping to have this all finished by breakfast time. I heard you guys serve a delicious venison.”

Tiffany’s stomach rumbled. “I am hungry,” she gushed.

Leehom laughed. “Mark, Eunji? Please let Baekhyun know it’s time to take back our village.”

Both guards saluted. “Yes, Elder!”

 

 

 

Gikwang peeked over Thunder’s shoulder as they approached Mott Argan. Smoke rose from the forest at its center, partially obscured by the tall trees and banners.

“Looks like it’s coming from Thicket Wu,” Thunder murmured.

“You’ve been there before?”

“Once or twice. My brother...Jinki, he goaded me into asking Yoon if we could travel there. He knew Yoon liked me better than him so it made sense that I asked. Plus I really wanted to go. We were looking for a spar master who would teach us something other than grappling. Ditti was good. He was the best but we wanted something...I don’t know, different. We ended up meeting this woman named Laurette, who basically just kicked our asses for a week. It was embarrassing. Jinki,” Thunder laughed. “Jinki told Yoon that we’d gotten beaten up by robbers on the high roads and we’d never made it.” He looked down. “Yoon still socked him for it...because he’s older and he was supposed to be protecting me. It’s funny how you notice all of these things in hindsight,” he finished.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’re leaving, we’re leaving–this war, this clan, our memories, our past. You don’t have to think about it. I don’t. I’m not.”

He didn’t want to think about the horror of seeing the Alpha Beta dead, knowing that he caused it, even if in the end it had been a ruse. The weight of his consequences of that night haunted him like nothing else. Even so, they continued towards a goal, because they both had something to prove...or maybe they just wanted to belong. To something, it didn’t matter what. It just had to be something.

“I’ve got more sins than you,” Thunder said, interrupting his train of thought. “I’ve been an for a very long time. And I can’t even blame it on him. He wasn’t the greatest father by any stretch of the imagination. He was horrible and cruel but I had a choice.” Thunder huffed. “Maybe if I’d met you earlier…”

Gikwang laid his head against back and wrapped his arms around his middle. “We’d both been miserable, unfulfilled s together. Sounds promising,” he said softly.

He felt Thunder tug on the reins of their horse, guiding them away from Mott Argan and towards the southern forest line. Gikwang agreed with that decision. He wanted to be south of Prae in case the war spread out.

“Once we get to the border, there are a few still loyal to me who’ll give us enough food until we can make it to Elypsion. Might even let us stay the night.”

“You being a traitorous bastard has its benefits,” Gikwang murmured sleepily. It was only a half a day’s ride to the Southern border city. What he would give for a good night’s rest and some peace and quiet!

“HALT!”

Gikwang stiffened.

“,” Thunder cursed as he pulled his horse to a stop. “Listen to me, Gikwang. Don’t say anything without being prompted and don’t take that cowl off.”

“What’s happening?” he asked, worry gripping him.

“Just do what I say!” Thunder hopped down from his horse and handed him the reigns before turning towards the guards. “Is something wrong?”

The guard shifted his spear towards the couple. “No one is allowed through these lands without expressed permission.”

“Oh,” Thunder laughed and scratched the back of his head. “We didn’t know. We aren’t from around here. Heard there was some fighting going on and we don’t want that kind of trouble. We’re headed out of Prae actually.”

“To?”

“Elypsion, the border settlement. From there, Tropica. The warm weather agrees with my mate. Considering his condition, you’d think he’d like it somewhere that wasn’t a swamp!” Thunder laughed loudly.

“Makes no matter to me. You’ll have to be cleared.”

Thunder shook his head. “That sounds like an awful lot of trouble for two travelers. We’ll just go the way we came.” Thunder backed up to the horse and tried to mount it but the guard stopped him with a firm hand on the shoulder.

“You still have to be cleared. It won’t take long.” The guard motioned to the other. “Follow us.”

