“Ah, true.”
After lunch they jumped on the metro to Montmartre, where they got lost before eventually finding the steps that led up to the Sacré-Couer. Ryder raced past them like a big kid, using his lykan grace to sweep up the stairs past tourists without knocking them over.
Caia grinned at him as he bounced on his feet at the top, punching the air before raising his hands in triumph.
“What the Hades is he doing?” Lucien muttered in amusement.
Caia laughed. “Rocky!”
He raised an eyebrow in ignorance.
“Sylvester Stallone!”
He shrugged. “Some actor, right?”
Caia rolled her eyes. “I have no idea how you and Ryder became best friends.”
The Basilique was beautiful, but as the light started to fade they shuffled back down the steps to find the nearest metro station. The pack were having a special dinner tonight and had invited Marion, Vanne, Reuben, Nikolai and Saffron to join them. Of course Laila and Vil would be there, but they were part of the pack now, they weren’t guests.
There were only two seats available on the metro and, like the gentlemen they were, Lucien and Ryder made sure Caia and Jae got them, before wandering a little away to stand in the middle of the aisle. Everyone else held onto the poles and hand rails. With their balance, Lucien and Ryder didn’t need to.
“I hope Alexa likes her gift.” Jae bit her lip, worry creasing her brow.
“Let me see it again.” Caia held out her hand.
Jae pulled out the jewelry box and Caia took it from her, opening it up to look over the necklace that lay nestled on velvet. They had been passing the window of one of the many antique stores in the city when a silver necklace had caught Jae’s eyes. The pendant was stunning. Lounging on the silver crest of a half-moon was a sleeping wolf carved in jet.
“She’ll love it,” Caia whispered.
These last days had not been easy for Alexa. Not only was she still mad she hadn’t been able to take revenge against Marita personally, but she had felt betrayed by Jaeden who she had thought had become a good friend. Jae was trying her best to make it up to her. Last night, when Lucien had given Alexa permission to fight in the battle her mood had improved somewhat. Jae was hoping the necklace would finish the job.
When they reached Notre Dame Cathedral Caia cloaked them with magik and took a hold of them all as they entered the portal that Penelope had promised to leave open and guarded for the day. They stepped back into the Center, old pros now at using portals.
It was a little bit of a hurry to get back to their rooms and wash up in time for dinner, but they got to Ella and Magnus’ suite, where the dinner was being set up, with time to spare.
When they got there, however, everyone was already there anyway. It was the anxiety and fear over the next day that had brought them together early. Even the kids knew something was up, sticking close to one another and eyeing the adults with perceptive eyes that made Caia feel guilty for not telling them what was going to happen in the morning.
Neither Isaac, Imogen, Christian, Lucia, Julia, Mal or Cera would take part in the fight tomorrow. They had children that needed them. As for Draven and Kade they wanted to fight, feeling they had nothing else to lose but each other. That meant Vil, Laila, Lucien, Ryder, Jaeden, Irini, Alexa, Aidan, Ella, Magnus, Draven, Kade and Caia were the members of the pack that would be on that battlefield in the morning. They would be joined by Marion, Vanne, Reuben, Saffron, the Council, Phoebe MacLachlan, her Alpha and fifteen members of their pack. That was only the beginning. The entire Center would be there along with thousands of Daylights. It was going to be the most awe-inspiring thing Caia had ever witnessed.
Laila fluttered from person to person with Vil trying to ease the tension and fear. It worked somewhat, but Caia thought perhaps there was just too much emotion between them all to soothe. Lucien tried to keep it all light as everyone took their seats at the table. Caia watched carefully as Vanne and Marion sat next to one another, their shoulders brushing, their eyes meeting often. She smiled, hoping they were friends again… and maybe more someday, she mused.
“This looks amazing.” Lucien gazed over the dishes upon dishes that littered the table.
Vanne shrugged. “I had the kitchens put in a little extra time. Thank you for inviting me.”
“And me.”
“And me.”
The grateful murmurs of Marion, Saffron, Nikolai and Reuben filtered down the table.
“I’m glad you all came.” Lucien smiled back and squeezed Caia’s hand. “For tonight, why don’t we forget about tomorrow and just enjoy each other’s company.”
And that’s what they did. Friendly teasing and banter accompanied the meal. Reuben was battered with questions about how old he was and was he there when Marie Antoinette lost her head and did he meet William Wallace and was Julius Caesar really such a dick…?
He laughed it all off, answering the questions gamely, looking to Saffron for help when he could. As for the pack, they looked happier than they had in a long time. They laughed with one another and were able to speak of those they had lost with a sad humor and sweet remembrance. Alexa laughed at something Jaeden had said, twiddling the pendant of the wolf necklace that hung around her neck. For a moment, Caia was debilitated by a sharp feeling of utter terror. Would all this be gone tomorrow? Would the pack be destroyed once more just as they were regaining themselves? And would it all be her fault?
