as she motioned to Rachel, Drake, Diedre, and Lanora. “Please take them to the healer’s area in the Keep. And then please get Bethany to her mate's side.”
Nissa nodded. “Of course.”
Lucian suddenly stumbled, and Peri helped steady him. “What’s wrong?” she asked, looking all over to see if he was injured.
“Fane,” Lucian said through gritted teeth.
Peri looked at Cyn, who was walking past. “Where is Fane?”
Cyn glanced at Lucian and her eyes widened. “He’s with the Colorado pack. He and Decebel requested to stay in the States because their mates and children are there.” Cyn motioned to Peri’s mate. “You should take Lucian there. Thalion and I can take care of things here.”
Lucian shook his head. “Decebel is with him. I may be his uncle, but he doesn’t really know me. And this is where I need to be.”
Peri could feel through their bond that, despite his words, Lucian did want to check on his nephew. “Once we get things settled here, we will go to Dillon’s pack together. We will need to set up the celebration of life for Vasile and Alina, as well as the others. And Fane will need to be involved in that.
“We will need to ask Lilly and the warlocks how they want Cypher’s funeral handled. If they want it separate or with Vasile and Alina.” Peri thought about Lilly and couldn’t even imagine how she was going to cope with what she was facing. Then she thought about how badly Fane must be hurting. His mate and child were in the hands of the enemy, and his parents were now dead. Dillion would be lucky if he had a house left standing by the time Peri and Lucian arrived.
“We’re all going to get through this, beloved,” Lucian said gently.
Peri wanted to believe him. She wanted to have hope, but for the first time that she could remember, she felt nothing. Just nothing.
Lilly heard people moving around her. She could hear their voices, though she didn’t know what they were saying, nor did she care. The wind no longer whipped around her, and the rain had stopped, but inside of her, the storm raged just as powerfully as it had moments ago. Her eyes were focused on her blood-covered hands resting on her mate’s chest. She couldn’t bring herself to look up and see his face. She didn’t want to look into the unseeing eyes of her lifeless male. She didn’t want to see the space between his neck and his body where his head had been horrifically severed. So instead, she focused on her hands and imagined his chest rising and falling with his breaths. She imagined that at any moment he was going to wake up, take her face in his large hands, and tell her how much he adored her. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t tell her. They’d had a bit of a rough start, but he’d turned out to be one of the best things that had ever happened to her, next to her daughter and grandson, both of whom were in the hands of the ones who’d taken the life of the warlock king, her mate, and best friend. And for what? What was their end game? What purpose did Cypher’s death serve? Lilly vowed to find out, and then she would do anything she could to make sure the Order’s plans did not succeed.
“Your death won’t be for naught,” she whispered as she finally let her eyes rise until she was looking at his handsome face. Jareth had closed the king's eyes and part of her was glad, but part of her mourned not seeing the unusual bright yellow orbs. “I love you, Cypher. You weren’t only the king of the warlocks. You were the king of my heart as well. I will forever be your queen.” Her tears fell as she leaned over him and pressed her lips to his. As soon as they touched, Lilly felt power rush into her. It wasn’t the sprite magic she’d become accustomed to. It was warlock power. Then her mind was flooded with images—memories that weren’t her own. There had to be hundreds of memories filling her mind. It wasn’t until she saw her face and heard a voice speaking—Cypher’s voice—that she realized she was seeing his memories. She choked on a sob as she saw herself through his eyes. She felt his awe, love, and complete devotion for her, and it was more than she’d