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horrified if she hurt any of their guests, but she’d never be able to live

with herself if she harmed Kai again, even by accident.

She’d been reluctant to work with magic after the incident in the

bathroom, but she’d also been determined to perform the ceremony in

the traditional ways of Xenthian. If she was to be one of them someday,

she couldn’t hide behind her fear and insecurities forever. So, Kai had

practiced with her—in the mornings before breakfast, at night before

sleep, and every free moment he could spare.

“You’re ready, Ivy. You can do this, but yes, I’ll be right here.” Prying

her fingers away from the necklace, he held both her hands in his own

and brought them to his lips. “I’m not going anywhere.”

No one had called the room to attention, but a hush fell over the

attendees, and all eyes turned to Ivy when she stepped up to the torches.

Stars, she just prayed her dinner didn’t make a reappearance.

“Uh, h–hi,” she stammered, giving a small wave to the crowd.

She was ten years old again, stepping through the doors of the

Academy for the first time and feeling the weight of judgment in the

stares that followed her.

“Easy, dove.” Kai caressed her upper arm with the back of his hand.

“Breathe.”

No, she wasn’t that little girl anymore. She was a badass, magic-

wielding Alliance commander mated to the most powerful man on the

planet. Rolling her neck to release the tension, she lifted her hands—

palms up and elbows bent—and grinned.

“The deserts of the Western Isle.” She stretched her right hand out

toward the first pillar, easily igniting the purple sand inside the shallow

dish. “The mountains of the Northern Isle.” Her gaze stayed fixed on the

far wall, but she raised her left hand, conjuring a blue flame in the basin

at the other end, the one filled with wishing stones. “The forests of the

Eastern Isle, and the jungles of the Southern Isle.” The bowls containing

twigs from the east and rainwater from the south erupted with dancing

flames as well.

Her skin crawled with electrical currents, and the hair on her nape

stood on end. The magic Kai lent flowed through her veins, into her

heart, and deep down to her very soul. It wasn’t exactly a part of her,

more like a living entity of its own, but one that she could manipulate,

bend, shape, and control.

“And the high city of Sommervail, the beating heart of Xenthian,” she

finished, lifting her voice so that it carried to the back of the hall. “The

Five Isles, each unique and beautiful.” Cupping her hands together, she

stretched her arms, reaching toward the center basin to kindle the red

willowhip feathers inside. “Each united as one.”

Cheers and applause exploded from the crowd, several guests even

rising to their feet in a show of solidarity. Ava Blackthorn clasped her

hands together over her heart, tears gathering in her eyes. Tariq whistled,

Cami clapped so hard her entire body shook, and even Tira let loose a

controlled shout of support.

There, in front of everyone, Kai wrapped her in his powerful arms,

lifting her into the air as he slanted their mouths together. When the kiss

ended, he slid her slowly to the floor, ensuring she felt every hard ridge

of him.

“You did it,” he whispered, bending his neck to rest their foreheads

together. “I’m so very proud of you, dove.”

The borrowed magic ebbed, leaving Ivy feeling lightheaded and

fatigued, but she’d also never felt more accomplished.

Sadly, her elation was short-lived, and she stiffened when a tingle

traveled up her back. She recognized the sensation, the eerie weight of

being watched, stalked.

Kai spoke to her, she could see his lips moving, but she couldn’t hear

what he said. Blood roared in her ears, her heart thundered against her

ribcage, and tension gripped her shoulders.

“Something’s wrong,” she mumbled, dragging her attention back to

her mate. It was probably nothing, paranoia on her part, but she couldn’t

silence the alarms ringing in her head. “It feels like we’re…like…”

“We’re being watched,” Kai concluded, and his eyes narrowed

apprehensively.

Movement in the corner behind the platform caught Ivy’s notice, two

dark figures huddled in the shadows with their heads bent together. One

wore the uniform of a guard, and she suspected the sentry to be male,

but she couldn’t see his face. She could make out no discernible features

from the other figure, but she thought it might also be a male.

“There.” She spoke barely above a breath. “Ten o’clock.” When Kai

frowned, Ivy hurried to amend her statement before he could question

her. “To the left, slightly behind you.”

Instead of looking over his shoulder, he turned, sweeping the

audience until his gaze landed on Sion. Certain he had the shifter’s

attention, he tilted his head slightly, almost imperceptibly. Sion looked

past the king to the shadowy corner, his jaw tightened, and he nodded

once.

Ivy watched the byplay, impressed by the amount of information

communicated without anyone saying a word. She did wonder why he

hadn’t sought out his captain.

Kai answered her unspoken question by pressing one finger to his

lips, and touching his left ear with his other hand. Understanding, Ivy

bobbed her head in approval. While capable and competent, Tira didn’t

have the same enhanced senses as the Helios. Sion likely wouldn’t be

able to hear anything over the dull rumble of the gathering, but with any

luck, he’d be able to pick up a scent.

She had a better idea. Finding Cami still seated at her table, Ivy

cleared her mind of all thoughts and yelled the woman’s name inside her

head, laughing when Cami jerked around to stare up at her.

“Back corner, behind the stage,”
she sent. She wouldn’t be able to “hear”

a response, but at least she could get Cami the information she needed.

“Can you get a read on them?”

With a nod, Cami sat up straighter in her seat and stared blankly into

the shadowy corner Ivy indicated. After only a heartbeat, she shook her

head, her expression chagrined.

A disturbance in the air, just a ripple of the atmosphere, had Ivy

jerking around to stare toward the empty back corner. Both men had

disappeared, leaving no trace of their whereabouts and no clues to their

identities.

