King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(8)

The screaming group of Coms sank into the grassy knoll, two armoured vehicles included.

Buried alive.

King Fergus wasn’t done either.

He attacked another section of the new group of invading Coms, and their bodies and vehicles plummeted into the ground like it was quicksand.

“My God,” Ezra muttered. “That’s f*cking awesome.”

Jack snorted. “Mine’s better.”

“What?” Pearl asked, sounding hysterical, her voice octaves higher than normal.

I explained quickly, “King Fergus just buried a shitload of Coms who were heading in the direction of where your mom’s fighting.”

Her breath caught. “She’s alright?”

“She’s still killing away,” Ezra mumbled easily as we watched her mom blow a Com’s head off in a gold-sparkled explosion. “Damn, she’s good.”

“Of course she bloody is,” Pearl murmured, her face still stuffed against Jack’s neck, even though she sounded like the prim English woman she was, her tone turning curt. “She’s my mother.”

“Focus people.” Jack cleared his throat harshly. “And water’s better than earth.”

Unexpectedly, my lips twitched. He sounded jealous. Even a smidge hurt. I squeezed his shoulder, focusing as he had instructed. “I’d want you over King Fergus any day.”

Ezra snorted. “Hell, King Fergus can’t blow water out of his mouth and drown everyone. Or freeze them solid from the inside out or the outside in. All he does is play with dirt.” He shrugged one shoulder, making my head press against his chest further. “Water is definitely better than earth.”

Still hanging tight to Jack, Pearl added, “Duh.”

Jack walked a little straighter. “That’s what I said.”

My eyes met Ezra’s, and even if this situation didn’t warrant our humor, it flickered.





Chapter Two



Taking one of the wide back pathways to the Sound, we began traveling over the sand. I had no shoes on, like my besties, so my toes dug into the burning granules warmed by the sun. I paid no attention to the crowd’s buzz behind us when we didn’t alter our course to the crashing waves. Instead, I glanced to the left and down the beach when a commotion caught my eye.

My feet faltered.

Ezra’s steady arm around my waist tightened, and he jerked me forward, keeping me moving while ordering severely, “Sweetheart, concentrate!”

“It’s them,” I mumbled, blinking in shock. And in instant fury.

“Yes, it is,” he muttered, literally lifting me off the sand and crushing me against his muscled frame to keep our progression moving forward. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“Holy shit,” Jack murmured. “I can’t believe it.”

Keeping her left hand firmly on Jack’s shoulder, Pearl gently slipped out of Jack’s hold and began walking unassisted. Swiftly drying her eyes, she glanced to the left, to where our attention had honed. Her jaw dropped. “Oh, my.” She blinked, peering closer. “Is that Elly with them?”

“Yes,” I hissed, staring at one of my friends, a lion Shifter, her white hair bouncing as she screamed at one of the men dressed in red robes. The exact group we had been searching for, who had initiated an attack on the Prodigies close to a year ago. A vicious event that had resulted in my mate, Dominic Kincaid, dying, and had left me as the Prodigy Shifter — the soon-to-be Queen Shifter — when his power had passed to me. The man Elly was heatedly arguing with seemed to be the leader, since his hooded red robe was embellished with a gold and black trim when everyone else’s were plain red. Men in black tactical uniforms were stationed in a loose protective circle around him and Elly.

“I can’t believe…” My voice trailed off as the man grabbed her in a frustrated embrace, his hood lowering as he kissed her deeply.

Elly didn’t fight it.

A menacing growl erupted from deep within my chest, my wolf taking voice.

“Focus!” Jack barked loudly. “I’m losing you, Lily.”

Grinding my teeth together, I snapped my attention from the kissing couple. Their assassins had taken notice of us, first pointing and then charging with guns firing. “She’s f*cking dead.” My wolf’s growling wouldn’t stop, even as I focused to keep the dome steady. “It all makes sense now. Her father works for the damn MIA.” The Mystical Intelligence Agency. “Whoever that * is she’s kissing would have had access to our intel.” Elly was now the enemy, even if she hadn’t planned for this attack on her people.

Ezra’s Vampire even growled a little as we reached the surf. “Fucking bitch.” He shook his head. “I never would have thought her a traitor.”

“She may not be.” Just stupid. “But she’s still dead.” At the very least, she had gotten Dominic killed. She had even been there that night at Hell’s Gate. The possibilities for her betrayal were now endless.

My best friends nodded with me, and each of us threw a glower of promised retribution in her direction before turning our attention back to our task.

Ezra gently lowered me, the sand now wet beneath my feet.

I asked, “Can you reach into my pocket and get the compass?”