Gikwang could see the tension in his shoulders and he wished he could read Thunder’s mind. They weren’t mates; there wasn’t a bond for him to tap into to try and read Thunder’s intentions with. He wish he could. He wish to the gods he could.

Thunder gave him a look. “Split up. Run for Elypsion. I’ll meet you there,” he whispered furiously.

Gikwang shook his head, his eyes panicked and Thunder looked away. He opened his mouth to speak but Thunder slapped the rear of his horse and it took off, headed towards the woods. He scrambled to hold on to the reins but his concentration was not on staying on the horse. He frantically looked back and felt his heart drop. “No!”

Thunder was taking on the guards, trying his best to lead them in the opposite direction but failing. “Thunder!” he yelled from atop his steed. The Alpha shifter managed to look up long enough to yell “Go!” before a guard’s boot came down across his face, knocking him out.

Gikwang snatched the reins hard, commanding the horse to stop before turning it and racing back towards the clearing. He rode the horse hard, using it to ram into one of the guards. The horse reared on its hind legs and came down on the fallen guard, spooked by the way he welded his weapon. Gikwang would worry about the horse later. He jumped down, ran over to Thunder and stood in front of him, swinging wildly, trying to defend the Alpha.

One of the guards sniffed and laughed. “An Omega.”

Anger welled up in Gikwang and he lurched forward, his fist connecting with the guard’s chin. His head flew back and he stumbled a few steps. Gikwang looked at his fist and then at the guard, amazed he could do such a thing.

“I–I’m not powerless,” he whispered.

Then he felt a growl, a sharp blow to the back of his head. Everything went dark.

 

 

 

“LYCAN SQUAD TWO! TO THE FRONT! COVER THE ARCHERS! ARCHERS FIRE AT WILL!” Minho screamed from the middle of a hot battle field. Normally it would be weird that it was hot but the energy the mages were outputting into the field was tremendous. It scorched the earth. His mother called it Revasi, a heightened lätt technique that Bong Soon and Minhyuk were able to teach them. Although they were outnumbered by Iustus’ dark mage army, the mages of Prae were much stronger and with the help of Revasi, they were able to sap energy out of any mage their spell hit and funnel it into the ground, preventing most dark magery from crossing the point where the mage had fallen. So far they’d held the mages to a line of carcasses that had Iustus’ soldiers tripping over to get to the main battle. Bong Soon and Minhyuk commanded their mage forces but they never left Jinki’s side. It infuriated Jinki. The others didn’t understand why but he both knew why it had to be done.

So far it had worked. Jinki seemed in complete control and his command over their armies was damn near masterful. He’d executed their plan to draw Iustus in and surround them with near perfect precision. It wouldn’t take long now. It couldn’t. It was only a matter of time before their rear armies got to the battle and Iustus’ gave up.

Bong Soon slammed her hands against the ground and an upsurge of blue erupted from the Iustus’ side and careered to the Prae side. It stopped yards from them and Minho watched as another wave of dark mages collapsed. Minhyuk’s head snapped up after the wave calmed down. “Bong Soon. You feel that?”

Iseul, a few yards from them, perked up. “W...what is that?”

Bong Soon stood and wiped her brow, her breathing haggard. “Domonkos.” She squinted. “That energy can only belong to him. It has to be.” She scanned the battlefield in front of them, accessing for a long moment.

“Well,” Danye snapped. “What’s happening?”

“He...he isn’t helping the mages.” She frowned. “It’s almost as if he is ste–”

There was a high-pitch squealing noise and the remaining dark mages stopped. They stood frozen, their eyes a muddy grey color. There was another noise, low, ominous before they all dropped to the ground. Their skin began turning an odd reddish grey color, then brightening to a searing red. Steam rose from their bodies as if they were burning from the inside. Bong Soon and Minhyuk gasped at the same time.

“Holy .” Minhyuk turned around, his eyes wide and his mouth quivering. “How many mated pairs on are on this battlefield?”