Maybe it really had been innocent. If the sentry had witnessed

something untoward, it only made sense that he’d remove the other male

from the room as quietly as possible. A logical and rational explanation,

but not one that sat well with her. When the men had vanished, so had

the oppressive weight on her shoulders, and she didn’t believe the two

were unrelated.

“Smile,” Kai instructed.

No one else in the room had noticed anything amiss, and he clearly

wanted to keep it that way. Understanding, Ivy pasted a smile on her

face and allowed him to lead her down the steps of the dais, but she

couldn’t let it go so easily.

“What do we do?” she asked, her lips barely moving.

“For now, we do nothing.” Kai rested his palm against the small of

her back, ushering her deeper into the room. “Don’t wander alone

tonight, dove. In fact, I’d prefer if you stayed with me until our guests

leave.”

The request coupled with his tone piqued her wariness. “You know

who it was, don’t you?”

“Only the guard.” His hand slid over her hip, his arm curling tightly

around her waist. “Stay close, dove.”

“Tell me,” she demanded quietly, the smile still in place on her lips

as she nodded to those they passed.

“Wyn Nightstar.”

* * * *

night after the celebration had ended. He’d been strung tight for hours,

concerned for Ivy’s safety, and now she wanted to purposely place

herself in danger. “I won’t allow it. What you propose is utterly absurd.”

“It’s not, and you know it.” Crossing her arms, she stared back at him

defiantly. “We don’t have any information. We have no idea who Wyn

was meeting with or what they were talking about. The only way to find

out is if he and everyone else thinks nothing has changed.”

“I agree.” Standing near the door of the library with her hands folded

behind her back, Tira looked at Kai and nodded. “It would be unwise to

alert Sentry Nightstar to our misgivings.”

Kai glared at the captain. “Tira, we’ve been friends for a long time.”

“I am aware.”

“If it is your wish to remain so, I suggest you stop talking.”

A logical part of him knew both females had provided rational

arguments for their asinine plan. If it had been anyone other than Ivy, he

would have been the first to agree with them.

But it was Ivy. His soulmate, his turtledove. It had taken every ounce

of self-control not to track down Wyn Nightstar, rip his arms off, and

beat him to bloody death with them. Allowing the sentry anywhere near

his mate made Kai’s skin crawl and his blood boil. Yet, Ivy wanted him

to simply behave as though nothing had happened.

“We don’t even know if he’s shady,” Sion added, leaning back on the

sofa and stretching his arms out along the cushions. “Yeah, I get that it’s

jank as fuck, but he didn’t technically do anything other than give

Commander Uptight the creepy crawlies.”

Kai paused his pacing to glare at the shifter. He didn’t understand

half the things that spouted from the male’s mouth. Sometimes, he

thought Sion spoke in riddles just to annoy him.

“Speak intelligently or don’t speak.”

Sion rolled his eyes. “Look, whatever he was doing at the celebration

is suspicious, I agree. Still, as of right now, he has done nothing wrong

or unlawful besides give Ivy a bad feeling.”

Ivy had likened the sensation to being watched or stalked by an

unseen predator. Kai had felt the tightness in his chest, the cold pulse in

his veins, and a low, hollow thrum that vibrated through is body. Unlike

his mate, he wasn’t convinced the cause came from something as

innocuous as being observed.

“All I’m saying,” Sion continued, “is that I agree with Ivy and Tira.

Let this play out, see what happens. If he is a conniving little bastard,

then we put his ass on lockdown.” The male huffed and shook his head

when Kai blinked at him. “If he’s guilty, we deal with it,” he amended.

They’d all gone mad. “You want me to do nothing while he follows

Ivy, stays close enough to cause her harm before I could even think to

stop it? That’s your solution?”

“Do you have a better plan?” Ivy demanded, her eyes burning with

indignation. “Kai, I’m not a child, and I’m definitely not some pampered

princess. I’ve trained most of my life for situations like this.” Her

attention flickered first to Tira, then to Sion, before coming back to him.

“Besides, I won’t be alone.”

“She’ll be safe,” Tira vowed. “I would protect her with my life.”

Ivy winced. “Yeah, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Her head lilted

to one side. “Where is Wyn anyway?”

Sion grinned, the light glistening off the tips of his fangs. “Escorting

the elders back to the Valley, per the request of Elder Blackthorn.”

Since the Court had assigned Wyn to the citadel, not even Kai could

send him away without justifiable cause or the elders’ permission. As

much as he hated it, Sion did have one thing correct—Wyn hadn’t

committed a crime, none that they knew about anyway.

Kai had never asked his father to intervene with the Court on his

behalf, not once in almost two thousand years. When he’d approached

Elor at the end of the celebration, briefly explaining his concerns

regarding the sentry, the elder hadn’t hesitated to offer assistance. In

truth, it had been his father’s idea to lure Wyn away, giving Kai time to

devise a course of action.

“I know he went to the Valley.” Gliding over to the window, Ivy

tucked herself into one of the armchairs, pulling her knees up under her

chin. “He should have been back by now.”

“Does it matter?” Sion scoffed.

“Well, no.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes

darting back and forth between Kai and Tira. “Would you know if he

was here? I mean, here but we couldn’t see him?”

Pulling up short in his furious pacing, Kai changed direction and

headed across the room to Ivy. “No, dove, he’s not here.” Sliding his

arms beneath her knees and around her back, he lifted her from the chair,

taking her place and tucking her securely into his lap. “Magic leaves a

trace, if only a faint one. Even if I couldn’t see him, I’d be able to feel

him.”

Tira touched the side of the transponder tucked behind her ear and

nodded. “His shuttle is en route. He will be arriving shortly.”

“Okay.” A quiet sigh blew through Ivy’s parted lips, and her worried