“That’s okay. I need time to think anyway.” I nodded at Edgar, and he moved with amazing speed, clamping down on Elliot’s neck.

Elliot gave a shriek, and then he slouched, his limbs relaxing. Edgar gulped twice before straightening up.

“Ah, yes.” He pulled on Elliot’s sleeve and then bent again to dab his mouth. “I remember that taste. Very spicy. Magic will do that. I’ve feasted on many mages. He is the spiciest of them all. He gave me terrible heartburn. Does anyone have any Tums?”

I blew out a breath, remembering all of the time I’d spent with Sebastian, remembering his patience, his easy communication, his eagerness to help.

“Elliot Graves knows an awful lot about shifters,” I finally said, standing up.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Austin joined me. “What will you do?”

“I don’t know. Let’s go home. We’ll talk about it on the way, since it’s pretty clear this affects you and your pack, too.”

“I have your stuff,” came the disembodied voice from earlier. “We have a plane standing by for you. Also, there is something you should know regardless of the decision you make. I can either tell you while hanging from a very strong arm that doesn’t seem to feel my weight, or you can have Broken Sue put me down so I can take a revealing potion first.”

This situation straddled Austin’s domain and mine, but I didn’t have to work through the nuances of who should do what—the details were crystal-clear to me, as if we’d been doing this forever. Broken Sue was his pack, so Austin needed to make the command, but the woman—Nessa—was appealing to me about Elliot, which made it my decision. Perhaps mating had opened up these new insights, or maybe they’d unfurled for me because I’d finally unleashed my gargoyle. Whatever the case, the simple equality between Austin and me made my heart sing. We were bringing our two factions together, and one day we’d build something even greater.

I’d made a good decision with him.

I also wanted to rush him to someplace quiet and rip his clothes off. Would this craving ever cease? Did I want it to?

After a deep breath, I glanced at Austin.

“Drop her,” Austin barked.

Broken Sue pulled his arm away. The sound of the body hitting the floor made Edgar start laughing.

“Not as pleasant as being carried,” Nessa murmured. A moment later, a middle-aged woman with curly brown hair, severe cheekbones, and high-arching black brows nodded at me as she tucked an empty vial into the back pocket of her jeans. “Hello, everyone. I won’t bother asking if you want a seat…or some sweats. This won’t take but a minute, and then we’ll get you some transportation. The jet is standing by to take you home.” She pointed at me. “Do you remember what Chambers said to you before Broken Sue ripped him into pieces?”

“Momar intends to go after Austin’s brother’s pack. How do you know?”

“We have cameras all over this place. Don’t worry, Sebastian turned off the ones in your rooms. You had privacy. No one else did. For every camera they found, there were two they didn’t.” She turned a finger to Austin, and I felt a sinking in my gut. We hadn’t even checked for cameras. Hadn’t even thought about it. “And you remember the deal his people tried to make with you?”

“I wasn’t really listening,” he said gruffly. “I was noticing all their weaknesses. Jess mentioned something about this yesterday evening, but…” He tensed, and I knew he’d just held back one of those twitches that were making Elliot so nervous. “I wasn’t in a logical place.”

“Yes, the mating.” Nessa squinted. “Sebastian knows more about that than I do. I confess, I don’t really get it. Regardless, you better get in your right mind quickly. Momar has his sights set on your brother. This is what Sebastian was going to tell you before the vampire ate him. Momar won’t advance quickly, because your brother is the biggest fish he’s ever gone after. By far. Word is, he’s collecting mages to help advance his cause, and he’ll get them because Kingsley hasn’t been quiet about pushing back on the Mages’ Guild’s influence in the magical world. Momar means to hit him with an overwhelming force.” Broken Sue tensed. Nessa noticed it and nodded at him. “Yes, that’s their jam, as you know. They don’t fight fair. They buy grunts to do the dirty fighting and then follow behind with spells. That’s why they didn’t know how to combat you guys in the colosseum. In a fight with equal numbers, the shifters will clearly dominate. But that’s not how mages fight in real life.”

“What kind of numbers are you talking?” Austin asked.

Nessa studied him for a moment. “We don’t know exactly. We’re working on it. We have some time. A couple months. Maybe a few. After that, Kingsley is going to have his hands full.”

Austin nodded but didn’t comment. I studied his face for a long moment, knowing we’d help, obviously. That wasn’t a question. We’d need more guns. More firepower. We were no strangers to fighting against large odds, but Momar was a growing power in the magical world, and he had access to a huge swell of people who hated shifters, would not balk at helping to take them out, and would fight as dirty as possible.