Minho frowned. “What? Why?”

“That–” he said pointing to the now burning bodies of the mages, “is the first spell point of Hjärtat sjuk–heart death! They are going to kill the heart! To do that…”

Jinki turned to Minho, a fear so deep and dark that Minho could see it from where he stood. “They are going to kill off mates.” Jinki grappled for the war horn at his side before bringing it to his lips and blowing as hard as he could. The sound froze everyone on the battlefield on both sides.

“ALL THOSE WHO ARE UNMATED TO THE FRONT! ALL THOSE WHO ARE NOT MATED, WE NEED YOU TO THE FRONT LINES! MATED COUPLES RETREAT! RETREAT!” He blew his horn again. “RETREAT!! THOSE WHO ARE MATED RETREAT!” He blew it one last time and watched as the confusion ebbed and panic set in. Shifters began to run in the direction their Supreme Commander instructed. “Bong Soon. Can you block this?”

“We can but...it’s going to take all of us and it will drain us. Let us hope there isn’t a follow up attack…but we can do it.”

“We will deal with that if it comes to it! Hurry! Go!”

Minho watched Jinki give the mages the command before he mounted his horse and sprinted across the field to where Minho was. He positioned his horse in front of him. “We can’t leave the field. We can’t,” he panted. “The two of us cannot retreat. Do you understand me?”

Minho nodded and his face hardened. “Of course.”

“I won’t let them have you. I won’t let them take you away from me,” Jinki muttered over and over under his breath. “I won’t. For now get down and stay hidden.”

Minho fixed him with a look that look like he was taking great cares to be patient. “Jinki, you can’t hide from a spell. You can only block it…counter it with–”

 “GET DOWN AND STAY DOWN!” he roared.

Minho grabbed his hand. “I heard the command you gave the mages and I heard their answer. I have to go,” he said softly. “I can feel it… the darkness. It’s amassing and we will need every person with mage power to block it.”

“No,” Jinki said, his voice hard. “You are barely a mage. You only know how to light candles and make yourself look funny. No. Stay here.”

“Jinki.”

“I said,” he repeated through clenched teeth, “no.”

Minho could see the fear. He could see the fear in a lot of mated shifters eyes. It didn’t change what he needed to do.

The reins were twisted in his hands so tightly  that Jinki’s knuckles were white. “Let me be the leader that I am. I can’t...I can’t save myself and sacrifice my people...I can’t sacrifice you when I can help. I have to help. We don’t have long, only minutes before its strong enough.”

“If you die…” Jinki’s hands shook. “If you die, I die. We both will die. I’m not a fool. I know my affection for you runs deeper than yours for me. It’s not because you don't care but Onew…I have loved you for decades. You’ve loved me for mere months. I won’t survive the heartsickness but if I die...you might. You might be able to survive. Min Soo and Min Sun need one of us.”

Minho stared at him for a moment and nodded. He pulled Jinki’s hand free of the reins and tried to calm the tremors by twining their hands together. “You’re wrong about a few things, love,” Minho said softly.

“I know I’m right. My love for you is–”

Minho shook his head. “About me being “barely a mage.” Jinki frowned and Minho wished he could kiss that frown away. “Frysa tu,” he whispered and Jinki froze. There was just enough battle energy to utilize for the spell to work. His hand stopped shaking, his bottom lip stopped quivering and he froze. Determined, he unwound an ampoule from around his wrist and dropped it. A red wall bloomed in front of Jinki, protecting him. “I love you just as much as you love me. If we are to die, we will die together.”

Tao was nearby so Minho motioned to the Old Se’haian heir to come over. “Shouldn’t you be at Rockfall?”

He snorted. “And miss all this action? I may be a number cruncher but I can still fight!”

