Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,65

It was six feet tall and oddly human in shape.

It was soon joined by others like it.

An assault on the bunker had begun.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Knox’s body went rigid, and every wolf in the room snapped their attention to their struggling leader, but whether it was for guidance or because they could sense something I couldn’t, I didn’t know. I hoped it was the former but feared it was the latter. Because as he clearly struggled against a force I couldn’t see, I felt that familiar sensation that accompanied the presence of the fey king; his call that enthralled and entrapped me.

Come to me, Piper…

I stepped away from Knox and into Merc’s body. “I will not,” I said aloud to the voice in my head, “but I can give you what you want. I can give you the queen’s head. I know that’s what you really want, isn’t it? To reign alone? To rule Faerie without Larken at your side?”

I could feel the weight of the room’s eyes on me, but I focused on the feeling of the king and awaited his response.

I know that…that is the reason I am here. The banging on the entrance ceased. I did not come here to fight you, Piper. I came here to help give you what you want.

“You want her dead, too,” I said softly. The treachery amongst the fey knew no bounds.

Merc, Knox, and Reinhardt were in my face, as though they could possibly hear Phineas if they just got closer.

“What’s your plan, then?”

You and I will work together to take out her army.

“And then what?”

I could practically feel him smiling. We will come to some arrangement, I’m sure.

I felt our connection disappear as quickly as it had come, and I turned to the group.

“What does he want?” Knox asked, impatience brimming in his tone.

“He wants to join up against Larken.” I looked at Reinhardt, who clearly shared my skepticism.

“It is likely a trap.”

“Oh, I’m damn sure it is. The question is whether the trap springs now or later. So, how do we proceed? We can’t stay here indefinitely. We have to make a move. We know he owns the New York pack, but there aren’t enough of them to fight us all if we open the door, and the feys’ magic won’t work well in here, so they won’t dare come in and try to force us out. It’s a fairly even playing field, as far as I can tell, but I’m no expert.”

“The fey lie,” Etherian cooed as he picked some dirt off his coat.

“We’re well aware of that—”

“You’re correct in your observation, Piper,” Merc said, ignoring Etherian’s comment, “but I’m not certain we should rush out to meet Phineas.”

“If not now, then when?” Knox asked. “She’s right. We can’t stay in here forever. Think of what Larken is doing to New York—the humans that live here. They’re helpless against her. We can’t do nothing.”

Footsteps approached, and I turned to find Kat and the boys headed our way. She stopped to sling her arm around my shoulders while Jase and Dean flanked Merc and Foust, Jagger, and Brunton took their posts near Knox.

“I say that you’re the princess of Faerie and he’s your step-dad, so you make the call: are we going out there to listen or to kill the fucker? Because I for one am hungry and already tired of this tin fort your father calls home…”

Piper…

“We’re coming out,” I said to my crew, as well as to the impatient king.

“Form a line,” Reinhardt shouted to the group. “Those with offensive magic only.”

“And my wolves,” Knox growled. For him, this wasn’t merely a potential fight—it was personal. His beefs with both the fey king and the wolves of NYC would have to be settled eventually. I just hoped he would wait until we knew whether the king was playing us or his wife—or both.

“If you do decide to kill him, remember what you promised me,” Etherian warned.

“You can have his body. That’s fine with me—”

“And his power.”

I shot Sherry a look, and she shook her head once.

“Yeah, sure. It’s yours.”

Before he could respond, the doors squealed as the wolves pushed them open, careful not to step outside the protection of the bunker. If they did, I feared Phineas would control them, as he did the wolves of Mack’s former pack. I didn’t know how long the effects of Sherry’s talisman would last.

Once I got to the front of the group, I could see the fey king standing in the dirt