Queen Alpha (NYC Mecca #2)(62)
Once she was gone, Kade turned to me. “Sorry, she’s a little intense.”
I smiled. “She’s wonderful.” It was refreshing to have someone so brutally honest, although Annette and Baladar in the same room might be too much to handle.
“What now?” he asked me.
My features hardened. “Now we make a plan to get Violet back. Starting with the tree in your yard.”
Kade tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. My heart rate picked up and I almost missed when he asked, “The old fae tree you can talk to?”
Kade had tried to communicate with the tree in the same way as me, but nothing happened. No voices, no energy. I really should ask the faeling why that was, but for now I was more interested in hashing out a rescue plan.
I nodded. “Hopefully he can give us the right information to help with our plans to rescue Violet.”
Kade nodded, trusting me without explanation. I led him out onto the front lawn, both of us striding toward the huge, ancient, gnarled tree. By the time Wednesday arrived I wanted a map of the fae lands, names of the leaders of the courts, and any information that would help me get my best friend back.
The days passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was Wednesday morning. We were finalizing the plan to rescue Violet, armed with all the knowledge I’d managed to glean from many hours beneath the fae treeling. It’d had much to share, although most of it was outdated. The tree spirit couldn’t be sure of the current leaders of the courts, only those who were in power when it was in the Otherworld. With their long lives, it was hopefully still the same leadership.
More importantly, the terrain and way of life wouldn’t have changed. I had my rough map and some clues as to where the dark court would have taken a prisoner. Prisoner. That word was like a punch to the gut.
I stood before my inner circle, preparing to give everyone a job for tonight. Kade’s job, which he’d only just learned, was to stay back here and rule the bears, keep everything calm while I was gone. I wanted a stealth sneak attack; a big party in fae land wasn’t on the menu. I’d known he was going to fight me on it, but I had to try. It was the best thing for his people, and … I couldn’t lose him too. Or be responsible for taking him away and then having Selene attack his people when she found out he was gone.
Of course, one should never argue with a bear; they were immoveable.
“It’s not going to happen, Arianna. I will never let you go to that land without me.” Kade wasn’t even mad. He just crossed his arms.
Immoveable.
“Kade, I could be gone for weeks in Earth time. What will happen if someone attacks your people?”
His stance remained calm, but now his eyes were burning hot coals. “Gerald and my mother will wipe them from the face of the planet. I’m going, Ari. You need my help to control the mecca. That’s the end of it.”
I wanted to fight him more on this. My gut was telling me to push back, but my heart wouldn’t do it. It was so selfish, but I didn’t want to do this without him.
“King Kade has a point,” Monica piped up. “What if you have to use the mecca in the fae lands and he isn’t there to bail you out?”
Yep, that was a fair call. When it came to mecca things, Kade did have a wonderful, annoying habit of saving my butt.
Knowing I’d never win this argument, and since my heart wasn’t in it any longer, I conceded.
“Fine, Kade and I will go to the Otherworld. The rest of you will stay here and make sure that the wolf and bear shifters are protected in case the fae attack while we’re gone.”
They opened their mouths to argue with me again, and I let out a growl that shut the conversation down fast. The Otherworld was dangerous, fae were dangerous. I was trying to save my people here. Why couldn’t they see that?
Kade stepped up to my side then, from where he’d been propped against a wall. “I have a plan,” he said. Nix was perched on his shoulder looking down at Finn. Our familiars were probably having a silent conversation.
“Arianna, Nikoli, and I will head east. The treeling said that was the quickest way to the dark fae lands from where the mecca stone would place us. Monica, Blaine, and Victor follow soon after, head a few clicks west of our trail, but start curving around to meet up with us eventually. It will look like two small traveling or hunting parties, but if things go wrong we can assemble quickly as a group. Jen and Calista can stay behind, taking two of the spare seats on my council, handling any affairs you think would be in the queen’s best interest.”
In that moment, the fae could have burst into the room and slaughtered us all. We were that stunned. It was one thing to try to form a mate bond with a wolf shifter, but Kade had just offered two of my wolves a seat on his council. Even if it was just temporary, it was still completely unprecedented.
Jen stood taller, her eyes wide, face lit up. I think she liked that plan very much. Calista would be absolutely ecstatic when she heard this news. She was currently off doing some sort of conference call with the alphas in the borough, keeping updated with the changes from Selene. I couldn’t wait to tell her; this was a huge opportunity for her, one she deserved. The Red Queen’s council hadn’t changed in over a hundred years, so she had known she’d never have a shot there, despite her qualifications.
Outside of the council seats, I could see everyone else was more than okay with Kade’s plan. I was the only one not happy with all my people coming to the Otherworld, but I would tentatively admit Kade might be right. My plan to go alone would put me at a greater risk. Bringing a magic born along was definitely a huge help. Teamed with Kade and me, we might have a shot at defending ourselves against a small party of fae attackers.