Tranquillity instantly suffused my clenched muscles and inside my mind. Other voices entered my previously chaotic awareness. My attention snapped to Ezra and his eyes met mine for a brief moment, expressing he was using his power to aid me so I didn’t do anything stupid. For example: faint, when I should be spitting fire and trying to figure this out, like everyone else in the room.

Swinging my gaze back to the table’s occupants, I didn’t dare move my leg from his. Ezra’s emotional gift was the only thing keeping everyone from turning their attention on me. I most certainly didn’t need trouble on this level, since everyone was only now figuring out that hybrids did, in fact, exist. And what they were capable of.

Conceiving slaying beings with Commoners.

“Wait!” Elder Talus barked an abrupt order. When the room quieted, he turned his attention to Elder Harcourt. “How do we know the video isn’t doctored? That a Commoner extremist group isn’t lying to start a war?”

Everyone held their breath, staring at the older Mage.

Elder Harcourt reclined on his seat, relaxed and cool. “The video wasn’t doctored.” He tilted his head toward the Elemental who had begun the meeting. “Elder Camden will explain.”

Gazes snapped to the elderly Elemental as he cleared his throat. Placing his fingertips on the marble table, he peered out to each occupant inside the conference room, his eyes meeting everyone’s. “Any hybrids who have escaped the Executioner are capable of breeding with Commoners.” His yellow eyebrows furrowed. “Their offspring are as the Com stated. They are ravenous Beasts that usually kill the mother from inside the womb. The pregnancy rarely goes to full-term. Ages ago this wasn’t so much an issue, because the Beast normally died along with the mother, but,” a glance at Elder Harcourt, then he again spoke the words strangely, “with technological advances in prenatal care,” his eyes met everyone’s shocked ones, “the Beasts can be born, even if the mother dies.”

I wondered if anyone else caught the words ‘usually’ and ‘normally’ he had used.

One of the four men who had been speaking with the Kings earlier growled low — a wolf Shifter. “You never thought to tell us this when we were working on the peace treaty?”

Huh. Those four must be the Kings who had come after Antonio and Cahal’s four, the politically sound ones who had worked so hard for peace between Commoners and Mysticals.

“This shouldn’t have been an issue. The information was kept secret and only passed down to the next senior Elders,” which meant he, and possibly Elder Harcourt, were the oldest Mystical Elders remaining, “specifically so the Beasts weren’t created.” Elder Camden shook his head. “It should have been enough that hybrids can’t do an Awakening.” Quickly, I scented the air, and found he spoke truth. He believed what he was saying. Thumping his aged fist onto the table, he expounded, “Plus, the goddamn Executioner should have taken care of any hybrids.”

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“Obviously, he didn’t,” King Nelson muttered under his breath, his eyes flashing gold while staring at the ceiling.

Into the quiet, Antonio asked, “Elder Harcourt, what else do you know?”

Elder Harcourt’s lips tilted, the smile of the devil himself, making me do a double-take at the wrinkle-faced Mage. “Antonio, please be more specific.”

A heavy sigh from Antonio. “About the Beasts.”

“Ah.” Elder Harcourt drummed his fingers on the table and stared at his thumping digits, humming quietly. “As they are, they age faster than Mysticals but slower than Commoners due to their mixed heritage. They pledge no allegiance to Mystical or Commoner because they are insane from the day they are born. As they are absolute killing machines, only thoughts of hunger — all kinds — hold their attention.” He paused, his gaze snapping directly to Antonio. “They aren’t easy to control with our powers, due in part to their mixed blood, which creates a sort of immunity. Only silver fully moderates their behavior, making what the Com said that much more truthful.”

Cahal’s chest expanded and slowly lowered. “What do you two know of hybrids? If they exist, we need to know everything you do since that’s where the original problem lies.”

I pressed my leg harder against Ezra’s, thanking God that Ezra was here to give me the support I needed to keep my heart rate lowered and common sense flowing.

Elder Harcourt continued tapping his fingers on the table. “Hybrids live as long as any Mystical, so it wouldn’t take many banding together to create an army of Beasts and control them with silver.” His head cocked. “A hybrid’s duel bloodline causes a reaction to occur biologically. They may have two different faction’s powers, yes, but it is the extra power within their Core that causes a slight breakdown of their reproductive system — something has to give when they’re born with more than what a Mystical’s biological make-up allows — thus allowing them to breed with a Commoner.”

“But…why would hybrids do it? Create Beasts such as that?” an Elder Elemental, another one of the four who had been speaking with the Kings earlier, whom I was guessing had also aided in the peace treaty, asked into the tense silence. “It makes no sense.”

No one spoke.

To me, the answer was obvious, so I spoke quietly, “Their nature itself would give them the perfect motive to wage war against the Mystical community, since the Executioner kills their kind just for being born. They use the Commoners’ fear to fuel their motives because the Beasts may be killing machines, but they’re not controllable and not the perfect soldier to create the destruction they want. Not like the Commoners would be.” An absent nod of my head. “The Beasts are only the pebble thrown into the center of the lake. The ripples, what disturbs the entire surface of our world, are the Commoners.” I rolled my shoulders. “Really, it’s f**king genius retribution.”

Every single man…stared.

Elder Harcourt chuckled softly. “Fierce, beautiful, and intelligent.” He bowed his head to me. “You’re going to make one miraculous Queen.”

The Elder Shifter who had spoken before stated, “No Commoner, especially any in power, will want to believe they’re being manipulated. Their pride won’t allow it. Plus, we didn’t tell them the truth when the treaty was signed. Now that we’ve lied to them, even if unknowingly, their trust in us is diminished.” He sighed, his head of dark hair falling back onto the leather chair. “What the hell do we tell them to stop a full-fledged war?”




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