Chapter 3

3

The council was seated at the large stone table in the meeting chamber when I swept into the room. There were thirteen seats for the thirteen members, and this table was designed to tally and toll their decisions. I’d seen it in operation on my first night here.

There wasn’t a seat for me here.

Yet.

I summoned the authority from the eating chamber and set the huge throne between Winona and Delta, noting Delta’s slight grin at the move. She enjoyed shows of arrogance—most battle affinities did.

Wild’s intrigue floated through our tether. He wondered what the hell I was about to do.

I smiled at the council. “We’re in a position none of us expected two weeks ago.”

Some murmured their agreement at that.

“Caves is over,” I continued. “Ryzika’s relics chose me. The coven has accepted my accession, and there’s no longer a need for this council.”

A few shifted in their seats at that. Varden grinned. Then again, grimoires enjoyed direct conveyance of information.

“There can’t be any confusion on leadership,” I said. “I’ve only seen problems arise from that.” Could I base that off my time in the circus? Why not. A circus community was probably as close to a coven as you could get.

I set my hand on the stone table and felt it warm to my touch. The magic in the caves already recognized me as leader—an unsettling thought for another time, which also made my next move easier. I pushed magic through my four affinities and pulled the thirteen channels within the table to me. I tied the thirteen channels together to form one massive channel.

The table was now coded to my decisions.

I ignored the shuffling of council members on their seats. I didn’t need to explain what I’d done. They’d watched it, and the meaning was clear. “You’ve expected this, and I can see uncertainty. You’ve dedicated hours and hours of your time to nurturing this coven. You climbed into this position and, rightly so, take great pride in it. In my time in these caves, I’ve had the pleasure of watching how this council operates, and how each of you operate too. It would be beyond foolish to move forward without utilizing that experience and skill.”

Sage and Opal exchanged a look. Surprise?

One of them would be surprised.

“I’m forming a team of advisors,” I announced. “Most will be pulled from this group.”

“What power will advisors have?” Varden asked with a glance around the table.

I nodded. “I have veto power always. However, on many issues, I’ll ask for a voting show before making any decision. Open discussion will be a constant. I want all opinions and feedback and criticisms spoken in this room. There’s a threat on our doorstep, and that will require many viewpoints to evaluate the best approach.”

“What status will advisors have?” Barrow asked.

With Barrow, position did mean something. That mentality wasn’t me, and yet I’d seen status was important to him and others. If position made him happy, then whatever. He’d shown me his ambition was in regulation. “You’ll retain your black robes and council pendant. You’ll retain your standing in the coven. I consider advisors as ranked above esteemed.”

I scanned their midst, noting the slight uptick of Wild’s lips. There was a purr down our purple and green tethers, a promise of later. He liked me in charge.

Maybe I’d play around with that.

Now for the hard part. “The following will move forward with me as advisors; Varden, Wild, Winona, Delta, Opal, and Barrow. Two coven members outside of the council will receive an invitation to join us. The rest of you will return to esteemed status, aside from Sage.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re changing my power status?”

Sage proved difficult to decide on. She was beloved by the coven, but I’d seen that she operated within policies and procedures always, at the cost of exploring new avenues that may work better. We were no longer playing Caves, and I perceived she was the most uncertain council member with the recent upheaval. We didn’t have clear policies and procedures about battling demons, and I needed those who could look outside the norm. But she was beloved. That I’d selected even numbers of Vero and Fertim members to become advisors may not matter. Insulting Sage was like insulting a person’s mother. She had to be repurposed and distinguished. “Your power status, no. You’ll remain esteemed, of course. I would like to invite you to the position of lead strategist in addition to that. We have a lot of work to do against the demons, and I believe you have the most to offer in this area.”

Sage wasn’t great at selecting strategies. She was great at gathering them from our coven members and sparking discussion. My advisors and myself could then select the strategies from her lists.

She paused. “Similar to what I did as a team leader?”

“The exact same, with a change of direction to a real enemy.”

Sage paled. Many did when remembering the army of demons. If there was any reason to feel fear, then demons were a pretty good one.

“Can I take time to consider it?” she asked.

“Yes, until the end of the day. The sooner our leadership is clear, the clearer our coven is on where they stand.”