Caia, don’t, she pleaded with herself.
Fear was for everyone else. They needed her to be confident and assured of what they were doing, of what she was taking them into. This had been her idea. She had no right to fear or doubt.
“You OK?” Lucien whispered, leaning into her.
She sipped a little of her wine and threw him a smile. “Of course.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Sometimes Caia wished her mate didn’t understand her so well. “Really, I’m OK.”
He didn’t say anything more, but as they lay together that night, trying to catch their breath after having lost themselves in each other, Lucien propped himself up on his side and gazed down at her, his eyes narrowed and serious. “You’re allowed to be afraid, Caia.”
Warmth sprung to life in her chest at the knowledge he understood her so perfectly, but she shook her head with a sharp jerk. “No, I’m not.”
He scowled at her. “Of course you are.”
“Lucien, I started this. This was all my idea. I can’t be afraid when everyone else is or they’ll think that I’m not sure we’re going to win this thing.”
“Caia, they know there is a risk we won’t win this thing. They’re not stupid. They’re not blindly following you into battle because they think you’ve given them a 100% guarantee of survival. They’re following you into battle because they believe in this… not because they think your lack of fear is a promise of victory.”
She gave a huff of laughter that caught on a sob. “Then I guess I should tell you I’m terrified.”
Snuggling her close, Lucien kissed her softly on the cheek and rested his head next to hers. “Me too.”
32 – Pistols at Dawn
Unlike human battlegrounds where terrain and weather could determine the outcome, the supernatural battlefield was perfect. The chosen spot was a massive beach with towering sand dunes to Caia’s left. To the right the tide remained out and would do so for the entire length of the fight due to a spell that had been cast on it by the Daylights. The sand beneath her feet only looked like sand; she didn’t feel the familiar sinking of her feet into the grains. Instead, the ground was compact and smooth, as was the entire beach. A dome-like barrier had been suspended over the area to shield the supernaturals from human view. To prevent humans from wandering onto the beach and banging up against the barrier, another spell clouded the atmosphere, a spell to muddle the human brain temporarily so that any thought to approaching the beach was quashed, and replaced with one to go and get some ice cream or something to that mundane end. The weather was still and perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. And although the water could be heard lapping in the distance, its spray didn’t come anywhere near them.
Caia’s stomach was in knots. She was sickly white with fear and anxiety, just as the rest of the pack was. Her heart was pounding so hard and fast she was constantly fighting the need to be sick, or pass out. The build up to battle had been excruciating. It had taken hours for the Daylights and Midnights to arrive, and now finally the Council had announced it was time.
Across the beach – at some 3,000 yards in the distance – stood the assembled Midnights. Their battle lines were a fair mirror image of the Daylights own. In a crescent-shaped line stood five different divisions of Midnights. From left to right, the first two consisted of daemons, the third and fourth of faeries in the shape of big cats and large vultures; and in the fifth stood magiks. Behind that line was another crescent made up of four more divisions. Behind the daemons stood more faeries (all big cats) and guarding Orina Beketov and the Council, who led from the very back, were two blocks of magiks, and the fourth block of magiks guarded at the back of the faeries and magiks in front.
The Daylights stood in the same crescent formation. Up front from the left in the first two divisions stood faeries in the shape of big cats (when Caia had enquired about the choice, Saffron had shrugged and told them that faeries tended to have an affinity for them and felt stronger as a feline), panthers, leopards, tigers you name it and they were it, purring and growling and bussing up against one another with affection and encouragement. Vampyres made up the third division center in line and the last two all lykans. Guarding the lykans from behind were magiks. The second division of the second line was made up of more vampyres, who along with the third branch of magiks, stood to defend the Council who led from the back. The fourth on the far left was made up of magiks who waited behind the faeries in front.
Yeah, they were already to go alright, Caia exhaled slowly.
“Caia,” Alfred’s voice echoed through the lines by the use of a spell. “It’s time.”
Everyone had attempted to talk her out of speaking with the Midnights, telling her that it would make a target of her. But as they would already recognize her as soon as she got close enough because of the gods little IM, Caia decided to go ahead with it. Trying to ignore her trembling nerves she looked to Lucien, who even in wolf form managed to throw her a bolstering look. She stepped forward from her front line among the lykans. Caia strode with determination, her shoulders pulled back, her head held high, her face devoid of expression.
Standing at the half-way point between the two Covens, and utilizing the nifty speaker spell Penelope had taught her, Caia addressed the Midnights, surprising herself with the maturity and authority that rang in her words. “I am Caia Ribeiro. The gods have seen fit to tell you who I am and what I have done. I have given the trace magik back to the gods, freeing us all from Galen’s revenge. Without the trace, I believe we can begin to build a road to peace.”
She heard the snickers and the roars of outrage and denial among the Midnights. She hadn’t expected anything else. They hated her and her kind.