“Good. We need every fighter we can get. If you’re not going to evacuate, then can you please stay with the AlphaPrime? I’m not sure how long the battle magic will hold this barrier up and I’ll need you to move him to safety if it dissipates. This wall will protect you both, but you have to stay behind it,” he stressed.  ”I’ll look for Sehun. It’ll be better if you’re both protected.”

“We’ll be fine. We’re both too stubborn for spells to work on us."

Minho frowned at his answer. “Stay behind the wall regardless, Tao. That’s a direct command.”

The taller shifter grinned. “Alright, Alright, my Lord. I will do as you say. Hurry back, though, I hate standing in one spot too long.”

Minho took off, refusing to look back. He ran through the field, avoiding as many fleeing mated shifters as he could. He skid to a stop next to Yeon Bi-So. “A red wall won’t do, it’s not strong enough,” she observed.

“She’s right,” Minhyuk tried. “A white one is the strongest but it’s still not strong enough for this. Some of it will leak through. Aren’t all of us are mated except for the maegis?”

Minho craned his head towards Yeon Bi-So. “You’re mated?”

Bi-So shook her head. “No. I was going to be...then you’re uncle killed him.” Bi-So smiled faintly. “Choi Sunku.”

Minho just stared at her for a lack of knowing what else to do. He didn’t need this right now.

“Don’t worry about it. Just know there are a lot of reasons why I’m here. Your uncle, leader of the Blue Crescents, fell in love with a mage and tried to mate with her secretly. We were going to change things. Toggo couldn’t have that,” she said darkly. “If I can help it, I won’t let him take another mate away.”

“Everyone! Minhyuk and I will erect the spell. We just need you keep it up and solid!”

Minho concentrated as the two Toleran mages crafted the spell. A beam of white light appeared between Minhyuk’s hands and Bong Soon stretched it wide and threw the ends in opposite directions, wide and far so it covered most of the field.

“Focus on keeping it even! Bi-So, step back and try to catch any of the spell that gets through.” Bi-So nodded and narrowed her eyes, her eyes jutting back and forth as she scanned the wall.

“Here is comes!”

It wasn’t as powerful looking at Minho would have imagined. Instead of a powerful wave of magic, it looked more like the smoke from an incense, wispy and light. It floated through the air, riding the current towards them. Despite its delicate looks, the spell slammed into the white wall and the impact shook through his entire body, making him grit his teeth. It looked sentient, floating along the wall as if it were looking for a way through. Finding a weak, wisps of it slithered through but Bi-So was there, vaporizing it with whatever powers her staff and necklace had.

The attack seemed to end too soon, the spell dissipating after prolonged contact with the wall. The mages continued to hold it up as Bong Soon concentrated beyond it. She released a breath. “That was weaker than I predicted.

“I don’t feel a second wave,” Minhyuk stated, his brows furrowed.  Bong Soon sighed. “I think it’s safe to lower it. We can save some energy if a second wave happens to be casted.”

The mages all agreed and Minhyuk and Bong Soon did just that. The wall shrank until it could fit in Minhyuk’s palm. He squeezed it close and it the light from it faded, then disappeared.

The moment it was gone, they felt it. Minho could tell, even as the least powerful mage in attendance. “It’s...growing.” His eyebrows furrowed. “One...three...five. Six. Six times over. How is...how is that even possibl–”

The earth shook and it knocked Minho off his feet. The sky brightened up under a bright grey light...six bright grey lights. They floated in the air in a giant circle above the battle field before they zoomed off, one after another. Minho followed their paths and is stomach lurched. “Morocco Song...Dinfire...Wheph...Durkhai...Mott Argan...Salt Kys…” The final one loomed over them before careering towards the ground.

“The wall!” Bong Soon screamed, desperately trying to form in between Minhyuk’s hands. “Get the barrier back–” Before she could finish, the grey light slammed into the ground, exploding in a cloud of smoke. Tentacles of wisps lithered across the field headed towards the group of retreating soldiers.

“No,” Minho whispered, horrified. “No!”