At the accession today, I’d witnessed how discomfort trickled down the ranks. “The rest of you… as said, you’ve given so much to this coven. That your position as a council member may have ended at any moment along with the game is poor consolation. This coven needs you as much as ever, and your legacy as the last council of Caves will never be taken away. That legacy is something to be proud of, and though I realize this is a change that demands grace and humility, I believe each of you capable of that.”

Except one.

Sage was the first to slip her council pendant over her head and place it on the stone table. She bowed her head in my direction, then left the room. The other four council members followed her actions, leaving with a gesture of respect in my direction.

Frond stood last, tossing his pendant on the table. He regarded me through cold, calculating eyes.

I wanted to laugh in his stupid face. But appearances and all. “I meant what I said, Frond. This coven needs what you have to offer. No matter your personal feelings toward me, we face an external threat that will require you to do the best for those in this cave.”

Without a nod, bow, or any response, he left the chamber.

The door was slammed shut. I quite liked slamming doors when angry, so I couldn’t be too mad.

“Good riddance,” Wild said.

I didn’t reply, but there was a nod from Winona.

“Welcome to my advisory team,” I said to them. “We have a lot of work to do.”

Delta raised her dagger. “Who are the remaining two members?”

“Huxley and Ruby.” Fertim and Vero. I looked forward to the day when I didn’t need to think of people in terms of what team they’d been on.

She hummed. “I expected your cousin and Corentin.”

My cousin had value elsewhere—though I was worried my decision may hurt her feelings. As for Corentin, he had the ingredients to hold a seat here but not the drive. Even now, as Positive Patrick, his focus was elsewhere. He should be exploring his new power, and was, which didn’t leave space for what I needed from him. “Huxley will dedicate himself fully to this role, and I trust he won’t hold back in regard for my feelings.”

Opal laughed. “No, not Huxley.”

As for Sven, he was my incognito whisper guy. Like Rooke, he’d operate behind the scenes.

I said, “Ruby is respected by old and young coven members alike. Her insight and skill set her apart. I’d like to foster her into a position she has ample potential for. I’ll speak to them today, and we’ll meet after breakfast tomorrow. You can expect daily meetings until a plan is in place for the defense of our coven.”

Winona cleared her throat, meeting my gaze. “Something to consider…”

I arched a brow. “You were chosen for your ability not to hold back, Winona.”

Her eyes twinkled, but then she grew serious. “The coven has many questions. Questions they’ve relayed to us in the last week. We, of course, have been unable to answer.” Her gaze slid to Varden, then to me again. “They wish to know how you gained an affinity or if this was concealed from the coven. They want to know why the relics didn’t immediately choose you, and—” She paused. “—how you knew so much about demons—where they would come from, and how to kill them. Why the demons seemed afraid of the dagger you carried. Not Ryzika’s dagger, the one you held before that.”

My stomach dropped. Fuck. This was the stuff Sven’s magic had struggled to contain. How many coven members had ventured to ask them? A few or a torrent? The answers to those questions either led to the mating ritual or my heritage.

Wild answered, “I agree that a response to some of these questions is warranted. As for others, High Esteemed Tempest herself may not have them either.”

An out. I latched on with both hands. “I’ll answer what I can, and I’m happy to profess my ignorance in the matters I am ignorant in.”

Winona didn’t say anything further. I couldn’t tell if she’d heard the bullshit in that reply.

“Let’s end things there today,” I said, my heart beating hard.

My advisors filed out. Varden squeezed my shoulder and whispered, “Well done” as he did so.

Wild circled the table. “That went as well as could be expected. Power is hard to relinquish.”

I tapped my bottom lip. “Is it? I’ll enjoy taking it from you then.”

Wild’s drowning eyes darkened further. “But you so love giving yours to me, my queen. Can you be satisfied any other way?”

I smirked and rested a hand on his chest, trailing my finger down until encountering his pendants. I wrapped them tightly in my grip to pull his head lower. “How can I know if I don’t try it out for size?”

In the next instant, I found myself wedged between the stone table and his body. He brushed his lips against my ear. “My love, you’ve already tried out my size. As memory serves, you fit like a glove.”

