Reaching Answers (Artemis University #8) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,125

Princess,” he replied as he slashed at magical attacks aimed at us. “You are the only heir Faerie has left. The only way to awaken the rest of us.”

“I survived just fine before all of you,” I reminded him.

“You shouldn’t have had to,” he seethed.

Well, he wasn’t even a light fairy so… Men.

“Let no enemy leave here with the knowledge of us,” Iolas shouted when a group of Underground tried to flee. He glanced at me when a dozen fairies broke off to handle that. “You do have a plan to handle your allies finding out, right?”

“Was I supposed to?” I teased him, both captains giving me looks like they might strangle me. “We have those memory wiping runes or whatever. We’ll figure it out.” I gestured to a few of the fae dogs racing by with kids riding on their backs, clearly having rescued them from danger. “Should we have waited to discuss a plan?”

“No, you jumped in as we always do,” Iolas agreed.

I appreciated the we there. It was nice when I got them given I was so different in more ways than I was like anyone.

We were maybe ten minutes into the fight and greatly turning the tide when I caught something important. “Wait!” I shouted over to a darky fairy who was about to kill a jaguar shifter, which I didn’t know was even a thing.

And his thoughts told a very interesting story that people needed to know.

“Keep him alive for questioning,” I instructed the fairy. “Knock him out and stick him in a corner or something, but we need the information he has.” I glanced over at Taeral. “There’s more to this than just the Underground attacking a powerful and respected wolf pack.”

He nodded, ordering the capture of a few more of the jaguar shifters for interrogation, and I smiled as there was a pile of them minutes later. It was so, so nice to have super-sized kick ass help like that.

When I saw we were clearly winning and more fairies came through the portal who didn’t look like fighters, I decided to change assignments. “Can all fairies heal? Can you help heal those who are injured?”

“Yes, all fairies can, and we would be honored to help, Princess,” the light fairy at the front answered, dipping his head to me.

Awesome.

Three temp portals opened and people started pouring out. We were instantly ready to handle the next threat.

“Stand down,” I bellowed when I recognized one of the guards from Councilman Brooks’s estate. “They’re allies.” I pointed to the guy. “Well, he is. I think the cavalry has arrived.” I winced. There was going to be a lot of explaining to do and memories to wipe. “Shit.”

Councilman Chin came through with several other members of the wolf shifter council I had only met in passing, plus tons of their guards. He blinked at me and the chaos all around him. “You’re a fairy.”

“Um, well, there’s a funny story with that,” I hedged.

“She saved my pack and her people, my life,” Geoff said from my left.

I gasped when I saw the state he was in, practically being carried by two fairies. “Why didn’t you heal him?”

“He demanded we not until his people saw how close to death he is, Pri—” he answered, snapping his mouth shut when he almost let it slip who I was.

Geoff’s gaze never left mine. “You’re going to take the memory that you are fairies and bringing fairies back. Do it. You saved my pack at the risk of your people. You have my permission as Alpha to do it and our eternal thanks for the thousands you saved today.”

“That many?” Councilman Duncan whispered, his eyes going bug wide as he looked past us. “My gods.”

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the fae dogs coming towards us. “Stand down. They’re not here to fight us.”

“You’re more than just any fairy to be commanding packs of fae dogs and in charge of all these warriors,” one of the other councilmen accused, setting off all the alarms on my side.

“Don’t do anything stupid when we came to save the lives of wolves today,” I warned him and his people as the fairies around me started to move in closer towards me. “Being the one to send off flares we’re back or you know who I am is not worth the shit we will bring down on you.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “You saved one of our largest and most honorable packs with kind