“Yes, he will,” he said, his eyes full of fire. “And so help me God, I will arrange it. I will get him into a room with that mage, flip the lock, and let Brochan have his vengeance. No one should be allowed to get away with what that mage did. He created an altercation where there wasn’t one, he wouldn’t back down when he should’ve—when he was in the wrong—and he mass-murdered innocents. Children! If the Mages’ Guild allowed something like that to happen—if this is what it looks like when they ‘police’ their own—then I’ll take matters into my own hands and police them myself. Sebastian was right. No one comes together like shifters do.”
The limo stopped in front of the red carpet, my door perfectly aligned with it.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, “this is my best life and worst nightmare, all wrapped up in the same day. Why can’t I just have normal good things going on without the crap that always seems to go with it?” I pushed out a breath, trying to still my excitement. Trying to force down the swell of anxiety. But neither emotion cooperated.
The limo driver opened my door, and I tried to remain calm. I took his hand and stepped out in my long, swishy black dress and my neck full of jewels. I’d nearly forgotten I was wearing all of that.
“So what you’re saying is…” I stepped to the side, waiting for Austin to get out on his side and come around. Apparently, the old slide across wasn’t in vogue.
The rest of the limos were stopping behind us, lining up for their turn on the red carpet.
“Oh my God,” I said again, butterflies fluttering through my stomach. “I hope there are, like, little baskets of goodies and chocolates and stuff on the plane. That would really make this amazing.”
Austin dropped his hand to the small of my back and guided me toward the steps.
“What you’re saying,” I started again, “is that you will build a castle around my keep, manage the very powerful creatures I have called in, and also create some sort of massive shifter organization that sticks it to the Mages’ Guild and Momar?”
Austin paused as I grabbed the railing and started climbing the stairs in black three-inch stilettos. I should’ve worn flats.
“Yeah,” he said, following me up. “Might as well, right? Beyond the initial meet-and-greets, your people don’t seem to need much muscling around. I might as well look for a bigger challenge.”
I laughed and stopped on the stairs, stepping down one so my back connected with his front. He placed a hand on my hip, and I paused for a moment.
“You’re a good person, Austin Steele. I’ll help you claim vengeance for him, and for every other shifter they’ve wronged. If I live, obviously.”
“Of course you’re going to live,” he said softly, waiting for me to keep going. “You’ll be the heir that lives forever.”
Shivers covered my body and lead filled my stomach. I hoped those weren’t his famous last words.
Eleven
A fleet of limos awaited the Ivy House crew at a nondescript landing strip at the base of a mountain range in Colorado. White peaks rose with jagged edges into the sapphire blue above, the air scrubbed clean by the dense trees surrounding them. A single tower rose into the sky behind the woods.
A prickling of warning moved across Austin’s skin, prompting his animal to grow restless, urging him to shed his skin and slip into those trees, to scout the area. Brochan stepped up next to him, his body tense, his eyes distant.
“Do you feel that, sir?” he asked, in a submissive way to alert Austin to the danger. If Austin had needed it, here was further proof the shifter had no problem relinquishing his alpha mantle, even in pressurized situations.
“Yes.” Austin watched the basajaun descend the stairs and then strut off into the trees, disappearing immediately. “The basajaun can speak to trees. He’ll assess the danger.”
“I wondered how that other one up north knew I was in its territory,” Brochan said softly, scanning the area. “I was roaming when I caught its scent. I didn’t feel like circling around, so I changed my direction to downwind and hightailed it. It got around and in front of me. That thing was not fun to deal with. I hoped never to see one again.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill it.”
“Are you kidding, sir? I’m not that stupid. No, I fought it until I could prove I was a risky challenge, and then I bartered with it. I didn’t know they could talk to the woods. I’ve always heard they’re prickly to deal with and they don’t often bother with anyone but the basajaunak.”
“Usually that’s true, yes. Until Jess charmed this one, I’d given him a large berth. He’s downright placid when it comes to her. It seems he thinks their fates are intertwined.”