Screams filled the air, some from the battlefield and some farther off from The Fortress. Minho’s heart lurched as he scanned everything in front of him, furiously looking for the red wall. He couldn’t find it. He couldn’t.

“JINKI!”

187. began running in the direction that he left. “Jinki!” His heart was beating too fast for him to feel Jinki’s in his chest and that made it thump even faster. As he ran, bodies began dropping left and right. Shifters began to panic, some flowing out of the Fortress, running to the battlefield, haggardly in search of their mates. A man wildly stepped in his path and Minho moved to avoid him but his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed. Minho dived, trying to catch him before he hit the ground but he didn’t make it. Cool grey eyes stared back at him as a cloud of dust escaped out of his mouth. Minho’s eyes widened and he scrambled back, terrified.

A command bellowed from Iutus’ side.

“AIM!” The sound of bow strings being drawn back. “FIRE!!!” The sound of them being released.

Minho looked back behind him, horrified, as the sky darkened under a hail of arrows. Minho turned towards the shifters still out on the battlefield. They were running right into the oncoming path!

“GET DOWN!”

All Minho could do is watch as some of the arrows found targets. He’ll never forget the heavy thudding sound of arrows hitting bodies. He’ll never forget the screams of pain. He’ll never forget how desperation piled on top of fear and created more havoc.

The volley stopped and Minho turned to those who had survived. “RUN!”

Some ignore him, too concerned and overwrought with finding if their mates were alive or not, which was counterproductive.  He didn’t want to separate those taken over with such desperation but their lives were too precious to give up for a lost cause. He drew strength from the battle energy drenched ground and sent a pulse of energy across the field, pushing those still in harm’s way back, scattering them towards the Fortress Gates.

“Mom!” he yelled.

Danye was standing between Minho and the Fortress gates when she heard his call. He gave her a meaningful look, his eyes sweeping past her and to the shifters he’d just blown back. They were still trying to come! She seemed to understand what her son wanted as she followed his line of sight. With a dogged determination on her face, she slammed her hands onto the ground and a large red wall bloomed from her hands, high and wide.

“I can’t hold it for long! We have to stop those arrows!”

“Got it!” Jonghyun yelled. “Yixing!” He snatched a shield from the ground, hopped on top of a horse, and grabbed the arm of his First, hauling him up behind him. “You okay?”

Yixing nodded and shouted a command towards the Fortress. “Sooyoung! The catapults!

The command was echoed from each squadron leader until it got to its target.

“RETREAT!” Sooyoung bellowed from the curtain wall. “LYCANS AND ARCHERS! TO ME!”

“AIM!” came from the Iutus’ side. “FIRE!!!”

Arrows rained down on Jonghyun’s shield but he kept moving, weaving in between fallen bodies and weapons, trying his hardest to keep people from running back out into the continuous falling wall of arrows.

“RELEASE!!!!”

Minho’s head snapped up to the Fortress at the loud mechanical sound of a lever being discharged and the whooshing sound of the catapult being released. A bulky stone projectile flew through the air, over the battlefield, hitting the ground. There was a crash and a scream as the stone barreled through Iutus’ archers and vanguard. Another one quickly followed it. The third was aflame.

“RETREAT! IUTUS RETREAT!”

“FORWARD GUARD!  ADVANCE!” Minho screamed, his command loud and clear. “KEEP THEM FROM THIS BATTLEFIELD!”

A regiment of Lycans and human shifters crossed the field with speed and set up spiked reinforcements, row after row after row, across the width of it. Minho exhaled. That would allow them time to clear the field.

That’s when he spotted him. “Jinki!” He was on his hands and knees and Minho thought he was going to be sick.

“JINKI!”

To his surprise, Jinki’s head popped up and looked back at him. Minho crossed the field with haste. When he approached Jinki was disorientated and his eyes were glossed over. Minho cursed himself.

