I looked at the men standing around me and knew there were decisions that had to be made. We would have to split up from here.

“This is what I want to happen, Jericho I want you and Sebastian to escort the Immortals and the humans back to Romania. Get them on a plane and get them to the Witch. He will heal them, even the humans. Jericho, I want them on a plane and out of here tonight, do you understand?” Jericho nodded and so I moved on. “Silas do you have any vehicles nearby?”

“Yes,” he agreed; his gray eyes were bloodshot and he looked disturbingly ancient in the darkness. “I have a garage that holds several vehicles not far from here.”

“Alright, then I want you to take Christi and his men and go find your colony. Check in with them, make sure they’re alright and then decide on a play to keep them safe. If you have to take them back to the Citadel do that. I don’t want them exposed and unaware of what’s going on anymore. In fact, I insist you get them back to the Citadel. After you’ve taken care of them I want you to start visiting every Shape-Shifter colony that we know about. I know some of them have started to assimilate back into society, but a lot of them chose to stay where they were. Make sure they all know the risks that they are facing and get them to safety. Gabriel you are going to come with me and my men. We’re heading to Omaha where Kiran and Eden are. I’m going to hold a conference with all of the Regents. It’s time we spread the word about Terletov and the threat he poses. The people need to know how dangerous he is. I cannot keep this a secret any longer. Does anyone happen to have a plane here? Most of us can travel commercial but I need the humans and Immortal prisoners to fly under the radar.”

“There is an airstrip here that Lucan used.” Christi offered. “I’m not sure what’s in the hangar, but it’s worth checking out.

“Alright, give Xavier and Jericho the location. Jericho you and Sebastian need to leave immediately. Go now and take whatever you need to out of the hangar. Call when you get there and let me know if there is a jet for us. Otherwise the six of us will fly commercial. Hey, take Roxie with you. She can be the soothing female we all know she was born to be.”

Several men around me snorted and I almost cracked a smile myself. I thought about the human women though, and knew they would need a face they could trust. And even if Roxie was tough as nails, she at least had a pretty face, a trustworthy face.

“Ok, Jericho and Sebastian will leave right away and the rest of us will stay to clean up this mess.” I paused and looked down at the girl wrapped in my arms, fragile, traumatized and afraid. “Amelia, go say goodbye to your brother,” I whispered in her ear. She still clung to me, although she wasn’t crying anymore. “I want you to stay with me.”

She didn’t argue, but she did leave my side to find Sebastian. I watched her walk away and tried to figure out how I was going to keep her safe but also by my side at the same time. A few weeks ago I couldn’t imagine hiding behind a throne and crown while I let other people fight my battles, but with Amelia in my life now I couldn’t convince myself that this was worth it if I put her in danger.

And at the same time I could not let her out of my sight. The sound of her screaming tonight had stopped my heart from beating, stopped my lungs from breathing…. and I had decided in that moment I could never trust her with someone else again. Not even her brother. She was too precious to me and her life was too fragile. She was mine to protect, mine to fight for.

I just needed to ensure that she had the strongest magic she could. I needed to make sure she was as protected as Immortally possible.

Basically, I just needed to marry her.

I almost laughed out loud realizing I had just decided I would get married as easily as I barked orders for people to follow. And then the laughter died in my throat when I realized I didn’t just want to marry Amelia to protect her, I wanted to marry her because I loved her.

I wanted her to be my wife.

I needed her to be my life.

Now I just had to tell Amelia all that.

“Do you want me to stay with the humans while they recover?” Jericho asked, pulling me out of my life-changing thoughts. The men around us moved to deal with the dead bodies and repair what they could of the ancient ruins that had become our battlefield.

“No, make sure they’re set up. Make sure they won’t leave until things are settled and then I want you to escort Talbott and Lilly to Omaha. I’m throwing them an engagement party and they should probably be there for it.”

“Do you think this is the appropriate time for that?” Jericho asked, sounding very doubtful.

“No, it’s not the right time for a party. But it is the right time to remind our people what we fought for, what we defeated Lucan for. This Kingdom is fragile, and the announcement of Terletov is going to shake us up. But I want them to remember that freedom is our top priority. Lilly and Talbott’s wedding will do just that.”

“Plus, they’re your friends, right?” Jericho pressed and it felt good to joke a little after the traumatizing night.

“There’s that too,” I laughed low and deep.

Jericho sobered suddenly, “Avalon, is Eden…. I’m assuming she’s alright?”

“She’s fine,” I assured him, hating the way his eyes flashed and deepened with emotion at the sound of my sister’s name. “I just talked to her. We didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“That’s good news,” Jericho breathed a sigh of relief and then offered, “Good luck with the Regents. Say hello to my parents for me.”

