Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,75

were interested in a war. Many had fled to the rebellion for sanctuary—too old, too young, or too weak to face the looming battle alone. Others simply couldn’t bear the idea of fighting. Still, more were willing but had no training, and getting them to a point where they would be an asset on the battlefield rather than a liability was a draining, time-consuming job which, frequently, led to few results. No one wanted to send out a wave of untrained shifters just to have them killed, but it did leave us at a disadvantage. No one could be sure how many soldiers the Council had under their thumb—some guessed the number to be massive, while others reasoned that with so many defectors, the Council was struggling to maintain servants, let alone anyone who would be willing to die for them.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to find someone else to beat into the ground,” Val muttered with a sigh.

“Your appetite for bloodshed worries me.” Theo shook his head as the Valkyrie sent him a slightly mad grin, one that was matched on Ciarán’s face. That duo was scary.

“I still don’t get what he meant about rules,” Nix told them with a shrug.

Ciarán tugged her into a hug. “You’re doing fine, little sister,” he assured her. “This will pass. Just like humans, they don’t like change. The dissenters will learn to shut up, or they’ll be made to.” I peeled her from Ciarán’s grasp, pulling her so she was flush against me, and I settled my head on hers in a tight embrace. Knowing Ciarán had no designs on her didn’t stop my Kitsune from hissing when a male besides my brothers handled my mate. From the gleam in his eyes, he knew that as well. “Besides, you’ll be busy on that fluffle soon. I haven’t seen you in that bunny suit I got you lately.” He waggled a brow and reached out to pat her stomach. “Could it be that you’re already in the fluffle way? Perhaps I should search the globe and try to find a phoenix of my own now that I’ve seen the kind of fire they have.”

Nix snarled and, before I realized it, she’d torn from my arms to go toe-to-toe with Ciarán, her finger jabbing into his chest. “Ciarán, so help me, I will put you into this goddamn ground,” she growled at him. “I know you like to goof off, but you broke my very best friend. If I hear one word about you flirting, courting, or attempting to mate with anyone else, well, we’ll see just how well my flames work in your dream world.” She whirled, grasped my hand and Theo’s, and stomped away. “I mean it! One word!” she snapped over her shoulder.

“Little warrior.” His whispered words carried to us on the breeze. “I’m proud of you.”

Nix muttered, waving our clenched hands at the air as if she could bat the praise away. “I wanted to kick him in the balls.” She huffed for a moment before her shoulders slumped forward. “There’s something there though, right?” she asked tentatively, searching my face and then Theo’s. “He misses her, right? I mean, they’re mates.” She shuddered.

I pressed a kiss to her lips. “Nix, we’re not going anywhere,” I assured her, reading the fear on her face. “I don’t know what will come of Rini and Ciarán, but I know that nothing on this plane or the next could tear me away from you.” I kissed each of her fingers in turn before pressing our clenched hands to my chest. “This is yours. Eternally.” I tilted her chin so her dark eyes stared into mine, even as Theo brushed her tears away.

“My soul is yours,” Theo whispered. “I won’t lose you. I won’t lose my brothers. I’ll find out what rules they mean, Nix, but I promise you those rules will get broken to pieces before I go without one of you.”

Nix smiled, though it was shaky, but a kiss helped to firm the smile on her lips. “I love you.” The words were echoed by the warmth in her eyes. “So much.”

Theo shared a glance with me before speaking. “You’ve been working so hard, Nix. How about a little reward?”

She cocked her head, heat filled her cheeks, and her voice turned husky as she echoed, “A reward?”

I laughed. “I like your train of thought, gorgeous.” I stroked a finger up her arm and across her collarbone, and I was gifted with