“Min–minho. Help him. I don’t,” Jinki tried, his breathing erratic and his teeth chattering. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. His eyes. They are turning g–grey.  When I came to he was trying to find his mate. I d–don’t know what happened”

Minho moved beside his mate and inhaled sharply “Tao? Oh gods, Tao!” He slid the younger shifter into his lap and looked into his eyes. They were turning grey. “Tao, look at me!  Say something!” He slapped at his cheeks, praying the young man would focus on him instead of blindly looking towards…nothing. “Come on, Tao! Fight this!  Minho grabbed the first soldier who ran by him. “Find Oh Sehun. Bring him here. Do not stop until he is at this shifter’s side.”

The soldier’s eyes just down to Tao, fear of the unknown in his eyes, before nodding sharply and taking off.

“It’s too late.”

Minho looked up and saw Minhyuk staring down at them with pity in his eyes. “You know him well?”

Minho’s bottom lip began to tremble but he nodded.

“He…he can’t be saved…but we can delay it.”  He pulled up closer to the shifter. “Accelerated suppression will hurt Tao. Prepare yourself.” He turned to Minho. “Put something in his mouth. Get his tongue away from his teeth.”

“Find my Sehun,” Tao gasped. “Find hi-im. Save him. Please! The arrows! There were so many arrows,” Tao panted. Minho slipped a thick protection sage talisman in Tao’s mouth. Minhyuk placed his palm against Tao’s chest and a hazy pinkish-yellow glowed from them. Tao screamed out pain.

“Hold on, friend,” Minhyuk murmured as he concentrated.

We’re going to find him, okay?” Minho consoled, rocking him in his suffering. “You’ll get to see him. Come on, sweetheart. It’s going to be alright.”

Tao’s screaming faded just as the soldier return, Sehun in tow.

“T...Tao,” Sehun dropped to his knees at his side. “What,” his hands came to his mate’s face, trembling hands and wide eyes. “What’s wrong with you, you big dummy. Get up!”

Tao’s breath stuttered as his hands covered Sehun. “You’re safe. You’re safe,” he repeated over and over again. “I saw the arrows and…”

“I’m a big boy, Tao,” Sehun whispered. “I can dodge a few measly arrows. You’re the slow one.”

Tao attempted to laugh but it came out soggy and wet. A grey liquid coated his tongue and lips. “You think you’re fast but you’re so slow. Everything you do…is slow. It took you…four years to tell me you liked me. Another two to tell me you loved me. You’re so damn slow.”

“I’m here now, okay, I’m here. So I need you to hold on. Be stupid and stubborn and hold on.”

“You worry too–too much. I’m going to be,” he paused to cough, a terribly painful hacking sound like he couldn’t get his next breath in, “just fine.” He took Sehun’s hands and he rubbed him across his cheeks. “I’m so cold. I feel like I can’t stop shivering but my body isn’t moving. Something inside of me…–”

“Let’s get him inside,” Minhyuk commanded, calling over first responders with an urgent wave of his hands.

“It’s going to be alright, Tao,” Minho said as they placed Tao on the pram and hoisted him up. Sehun never let go of his mate, followed him into the Fortress, murmuring things they could only hear.

Minho’s two tear filled eyes looked out over the battlefield. “It’s...it’s going to be alright.”

 

 

 

Minho looked out over the courtyard, the wails of sorrow filling the air. “How many?” he asked softly, afraid of the answer.

“Seventy-four. Varying levels of heartsickness for those whose mates have already died. We’re losing more shifters by the hour,” Seohyun updated. “So far, only Tao was affected from your Prae’s leadership. Pyo’s mate was hit, too, but it doesn’t look like he was affected much.”

“That’s because Pyo hates his mate,” Minho murmured.

Seohyun nodded slowly. “We don’t know how widespread it is. The reports from the other villages were given to Yifan just a few minutes ago.”

Minho heaved a breath and realized he’d never been more exhausted in his life. “Let’s go update the others.”

