I pushed past the mages, focused only on my mates. “What happened? Are you alright?”
Elias and Xander were right next to each other and I was able to grab each of their hands. I could feel faded magic lingering on Elias. He felt weak and worn down. I turned my attention to him. “You shouldn’t have gone there. It was too much for you.”
“I’m alright, Skylar. We had a situation, but we made it out,” he said.
I lifted a brow. “A situation?”
“Brainwashed shifters waiting for us,” Xander said.
“We’re fine by the way,” Sam said. “I mean, we were just buried alive but we’re cool.”
I ignored her. I really didn’t think we needed their help and right now, I was more concerned about my mates than some ex-girlfriend.
“Why don’t I show you all to the bathroom so you can get cleaned up,” Shelly said.
“Looks like you need a turn to get cleaned up, too,” Sam said. “What exactly did we walk into?”
“Ignore her,” Becca said. “We’re in. They literally tried to bury us alive. We were weighed down by our own wards. They knew exactly how to strike to eliminate our magical abilities to escape. They did their homework.”
I turned to look at the mages for the first time since they arrived. A tiny flicker of guilt passed through me but it didn’t linger. Sure, I felt bad for them but I couldn’t blame myself for focusing on my mates first.
“I was right,” Shelly said, looking up at me. “Mages are screwed if the queen gets what she wants. This is everyone’s fight.”
“Leave it to your new girlfriend to drag us into something like this,” Sam said.
I glared at her.
“His mate,” Becca corrected.
Sam looked surprised. “Mate?”
“She is,” Xander said.
“Well then. Congratulations.” She turned to Shelly. “Can you show me that bathroom now?”
I was surprised how quickly Sam backed down and I was proud of myself for not acting on the uncharacteristic jealously that was burning in my chest. My mates sure brought out a different side of me.
Shelly led the mages up the stairs and I was grateful for the little distance between us at the moment. The townhouse felt even smaller than it had this morning. With all of us in here, it was going to be tight.
Elias squeezed my hand and I realized I was still holding on to him and Xander. I looked at each of them. “I’m so glad you’re both safe. But do you really think we’re going to get anything worth the risk from them?”
“Maybe,” Elias said. “It has to be better than sending you in.”
“We’re going to have to send her in,” David said. “Even if we have the mages to help, we’re not going to have another choice.”
He quickly caught them up on what Madison and Shelly discovered. The twins were standing with the rest of us now. The six of us in a circle that nearly filled the entire living room.
“The queen has to have mages on her side now too. There’s no other way she’d have known what to do at the cemetery,” I said. “We won’t be able to sneak in. She’s expecting us.”
Madison walked into the room, a bag of frozen peas on her face. “I have an idea. None of you are going to like it.”