“I have a five-pronged vagina?”

He shook against me, and then his lips curved against my cheek. “Mmm, maybe I should check again.”

My body tightened. “Maybe you should.”

Our blue strand pulsed once, and then Wild’s magic slipped beneath my robes and white gown. The tendril brushed up my thigh, and I widened my stance.

His magic entered me a beat later.

He plunged his power inside, probing with every push, and I clutched at the table edge to remain upright. The thing about this connection between us? Our magics were a catalyst for each other. My body responded hard and fast. We fed off each other.

“That white gown makes me so fucking hard,” Wild growled as he watched me come undone.

He parted my robes and fixed his mouth around my nipple through the thin material and slip beneath.

My hips rocked against his magic. I jerked as his thumb brushed over my other nipple. “Wild.”

“I thought you were taking my power, my queen,” he purred against my flesh.

I moaned. “You just wait.”

He chuckled darkly, then sank to his knees, disappearing under my white gown and robe. His mouth moved against my core a second later, and there was something about him being under my dress that undid me even faster.

Wild groaned against me, clutching my ass to hold me tightly against his face. And then, between his mouth and rhythmic probes of his magic, I couldn’t hold in the scream any longer.

I trembled my way through the release, and as I came to sometime later, panting hard, Wild’s mouth was still softly moving between my thighs.

His magic retreated.

Wild kissed my core one more time. “I’ll see you later.”

I pulled up my gown and quirked a brow. “Is your conversation down there all done?”

“For now.”

I took in the wet patches over my nipples. “Guess I’ll change before doing anything else.”

“What do you need me to do?” he asked, still on his knees.

For whatever reason, Wild had always been so sure that he existed to nurture my power. That I was meant to be queen. That drive had to be a demon thing, and one I wasn’t comfortable with. Sure, I sat on the authority this morning. But in my mind, Wild was on a seat beside me.

I exhaled. “I don’t want to tell you what to do.”

“I’m your advisor and companion. You have the only right to tell me what to do.”

“We can decide what to do together?—”

Wild rose and stood close, gripping my elbows. “Tempest, I’m clear on my path. I’m free of my parents’ control, and there’s no doubt in my mind on my purpose. You are my purpose. To protect you at every step. To be worthy of that task, and for you to let me do it, is all I want and need.”

I swallowed at the devotion in his dark eyes.

He smiled. “That doesn’t sit right with you. You don’t want me to feel inferior.”

I rested a hand on his cheek. “I want you alongside me. I don’t need a security guard.”

“Can you sense any resentment in me?”

I already knew the answer. No.

“I can think of no greater purpose,” he whispered, kissing my forehead.

I couldn’t fathom it. Maybe because I couldn’t believe Wild was mine. That we may exist together for our lifetimes made sense of so many of the hardships I’d been through, and I felt the crushing need to prove my worthiness to him too. I harbored no doubt this gift between us had to be earned daily. If I chose not to do that, we could take a dangerous turn into the chaos territory we’d already been to once.

Degrading him to the role of bodyguard didn’t seem respectful of our bond. Yet disregarding his belief in his purpose was also disrespectful.

All I could do was trust he knew what he felt. “If you ever change your mind, please let me know. I don’t want a wedge between us.”

“I won’t change my mind” was the answer. “But if I did, you’d be the first to know.”

I blew out a breath. “Fine then.”

He waited.

I said, “You’re in charge of forming a sentry duty to watch the demon gates. What’s in place isn’t structured enough. You and Delta can train the sentries in demon-specific combat a few times a week. Only sentries will receive training for the moment, then we’ll open it to the wider coven. Collaborate with Sage if she decides to take the position of lead strategist, and help her form a strategy team of the best minds we have.”

“I’m on the job, my queen.”

I lifted the back of his hand to my lips and pressed a kiss to his skin. “There’s no one else I’d trust with it.”

That satisfied something in him. Wild flipped his hand to cup my cheek. “You know this will work out, don’t you?”

I met his dark, drowning gaze and didn’t reply. Uttering my honest opinion aloud seemed like bad luck.

The reality was I had no fucking idea if we’d be alive tomorrow, let alone in a week’s time.