Minho walked up the steps of the Dongbang Library and into the large cold Beam Room. The effects of Frysa tu had worn off his mate and he was operating fine. He didn’t look at Minho when he entered the room, instead offering the cool profile of his face. Minho didn’t care that he was angry. It was his right to be angry. He was just glad he was alive. He took a seat at the head of the table and slipped his hand over Jinki’s. His mate refused him for a long moment before sighing and sliding their hands together.

“Yifan was updating us,” Jinki announced.

The Regimental General cleared his throat. “Reports show that at least one thousand sifters have been affected, as well as their mates. Uh,” and Minho thought Yifan was going to be sick. “This affected some of the younger shifters too, who were soul bonded with arranged matings. Kibum would normally be in charge of notifying the parents but he is at Rockfall. I’ll leave it up to Seohyun.” She accepted the responsibility with a nod.

“Tao, which we all are aware of,” he continued, his voice quiet. “ Hyungwon of Morocco Song.  Leehom lost one of his mates, I think his name was Altvater.  Jonghyun’s sister’s mate, Byunghee–although they’ve been separated for some time now so…Jonghyun doesn’t know…”

“My mother will update me,” he said quietly, staring out the window.

Yifan nodded. “Also Tiffany of Morocco Song–”

Kyung sat up in his chair. “She wasn’t mated,” he cried out. “How?”

“She drowned. There was a bright light and, and,” Nichkhun voice broke. Everyone turned to see the former Morocco Song Alpha standing there. Just behind him was Victoria, her eyes bloodshot and her entire body shaking. “A mated shifter, Dagos, was helping her scour the river for any strays from our fight. When the  light slammed into the ground, we lost sight of them. He must has passed out...I don’t know...but he fell and took her with him. She hit her head. By the time I found her…”

Victoria collapsed to her knees behind Nichkhun and Kyung raced to her side to help her up. Nichkhun stared straight ahead as if acknowledging Victoria’s palpable grief would break him. “What...what happened,” he demanded, hurt. “What was that?”

“A heart sickness spell,” Danye answered softly. “It’s meant to break, to take what’s whole and break it.”

Bong Soon leaned forward on her elbows and pressed her lips to the back of a hand. “From what I can tell, this dark mage is far more complex than I thought. We’d contained the original spell but somehow he we able to split it up...I don’t understand it, but it split and sent the same concentrated spell all over Prae.”

“Why, though,” Taemin asked, his gazed locked on Victoria’s heaving shoulders. “A thousand shifters are not enough to damage our armies.”

“Demoralize?” Gi Jao tried from her end of the table. “We have our version of mages called Chanters. They can’t work as fast as your mages but their spells work off either negative or positive energy. I’m guessing a dark mage would need negative energy.”

Minho listened to the wails of grief outside.

“You can’t build offensive spells with negative energy, as negative energy consumes, it doesn’t have output. What could they use it for?” Iseul pondered.

“You can use it to strengthen existing dark spells, though.” Bong Soon’s eyes darted to Jinki and then away but Minho caught it. He wondered what the look was for but it dawned on him, painfully and slowly. “Everyone, can we have a minute Bong Soon and Minhyuk?” Minho stood, preparing to usher people out when he felt a hand wrap around is wrist.

“No, Minho. No more secrets.” He pulled him back to his seat and nodded towards Bong Soon. “Tell them.” The two Toleran mages looked conflicted but Jinki smiled and urged them on. “There has been too much death. It has to be known.”

“What are they talking about?” Toghon asked.

Iseul grew rigid in her seat. . “I hardly think is the place to discuss this!”

“Ovaldaci frånfälle,” Bong Soon said. “It’s a form of red magic. It’s a control spell. One that feeds off of massive amounts of negative energy.”

“A control spell? Like...the one they put on me?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yes,” Bong Soon answered, “except this can’t be casted off with anything else but death. My mate and I have been searching frantically for the caster but...he showed up here tonight in a form and fashion he knew we couldn’t directly attack.”

