Crush them under an avalanche. His options were limitless, and yet he chose to try and deal with them. That said everything about the true difference between good and evil.
“You stupid fucking anima—” Colin’s words choked off and he started to blink rapidly.
At first I thought he was having a seizure, but then it became clear: Jacob had cut his air off. It was so subtle that I wasn’t even sure Colin knew what had happened.
The commander rubbed at his throat, a frantic look in his eyes.
I didn’t bother to step in, this human had brought it on himself, and he was about to learn a very valuable lesson.
We were not animals. We were not their prisoners. We were not here under their command.
We chose to be here to stop a war.
No one controlled us.
There was a reddish-purple tinge to Colin’s face now, and his eyes had just rolled back into his head when Jacob finally released him. The commander fell to his knees, coughing loudly, his hands trembling as he scraped at the ground.
In the month we’d been amongst them, we’d used no powers against them, turning a blind eye to their snide remarks and blatant hatred. We figured that getting through this without creating an international incident was our main goal, and we’d done pretty well until now.
The humans had gotten worse though, bloated with bullying strength, thinking of us as beneath them.
Jacob made sure that all ended today.
One of Colin’s friends helped him up, and then they basically sprinted from the room, the other frightened soldiers right behind.
Jacob and I continued on at the slow leisurely pace. “He’s going to tell Marcus about that,” I said. “I think he actually pissed himself.”
This time Jacob’s chuckle was legitimately amused. “There really is little they can do to stand against us. This power struggle was going to come to end at some point. Best they learn now before I have to really hurt one of them.”
I didn’t argue. But a tingle along my spine told me that this was where it all changed. Jacob had upset the tenuous line we’d all been walking, and maybe, just maybe, that was what the president had been waiting for all along.
3
Jacob Compass
“I need to get the fuck out of here,” I growled down the line. “I almost torched the lot of them today. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand it.”
On the other end of the line I heard lots of giggles and baby coos as Jessa and Mischa chased their children around. Lily, Jack, and Evie were growing up fast—too fast—but I still thought of them as my pack babies. Deep inside, I longed for their quiet innocence. Hearing them helped a little.
“I can pull you out at any time,” Braxton said in his grumbly voice. He was pissed off, his dragon close to the surface. My own temperament was growing more like his every day.
“Louis is talking to the council,” Jessa added from the background, sounding equally annoyed. “I’ve told him it’s already been one fucking month too long and he for real doesn’t want me at one of their meetings to hurry shit along.”
More lightness filtered through my energy as I chuckled. “Fuck, I think we should send Jess there. Especially when she’s hungry. I mean, if anyone will get it sorted, it’s going to be our girl.”
Tyson, way in the background, shouted: “Uh, you don’t think that might cause more trouble?”
There was a muffled sound filtering through the speaker, and I knew it was Jessa trying to beat the shit out of him.
I hated missing this.
This gnawing emptiness in my soul … it was the loss of my pack. Fey were normally happiest in very small groups or alone, but I was different, courtesy of the shifter, vamp, and magic user in my soul.
“Maybe you should get outside.” Grace was on the line now, her soothing healer magic almost reaching me. “Connect with nature. Commune with your gods. Release some of the negative from living in the human world.”
There was a slight pause.
“How is Justice doing?” she asked softly.
Grace and Justice were like sisters, a bond not as strong as mine with my brothers—they had not been born blood sisters—but the jeweled princesses shared something that was deeper than just their heritage.
“You know, she doesn’t really let me in on her inner thoughts,” I said, trying to hold back my annoyance.
I moved toward the window bench in my room. We all had our own rooms, small,