“Yep, need another one now,” Lycus hummed.
“The car is replaceable. Lives aren’t,” I told them, and they nodded before Lycus flicked his fingers at it, setting it on fire. Tobias opened a portal, and I groaned as I staggered toward it with Aleera in my arms. Tobias came to take her from me, but I pulled away, unwilling to let her go, and he looked at me questionably.
“She saved my life. She could have run, but she didn’t.”
“Goes to show how wrong you were about our girl,” Tobias chuckled.
“We were all wrong. She is an elemental harmony fae,” I told him, and the shock on his face was apparent.
Lycus chuckled. “Yeah, right, there is no harmony left, and what would be the chances of finding a harmony that was also an elemental? Impossible?”
I stared at him, and he looked at Tobias, who nodded to him that I was telling the truth.
“What?” Lycus stuttered.
“Aleera is an elemental harmony fae. She took my magic and protected me while I was out. I woke up to her above me holding them off,” I told him.
“Fuck!” Lycus cursed, and so did Tobias. This meant the war we were fighting to protect her had more meaning; now, the stakes were higher. If anyone found out about her, she would have an entire world of fae after her. It was bad enough that I was stuck for years, going through tests to recreate the elemental status until I said no more. Not like they could force me when I could melt their insides with a click of my fingers. However, with Aleera, no amount of fear for what she could do would stop the council from coming for her.
Stepping through the portal, I found Kalen shackled by Lycus magic. If looks could kill, we would all be dead for forcing him to remain behind. Tobias flicked his fingers in his direction as we stepped into our room, releasing him from the hold of Lycus’s magic. The moment he was released, he stood up and punched Tobias.
“How fucking dare you!” Kalen snarled at him while Tobias rubbed his jaw before grabbing his throat. Lycus flopped on the bed, and I turned my attention back to Tobias, who pressed his lips against Kalen’s.
“I will let that slide, but don’t push me, Kalen. It’s unsafe for you,” Tobias growled before tugging him closer and embracing him. Kalen’s eyes went to Aleera in my arms as he tried to escape Tobias, who sighed, releasing him so he could rush over to take her from me.
He hugged her close, burying his face in her neck and laying her beside Lycus. “You gave her magic?” he asked, and I knew he was assessing her aura when a thought occurred to me.
“You knew she was a harmony fae, didn’t you?”
Kalen growled but nodded. “I noticed earlier when one of the phoenixes power-shared to her.” He said it so matter-of-factly, like he hadn’t kept it from us.
“You didn’t think to say something?”
“Not my place to say. I figured she would tell you when she trusted you,” Kalen said, leaning down and kissing her before adjusting her on the bed so her head was resting on Lycus’s shoulder.
“She needs magic, Darius. She won’t run,” Kalen said, looking over at me.
“I know. She could have, but she didn’t,” I told him, lifting my shirt to find a piece of the door trim stabbed into my side. Tobias hissed as I groaned, ripping the piece of metal out before his hand covered the wound as he tried to heal me.
“Save it. I will heal on my own. Save it for Aleera,” I groaned, sitting down and holding my hand to the side to stem the bleeding as I waited for it to heal. We all kind of sat around in silence, everyone shocked at what we learned when Ryze flew in the window and shrieked as he landed on the windowsill.
Chapter 70
“Bloody bird, she isfine,” I told him, and he flew over to perch on the headboard. He leaned down, looking at her and licking her cheek, caressing it with his beak while Lycus remained frozen, only for Ryze to lick his temple. I snickered when he paled.
“Having a taste test for when he plucks those eyes of yours out?” Tobias chuckled before whistling to Ryze, who flew over but instead of going to Tobias, he perched on the arm of my chair, looking down at my bleeding wound before looking at Aleera and back at me.
“She is fine. You bite me, I will smack your damn ass,” I told him while he eyed me with his creepy beady eyes. He then took off out the window, and we all relaxed; that was only momentarily because he came back but with the big fucker that we thought would kill Aleera. My fingertips fizzled as it squeezed through the window and everyone froze to see what it would do.
It hopped down on the ledge, walking across the carpet like an oversized fucking chicken, its long tail still outside the window when it stopped beside me. Its eyes roamed over me, and Ryze cawed at it, nudging the other phoenix, who tilted its head to theside. They were such intelligent birds, but they scared the crap out of me.
Its beak opened, and its long tongue slivered out split at the end. Going in two different directions, I leaned back, wondering what it wanted, and my eyes darted to Tobias. When its tongue suddenly zapped my hand, the buzz of its magic shot up my arm, making me jump. Then it spoke.
“Welcome,” it said, and I gasped before my side heated.
The phoenix then turned and jumped back out the window, and Ryze jumped up to perch on the armchair, nudging my side with his beak. Looking down, I found my wound closed, and my mouth fell open.
“Lira…” Ryze tried to speak before sneezing. He was still too immature to pronounce words. I knew they could talk but had never actually witnessed one speak. Then again, I tried to avoid the bloody things, too.