“Who do they have under control, then?” Yixing tried.

Jinki stood. “Me.”

The room grew deadly silent.

“Excuse me?” Xiah uttered, confused.

“I’ve met the Dark Mage. I don’t remember meeting him but the after effects of such a meeting couldn’t be denied. I am affected by his spell.”

Jonghyun raised a brow. “We’ve been with you almost day and night. You’ve been absolutely fine. How can you be under someone’s spell and be okay?”

“We’re suppressing visions that would manipulate Jinki’s decision making power,” Minhyuk informed. “So far, with the amount of positive energy that has been poured into this battle from our side, it was easy. Now, however…”

“You’re compromised. You’ve been compromised? This entire time,” Nichkhun said, his voice low and deadly. “And to regain control over you, they killed thousands of people? And you didn’t tell us?”

Jinki shook his head. “I didn’t want to affect morale. If those shifters, and wolves and Lycans find that out, would they want to fight? Would they put their lives on the line for Prae?–”

“No,” Nichkhun managed a dark laugh. “You misunderstood me. You didn’t tell us–your Bone Pact, your advisors, your ing allies!”

“Nic, please,” Victoria sobbed at his side. “Don’t.”

“She’s dead because of him! She trusted him and he hid the truth from her and she is dead!”

“Nichkhun, please control yourself,” Jeongmyeong tried.

“Does Sehun know?” Nichkhun said with a raised brow. “Does he know his mate is dying because you lied to us?”

“No,” Jinki said quietly.

“You’re a real piece of work, Jinki.” Nichkhun his heels and marched out. Victoria stayed behind for a moment, trying to work her lips to say something but she couldn’t so she bowed at Jinki and Minho before hurrying behind him.

Tense silence filled the room but Jinki never once wavered under that tension. “If you want to pick another commander you can.”

Toghon rolled his eyes. “It’d be easier and more effective to march you out there and let Iustus play target practice with you than to reassign the leader of a clan during wartime. I can’t imagine how many deserters we’d have. No. You are not stepping down.”

“Then I give you permission to dispatch of me if I lose control.”

“, you’re a dramatic one, “Biligtü murmured. “Look, brother. We don’t know what they are planning. We don’t know why they are...gathering all of this energy. It could be to revive the dead or something, we don’t know! It may have nothing to do with you. You’ve been a good boy under suppression and I suspect you will continue to be. Relax. No one is going to kick you out and no one is going to kill you over a spell.” Biligtü looked at the mages. “We just need to discover a plan that draws Domonkos out. If we kill him, we kill the spell.”

“That’s what we’ve been doing,” Minhyuk said, sounding annoyed.

“Yeah, all in secret and with no help. While we are regrouping tonight, we’ll tackle that. A task force. We can use their ploy against us. They think it has been a success and maybe in part it has. We’ve lost morale. But they’ve lost something too. We’ll use it.”

Jinki raised a brow. “And what’s that?”

There was a knock at the door and Gae Shi entered. “Two representatives of Mott Argan have arrived, my Lords.” The room nodded and Yifan rose to go greet them when the head healer held her hand up to stop him. “I’m not familiar with the magic you use, but I am grateful it has been utilized to prolong the lives of those affected by the tragedies of war. However, I do regret to inform you that your High Financial Advisor doesn’t have much time left. I wanted to prepare you for his passing.”

“We’ll go be with Sehun,” Yixing said softly standing. Yifan nodded and Minho could see him struggling to keep a strong appearance.

“I’ll go with you,” Jinki responded carefully. “He needs to know.”

There were an assortment of looks across the tables, some apprehensive, some sad, some troubled but no one could disagree with him.

Biligtü watched as Jinki, Yifan and Yixing left. “That’s what we’ll use,” he announced softly. “The death of Huang Zitao.”

Minho nodded. “Prepare an envoy.”