Page 401 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

“I agree with Mr. Thornquist,” Reyna announced primly.

“Reyna, choke on your sweet tea, will you?” Freya drawled, earning a smirk and arched brow from the Bellaton queen. “Kingsley, so help me, if you keep placing more value on his father’s history than the fact that he’s here now, I will kick your balls so hard Rose will have to fish them out of your throat tonight. This has gone on fucking long enough. Adrastos has struck a bargain with my brother in exchange for delivering a warning. If we are to retrieve Alvara in one piece, we need to move now, and in order for us to execute the plan, we need both of you on board and clear-headed, so with all due respect, either suck a bag of donkey dicks and get out of my manor, or set aside your ego long enough for us to pull off the impossible, will you?”

Kingsley’s brow quirked along with his smirk. Reyna, however, looked aghast as she started, “Your father would⁠—”

“Throttle you for finishing that sentence,” Lana purred as she rocked her niece in a steady sway.

Jesus Christ. Running my palm over my hair, I snapped, “Can you all pretend for a moment that immortality has granted you maturity? I beg of you.”

“Commanders do not beg,” Reyna stated flatly.

“Yes, well, as every single person in here sits at the head of a hierarchy or two, let’s put titles aside and remember our humanity. Now.” I cleared my throat. “Atreus, I need your people to sweep in off the cliffs that Blythe told us about—catch the runners if possible; eliminate threats if not. Grayshell is on point,” I said more to Alec than the room, and the bastard grinned.

“Fuck yeah, we are.”

“Split covens between the false infiltration alongside the Wings, and the real deal with Freya and Reyna.”

“Where will you be?” Kade asked, his eyes only for me, as if he could simply block out all his opposition. I held them for a long beat, studying the way his gaze seemed heavier, his shoulders a bit lower, his usually meticulously gelled hair askew in a way few would notice.

“They’ll expect me leading the charge.”

“So, you’re the distraction?”

The hair on my neck rose, and I glanced around the room, lingering on Reyna for a second longer and praying she’d pick up the deviation. Nodding, I said, “I’m the distraction.”

“Wise leaders are careful with their words—and who hears them, Commander Porter,” Reyna declared to my relief, pinning Kade with a glare.

I locked eyes with Freya’s hazel-greens.

Her voice was amused when it came down the line. Nobody said it would be easy to bring this many clans together.

Where the fuck is Aren when we need him?

You ever think maybe they all work with him on account of he’s built like a brick shithouse and they’re terrified he’ll just snap their necks like a tormentor?

Alec snorted beside me, lifting amused eyes to Freya. My sense of desolation must’ve been contained, because those bright hazels sparked with something I hadn’t seen in a while—hope.

Can’t say that it has, I responded mentally.

Kade’s hiding something, she deduced.

The question is why. Aloud, I said, “Commander Gwyne, for the duration of this meeting and our working relationship, you will respect your fellow Commanders. I asked for your collaboration on this mission because of your expertise, but Kade has proven himself an asset on and off the field this year, and I would like for you to show him enough respect to defer your displeasure to me.” Before she could respond, I added, “Aphaea, where are we with the blight?”

Fae winced, still bouncing from one foot to the other, even though Winnie was now happily asleep against Lana’s chest. “It’s spreading. Manhattan was a heavy loss, and while we have enough geomancers to contain it, I’ll have to pull groups from other sites to contract it. I’m not enough on my own.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. Where are you looking?”

“There are some villages in South America that have been successfully evacuated.”

“We can’t just pull resources from smaller populations,” Kingsley said, scowling.

“That’s exactly what we need to do,” Cali announced. “Tessa and Damien ran the numbers through the algorithm a dozen times, and unless one of you knows of a containment team latched onto a smaller metro, this is our only option to move wielders without losing another major city.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, I said, “Do it. How many do you need to counter it?”

“The island is predominantly Renown,” Kingsley argued. “Is it even worth the risk?”

“New York is symbolic,” Sire noted, and Marcus nodded across from him. “The city has been the heart of this country for so long, its loss was catastrophic.”