“I can pull in the gargoyles,” I said softly, touching Austin’s arm. “Nathanial can command them.”

“Yes,” Nathanial said, standing taller.

“And if anyone can bring the various alpha shifters together, you can,” I told Austin. He’d already been talking about it before we knew about Momar’s next intended victim.

“Not in three months,” he replied.

“Sebastian can help,” Nessa said. “We are owed favors everywhere. He can’t bring in the shifters, but he can get you an audience with some big players.”

“Other alphas are working with Elliot Graves?” Austin asked.

“Obviously not. A good mage deals in secrets and backdoor discussions. Our network, which Sebastian controls, can get you the meetings. And after this, we’ll have some powerful mages who will either stand with us, or stand aside and not interfere.”

“Why would you want to help my brother?” Austin asked.

“Me? I don’t, particularly,” she said without flinching. “If he wants to reclaim his mantle from Momar, there are safer ways of doing it. Shady dealings and double crossings. The mage way. But Sebastian fought beside your brother, I believe, against the phoenix.”

Cyra nodded. “He is noble, that tiger.”

“Sebastian talks about Kingsley with the utmost respect,” Nessa went on. “He also wants to help Miss Ironheart. She’ll want to help you. You will, without a doubt, help your brother. So Sebastian is connected to this cause. Even if you don’t consent to his friendship or his teaching, Jessie—may I call you Jessie?—he will try to help you. He promised as much when he took you on as an apprentice. Those pledges aren’t ironclad among mages, but it was to him.” She spread her hands and stepped back. “Look, you can figure all that out for yourself. You’ll see what you’re up against pretty quickly. Jessie has a crapload of power, but she doesn’t know dick. She needs a teacher, and you won’t find another mage as powerful and knowledgeable as Sebastian who doesn’t want to use you. It was his sister’s dying wish that he follow this journey to the end of his life. A smart woman would realize what that means.”

“A smart woman can deliver a manipulative speech in the guise of sisterly love,” Hollace said.

Nessa laughed. “If she’d killed Sebastian, I would’ve died trying to avenge him, hopefully taking her down with me.” Austin tensed, and power pulsed through the room. Nessa rubbed her arms. “Yeah, yeah, the bear is protective. I get it. Listen, think it over. And if you decide not to allow him into your life, can you leave behind that jewelry we gave you in the basket? That stuff was amazing. I’ll take it, no problem.”

“Let’s go.” Austin turned and strode for the door.

“I’ll arrange transportation to the jet—”

“Don’t bother,” Austin cut in. “Jess, can your people fly us?”

“Yep.”

Kace softly groaned.

“Okay, well,” Nessa called after us. “I guess I’ll just mail your stuff to you?”

“Sir, if I may?” Broken Sue murmured as we walked through the tunnel.

“Go,” Austin said.

“I know that your inclination is to keep the situation with your brother a shifter matter. In times of danger, especially with our families, we feel like we can only rely on those we trust. We stick with our own. I felt the same way, and I lost everything. Your mate is the doorway to survival, for all of us. Even if you get all of the shifters to stand together, it still won’t be enough, not against the kind of might these mages will throw together. They don’t fight even remotely fair. They go after the vulnerable, and they use the mercenaries they bring in like pawns. Lives to be thrown away. They have no loyalty themselves, and so they do not adhere to the normal principles of warfare. If you want to truly help your brother—help us all—you will heed that woman’s words. You will trust your mate to bolster your pack with people you otherwise wouldn’t have access to. To fight beside you with magic. I think you two were brought together for a reason. That is only my opinion, but that’s the way I see it.”

“The stars are guiding us,” the basajaun said. “This mountain is quiet. Peaceful. It does not want violence. This meeting was important. I will call on the elders. The basajaunak will join this fight.” Austin glanced back, shock riding the link. “Edgar, we will need more flowers,” the basajaun continued. “Maybe some of those violent ones. That was tasty.”

“My mother is the biggest busybody in the history of the world,” Ulric chimed in. “She knows gargoyles from all over. You want to talk about a network? My mother has a network. I’ve told her that she isn’t allowed to tell anyone outside of the parish there’s a new female gargoyle—I was waiting until Jessie was a little more up to speed—but say the word and she can make sure the biggest cairns in the world hear about you, Jessie. If there is a big battle on the horizon, they’ll want in because the status of fighting beside a female gargoyle will be passed down their family lines. We can get enough forces to fill the sky.”