island … what more could they want?” I growled.
Rage shook his head. “No demands. At least, not yet. Obviously, they want the power of the island.”
“I can’t believe Kian—”
“That high master of water looked a bit shaken,” my father said, his eyes wide.
“I don’t think he expected that many blood mages,” Rage responded. “I don’t think any of us did.”
“They must’ve been growing their race this entire time,” my dad mused. “Twenty years ago, there were stories of the blood mages, but we envisioned the queen and her two heirs hiding in cliffs near Dark Row with a few survivors. And by few, I mean five of them, tops. I never thought there were hundreds of them.”
Rage nodded. “That was a total ambush.”
Something about what my father said triggered something in my mind. “Queen and her two heirs?”
My dad nodded. “The blood mage queen had twin daughters.”
Rage blanched, and my jaw gaped. Why didn’t we see it before? Right under our noses!
“Surlama and Kalama?” I asked, hoping I was wrong.
Rage nodded. “They’re twins. Dammit!”
“So does that mean Kalama is in charge now?” I was trying to get as much information to work with as I could.
Rage chewed his lip before responding. “We don’t know anything at this point. We’ve detained Kian’s son, and I was hoping you and the other high mages could give my men permission to question him.”
“No. I’ll do it with you. And … we should probably ask the other high mage heirs … er, high mages—” I stopped as I remembered that those heirs who tried to kill me not so long ago were now my fellow high mage councilmen. “We should ask them to come too. We need to work as a team.” I stood, and my legs felt only slightly wobbly. “Where is Julian?”
Rage’s green gaze bore into mine. “Are you sure?” he asked. “The guy’s a—”
“I know,” I said. I needed to do something productive or I’d lose my mind. “Please, lead the way.”
Gramps was dead. Orion, Snade, and Heath were too. The high mages got decimated, but conveniently, Kian was still alive. This was highly coordinated, which meant Kian must’ve been meeting with the blood mages for a while. If his son had seen or heard something, we needed to find out.
I stepped out of the tent, taking in the barrage of people, shifters, and mages as well as the sounds and smells of the crowd.
“I’m going to check on our pack,” my father said, stepping away. “Come see me later.”
I waved and nodded before scanning the throng of displaced peoples. Wolf, bear, hawk, and the other shifters were crowded throughout the space in a mishmash of lost people, including various mages from High Mage Island. There were fewer shifters than I would’ve anticipated, but many had probably returned to their previous homes. I shook my head, thinking of all of the work they’d done to move—and then they’d lost most of it by joining the wolves.
“Nice of King Ozark to allow us to stay,” I said to Rage.
“Yes, he’s been a great ally, but I fear we won’t last long here. There isn’t enough infrastructure to host this many, not to mention the issues we’ll have with a limited supply of food and water.” Rage weaved in and out of the crowds as we walked toward a meadow and a small garden shed that sat nearby. The meadow was full of tents where others slept on bed rolls, and some people even slept on the ground.
I swallowed hard. “Maybe we could go to Montana for a bit and regroup. There’s a water well and corn crops—”
Rage stopped, and I almost smashed into him as my body jerked back from his. He caught me and then, reaching out, cupped my chin.
“Nai.” He peered into my eyes, his gaze burning into my soul. Through our bond, I felt a deep sadness… “We are the leaders of our people now. We can’t hide. Nor can we let this stand. We won’t go down in history as leaders who allowed their people to be slaughtered, our lands stolen, and we did nothing.”
His words shamed my petty fears. But more than that, they stirred something deep inside my heart—inside my soul. He was right, of course. I didn’t know how we’d take back the island, but I knew we would. We wouldn’t allow this injustice to stand. “We’ll find a way. Together.”
Rage nodded, brushing a kiss to my lips, and then he led me to the