"That's impossible! The people must have turned on the king, there's no spell that can affect so many different people all at once," Kendrick insisted.
Marshall nodded. "You're right, which is what led Thane and me to Noctem Falls."
Kendrick sucked in his breath. "The vampires?"
Gavriel shook his head, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Wait a moment, what you are suggesting could be grounds for the next Great War; be very careful what you say."
Anne gripped Kendrick's hand tightly. He squeezed her fingers and covered their joined hands with his right hand. He turned to her, and she watched his lips move silently. She felt the pressure in her ears build.
He turned to her. "We don't have much time before Marshall notices that I cast a soundproof bubble."
"What do you need me to do?" Anne asked. Whatever was happening, she knew she would do anything he asked.
"My levelheaded nurse." He smiled tightly. "I will have to reveal some things that may change our lives forever. But if you tell me right now that you don't want any part of this mess, I won't say anything. We can remain an archivist and a nurse and probably live a fairly normal life."
Anne searched his face for a clue to what he was talking about; all she saw was sadness. "If you say whatever you were going to say, could it save lives?"
He nodded once.
"If you don't say anything, could good people die?"
He nodded again.
She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed his hand. "Then I think you already know what we should do."
He turned their hands over and kissed hers in return. "I love you, Anne Bennett. I wanted you to know that before everything changes. I loved you from the moment I saw you in my dreams. I loved the way you wept for my brother because you saw your friend was hurt. I love how you can watch a love story and be swept away. I love how, in a crisis, you remain a rock in the storm. Fate could not have chosen better for me."
"And I love you, too, Kendrick Ashwood. I love how you can tease one moment and be serious the next. I love how protective you are of the ones you care about. I love how patient you were with me, how you weren't pushy or angry about our situation. I love that you are probably the most powerful one at this table, but you're also the kindest."
"I have to collapse the bubble now." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly.
She smiled. "Remind me to tell you about our sons later."
"What!" Kendrick exclaimed.
All eyes turned to them. Aiden looked around as if evaluating possible threats. "Everything okay, Kendrick?"
Anne looked up at her mate and smiled. She reached up and patted his cheek. "He'll be okay," she said casually.
Kendrick blinked, then blinked again. He turned, looked at everyone, and blinked again.
Anne, super nurse, one. Almighty Kendrick, zero. This will probably be one of the best moments of our relationship. I should take a picture!
Anne reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Kendrick, look this way."
He turned, still looking shocked. She clicked the picture and put her phone away.
"You are a very, very evil woman," he croaked.
"Don't be silly." She looked at Marshall. "I'm sorry, what were you saying? We may have missed a bit."
Marshall had an amused expression on his face as he looked between them. "Kendrick, welcome to being mated." He tuned back to Gavriel. "As I was saying, we don't believe that the entire vampire race is plotting against the witches. Hell, we're not even saying a large faction even knows what happened, but the only explanation for that many people suddenly being perfectly fine with losing their beloved king is if they were manipulated by either a very powerful vampire or a small group of vampires working together."
Amelia looked at her parents. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me think that you just didn't want me?"
Lily covered her face, and Marshall reached past his mate to run a hand over Amelia's hair. Anne could tell Amelia had been hurt by her parents' revelations.
Marshall smiled at his daughter. "Because my darling, it was the only way to keep you safe. There wasn't a day that went by that we didn't think of you."
Amelia wiped at her eyes. "What about that day when I was little, in the forest, when you tried to teach me to commune with nature, and I ended up covered in bug bites? Was that just an act to make me believe your story?"
Lily shook her head. "We were being tracked and monitored. It was the only way I could think of to make you sit still. We didn't come home for a long time after that."
Darian held Amelia close. "Why now? After all these millennia, why did you have to leave right after Amelia was born?" His voice was stern. It was clear he didn't like anything upsetting his mate, even her own parents.
Marshall responded. "Thane Ashleigh had a vision that our king would return. So, we started searching for him while he and his brothers tried to uncover the truth about what happened five thousand years ago. We're supposed to find our king and queen and protect them, and they are to eliminate any remaining threat to them."
Marshall looked at Amelia with tears in his eyes. "The safety of our king and the future of our kingdom are the only things that could have taken us from you."
Beside her, Kendrick took a deep breath. "What if I asked you to abandon your search? What if I reached out to Thane, Justice, and Law and called them in? What would you do?"