“Good luck with the humans,” I echoed.

And with that we split up. I took my people and followed Silas to the path that would eventually lead us to his hidden garage. Jericho and Sebastian finished loading up the two eight-passenger vans and headed down the mountain to Lucan’s, my, the Kingdom’s airstrip.

Amelia was immediately in my arms after saying goodbye to her brother and I dipped my head to claim her mouth with mine.

“I have something to tell you later,” I whispered against her soft lips.

“Is it good or bad?” she asked in her sweet accent.

“It’s life changing. I hope you’re ready for it,” I teased, moving to pay her neck and jawline some much needed attention.

“Should I be afraid?” She asked in a breathy voice.

“Absolutely,” I murmured. Even after the sweat and dirt of battle caked her skin, she still tasted irresistible. I pulled her body flush against me so that I could feel every part of her. I was suddenly very, very excited about what marriage would mean for our relationship. Even after the horror of what we were facing, Amelia was still the best and brightest thing in my life. I could not wait to make her mine completely.

Chapter Thirty-One

I woke up on our beach, a little disoriented. The first reaction I had was panic and action, but two seconds of well thought-out decision reminded me this was the place I created for Amelia on her birthday.

The night was comfortably warm, a gentle breeze floated over me and the moon overhead was impossibly bright. Stars twinkled above for miles and miles, stretching as far as this dream world would go. The sand felt like a plush cushion beneath the cotton blanket I lay on top of. The water lapped against the distant shore in harmony with nature, musical and soft.

I was a little out of it as I tried to remember where my human body was and how I got here. I rested my hands on my stomach, completely comfortable and willing to think it over for a minute when I turned my head and met the biggest golden brown eyes ever created.

Amelia.

“Hey,” I whispered in the darkness.

“Hey,” she whispered back. She was on her side, on top of the pale blue blanket of her own creation. I fell in love with the fact that she recreated our world, and that she was contented enough to add her own touches.

Her hair spilled over her shoulders and framed her delicate face. Her lips were pursed and the emotion behind her eyes worried me. I turned on my side so that I could look her properly in the eyes. I ran the back of my knuckles along her jawline in concern. She lifted her face into my touch and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face if I wanted to. This was so close to my idea of perfection, it felt unreal.

“We’re still on the plane to Omaha,” she explained. She must have read the confusion on my face.

“I figured,” I murmured. I was waking up, but taking my time coming back to myself. The battle in the Andes had taken it out of me, and the two day travel back to Lima and an international airport without sleep hadn’t helped. There was only one jet in Lucan’s old hanger and Jericho commandeered it in order to get the rescued prisoners back to Romania. Silas moved on with Christi Ludu and the other Titans to see if they could find his lost colony. And the rest of us were forced to fly commercial back to the States. I was fine; but it was just like somebody had slipped me a sedative the minute I finally sat down in first class. “Are you alright?” I asked Amelia, her pinched expression and furrowed brow had me nervous. She did not look alright.

Amelia shook her head, and then buried her face in the crook of her elbow. Her body shook once and her breath hitched into a sob. I scooted closer immediately, pulling her into my arms and wrapping her up inside my embrace.

“Hey, it’s Ok,” I whispered into her hair.

She nodded against me. She didn’t cry again, but she stayed close to me, burrowing as close against my chest as she could get.

“What’s the matter?” I pressed when I felt like she had gotten some control back.

She waited a full minute before answering. She took even breaths and kept her face flush against my chest. When I breathed, she moved with me. I loved the way she fit against me. “I was just…. I’m just trying to process everything that happened. Watching those men die was…. traumatizing. And then finding those nuns and the Immortals. Avalon…. I…. I just needed to feel safe.”

She took a deep breath and cuddled closer, although there was hardly any space left between us. I tightened my grip around her, loving that she called me here. Pride and testosterone spread like rushing rapids inside of my veins as I realized Amelia pulled me into a Dream-Walk because I made her feel safe. On the outside I was the perfect picture of comforting boyfriend, keeping her close and comforting her as best as I could. On the inside I was more like Tarzan beating my chest in victory.

Avalon, King of the jungle.

I pushed those thoughts down, or tried to and nuzzled my face into the crook of her hair, breathing her in. She was intoxicating. And she trusted me. I had never felt like more of a man in my life.

We laid like that for the rest of the flight, ignoring the outside world, wrapped in our own, isolated cocoon. When the “fasten seatbelt” light finally came one, Amelia was settled down and relaxed again. We exited our dream world and reentered reality closer than we had ever been. And I was satisfied with the knowledge that our relationship was equally as secure.

----

“You look like hell,” Eden mused when she picked us up at the Omaha Eppley Airfield.