So I opened it.
Read it.
Didn’t feel much of anything as I stood and patted my leg for Bonnie to follow me outside, and she did shadow dutifully as I walked through the camp filled with hundreds of white enchanted tents lined close together, a few wooden chairs and rockers sitting outside their openings on the dead grass. As I moved, I gazed up at the golden bubble that domed the entire encampment. It was transparent and let in the elements, the moon and stars shining brightly through, but Antonio had told me no Com could pass, and neither could any weapons aimed at us, and it masked our whereabouts. It was something special one of the Mages had concocted, making me bet that Mage had also taken the idea from King Cave’s protection, since it resembled it.
Arriving at the lone black tent of the camp — headquarters — Bonnie and I entered. To the right were black leather couches all aimed at the many flat screen TVs magically suspended in midair, all focused on news channels that covered the broadcasts of the world’s major cities. To the left was a wooden oval table and a fridge, sink, and cabinets. Directly in front of us was a long wall of black tent material with a sheer curtain flap for an opening in the center. The entire tent’s material was also sparkling with Mage privacy magic, so it was loud when I entered, since the place was full of Elders and commanding Mysticals — those that I, and the Elders, had hand-selected for our Commanders — on the couches or sitting around the table eating, waiting for the inescapable.
They went mute only a moment later, seeing me enter and stand in place. I nodded my head toward the back of the tent and moved, without asking them to follow, toward the black sheer tent flap, brushing past it to the larger section of the headquarters, which housed the computers and technologically skilled Mysticals. I continued walking, everyone following me silently and continuing the journey with me to the back of the tent where another black wall of tent material separated the large tent in its final, third piece. Mage magic protected this room entirely, the flap I passed under solid, instead of sheer.
I went to the head of the large black marble table, which was identical to the one in King Cave’s main conference room, and continued standing while the others filed into the room around the conference table. When the flap closed, the last Elder or Commander having entered, I cleared my throat in the silence and reopened the missive in my hands, reading aloud its contents word for word. “Queen Lily Ruckler, negotiations have ceased with the Commoner leaders of the world. The time for attempting peace is over. There is no other viable option. Mystical-Commoner World War II has been officially declared. Strike now. My heartfelt regrets, Elder Richard Harcourt.” I lowered the missive while Bonnie jumped onto the table, sitting regally but watching everyone warily in front of where I stood, and I stated, “We’re officially at war. I want to strike Sydney’s defenses within the hour, before they realize what’s happening.” My dead gaze landed on Antonio. I blinked, and then moved on to every gentleman and lady in the room, letting my power touch each of them so that no one would dare argue with me. “I will lead the attack alongside Elder Farrar.”
I did.
I relished it, my rage finally finding a useful outlet.
Surprise, surprise, I f**king finally found something I excelled at.
Bloodshed.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Waking the same way for the third morning in a row, I rolled out of bed and raced to the bathroom. Dropping to my knees in front of the toilet, I heaved the contents of my stomach into its porcelain depths, no longer giving a damn where the waste went, just as long as it did and I didn’t have to smell it, nauseating me further. Sweat beading my forehead, I choked, then heaved again until all that came out was stomach acid, burning my throat and nostrils.
Catching my breath, I fumbled for the handle, flushing the toilet. I knew I needed to call Antonio. But the only time I ever spoke to him anymore was on the battlefield when it was necessary, ignoring him the rest of the time, even when he found where I was hiding every night to have my dinner and interrupted my solitude to sit next to me, as if I wanted him there and as if he wanted to be there, always having a one-sided conversation with himself while I zoned out and ate, not hearing a bit of his forced ramblings.
But now I needed to call him.
It had been one month since MCWWII had begun, and before that, two weeks since my memory wipe. During that entire time, I hadn’t had my period. At first, I had brushed it off as stress, but now, with the nausea in the morning, which was in no way normal for a healthy Mystical, I dreaded the worst. But dreading facts didn’t make them go away, so I washed my face and made the call asking him to bring Bindi with him to my tent.
They arrived within ten minutes, both of them appearing harried, surprised, hopeful, and even a tad worried that I had asked for their presence.
Voice as cold as a winter’s night, I stated bluntly, “I think I may be pregnant. But I don’t know how that’s possible because the last thing I remember was having a Mage tie my tubes, and I don’t remember having sex with Finn, or anyone else, any time after my last period.” Both of them appeared about ready to faint. “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think I might be.”
Bindi was the fastest to recover, her face going physician-worthy. “If you had your tubes tied, I’m sure by an extremely talented medical professional, then the chances aren’t likely.” She cracked her knuckles on her right hand. “You stated you haven’t had sex since your last period, but not when the first day of your last menstrual cycle began. Can you remember when that was?”
Nice choice of wording. “The last one I remember was around eight weeks ago.”
She froze, her eyes going wide. “And you’re just now mentioning this?”
“I thought it was stress-related.”
Her nostrils flared, but she nodded once. “That is a viable reason for a missed period,” she growled, “or two.” She cracked her knuckles on her left hand. “Have you had any other symptoms?”
I nodded once. “I’ve been throwing up for the last three mornings.”
Neither said a word.
I added the kicker. “I tried to shift before you two arrived, and I couldn’t.” A pause. “In fact, that was the first time I have tried to shift since waking on the cargo ship.” I hadn’t had a need for it, fighting in my regular form since my wolf was tiny.
Antonio actually wobbled where he stood, and Bindi’s arm jerked out like it was automatic, grabbing his arm to steady him, but her attention was steadfast on me.