Minx

Minx

“She’s going to kill her,” Naru roared.

Minx shut her eyes as her nerves once again lit on fire. Naru was on a rampage, and though it was understandable, she couldn’t take much more of the shouting match he and Wraza found themselves in.

“So we must be smart!” Wraza yelled back.

Even levelheaded Rhea, who seemed to have an infinite pool of patience, looked like she was at her wit’s end.

“Typical,” he growled, “You used her to get what you want, and now that you have the Twin Cities under your control - and her father dead for that matter - you won’t lift a finger to save her!”

Wraza slapped her hands against the table and it went up in flames. Minx didn’t have the energy to move away, and instead cast Rhea a pleading look. But the Everleigh Maiden looked like she might just let the whole damn building burn.

“Peace, Hunter.” Elinar’s arm shot out, and she rested a hand over his chest. Minx’s brows shot up in surprise. “We will get the Maiden back. But the angry one is right - we must make a plan and be smart.”

“Angry?!” Wraza snapped.

“I have a plan.” Naru countered, but his tone had cooled a degree.

“A stupid one.” Wraza snorted.

“My Guild is the best at what they do - killing Demons. I will gather them and we will slay Zaniel while you take out Vinciei.” He explained, again.

Minx didn’t think it was a dumb idea, but she did think there had to be a better way.

“They will see us coming miles away,” Wraza said, exasperated.

Naru pressed against Elinar’s hand as he leaned over the table, his scar twisting his face into a feral grimace.

“I will not leave her.” He growled, his words vibrating through the room. Minx’s chest tightened at the way he pinned Wraza with his glare. No one doubted his feelings for the bookish Maiden, it was obvious by the way they looked at each other, but only now did it become apparent how deep his emotions ran.

He was in love.

Wraza must have realized it at the same time. She backed down - an inch. Minx could see the conflicting emotions race over her face as she weighed her words for the first time since returning to the temple.

“No one said anything about leaving her,” Minx said. “I agree that we should ask the Hunters for help, but we also have to consider that Vinciei and Zaniel will expect such a move.” Guilt gnawed at her insides. Gabriela wouldn’t have been put in this position if Minx hadn’t convinced her to leave the library. Her life had been lonely and dark, but she wouldn’t be subject to Vinciei’s craziness if she had stayed.

“So we create a distraction,” Naru said.

Minx had to suppress her groan. Was their answer to everything creating a distraction?

“We can try that, or we can use the Hunters as the distraction,” Alec suggested.

Minx shot him a withering glare. He was in her mind; she knew it, and he was trying to poke fun at her.

“Am not,” he said softly, then left her side to stand by Naru. “Use the Hunters to lure them away from Gabriela, then send Sage in with the Tear. She knows the cave better than any of us, so she’d be the best person to send in.”

Minx expected Wraza to protest and say Sage was too much of a powder keg to send in, that she’d be more likely to ruin the whole thing than help. But she didn’t.

Instead, she fixed her cognac eyes on Naru and nodded. “I agree with the Demon.”

“Half Demon,” Alec corrected, winking.

Wraza didn’t respond. She kept her eyes on the Hunter who looked like he was about to explode. Minx knew he rather send himself into the cave to retrieve Gabriela - if they were going to be holding her there at all.

After a tense minute of silence, his shoulders finally relaxed a fraction. “Tomorrow then?” He asked.

Everyone at the table agreed. They would take the Tear and go to his Guild’s Manor and gather his Hunters. From there, they would take the Tear as close as they dared to the cave and the portal. The Hunters would provide a distraction, and once Sage had her opening, she’d swoop in and out.

Then they would all leave and figure out how to take on Vinciei together.

It wasn’t the perfect plan. There were definitely weak areas that Vinciei and Zaniel could exploit, but Minx and the others were confident if they stuck together, they would be all right.

Even their plan to entrap Supreme Capricorn had the potential to work out, and Minx believed it would have if Vinciei hadn’t shown up. She was their wild card, and the sooner she was taken care of, the better.

Minx left the others to hash out their plans with the Twin Cities. Now that they held control of both, they needed to figure out long-term plans.

She heard the thud of his boots behind her before Naru asked, “Do you trust they will help us?”

Minx turned to see him and Alec standing side by side. “They have a lot going on with their cities now,” Naru said.

She glanced back at the office they had taken up for the new war room, seeing how so many new faces surrounded them.

“They will,” Minx said confidently. “Not because we asked, or because we helped them achieve this. But because they care for her, just as much as we do.”

Naru only nodded and then took his leave. Minx watched him walk down the hall towards the room Gabriela had been given and something in her chest tightened at the sight.

“You should rest,” Alec said behind her.

Minx held out her hand to him. “Come with me.” She said.

Alec took her hand and together they walked towards her room. “I mean actual rest, Minx.” He said coyly.

“So do I.” She shot back. “I am so tired, but I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Alec tugged on her hand, drawing her body closer to his. “I understand,” he muttered into her hair.

They walked side by side to her room, passing Sage’s along the way. Minx didn’t stop to check on her - she knew Kade was in there and they were healing from their injuries still. She’d catch them up later on with the plans.

Besides, she didn’t have the heart to face Sage just yet. Sage, who had known something was wrong and had been hesitant about their plans from the beginning, would no doubt be vocal about it once she recovered.

Minx wasn’t ready to deal with that aftermath just yet.

They entered her room, and she collapsed on top of her bed. Too tired to get under the covers, she motioned for Alec to lie by her. The moment he did, she didn’t feel the least bit tired. Instead, she found herself thinking of Leox, and the prisoners there.

“After this, I want to go to Leox.” She said. Alec turned onto his side, propping his head up in his hand as he gazed down at her. “I want to free the city from the Hands - or at least, the ones that remain there.” With Supreme Capricorn gone, the Hands would be in utter chaos. But there was still a chance they’d manage to stay together and elect a new leader. Minx wanted to make sure that didn’t happen.

“Then I want to return to the Iron Mountains with Gabriela and help her free her city, too.” She said.

“Do you think she’d want to?” He asked.

Minx nodded. “I was uncertain before if this was something I wanted to do, or was even capable of. But now, after freeing the Twin Cities and seeing how Rhea and Wraza are putting the future into the people’s hands and not just theirs, I know I can do the same.”

Alec brushed a lock of her hair from her face, his fingers dancing across her cheek as he did. She gave him a sideways glance and smirked.

“So, do you plan on staying here?” He asked quietly.

Minx raised a brow. “What do you mean? The cities?”

“No. I mean, do you plan on staying here, in this world?”

Minx reached up and cupped his face in her hands. “I plan on staying here with you.”

Something tender passed over his face, but it was short-lived and he threw her a dazzling smile. “I knew I’d charm you, eventually.”

Minx rolled her eyes and let his face go.

“It’s only because you wouldn’t like my world.” She said, yawning.

“Well, I like you, and you came from there, so what’s there not to like?” He asked, laying an arm over her stomach and pulling her closer.

“Taxes.” She said gravely. “And jury duty.”

“We have taxes here, but I am not familiar with the other thing,” Alec muttered, nuzzling his face into her neck.

“Oh, let me tell you all about it.” Minx chuckled, then gasped when he kissed the small of her neck. “Alright, maybe later.”