“She’s got male problems,” Myanin said before Tenia could answer.

  “Skender?” Lilly asked, her voice softer and filled with understanding.

  “Yes, but also Ludcarab and Alston.” Tenia quickly explained what the elf king and high fae had told her.

  “If your son wasn’t there, I wouldn’t let you go back.” Lilly’s hands rested on her hips as she tapped her foot. “I don’t like it. What is it that Ludcarab expects you to do with these newly acquired supernaturals?”

  “If I had time, I’d fill you in,” Tenia said honestly. “But I need to get back so they don’t get suspicious.”

  Lilly walked over and gave her a tight hug. “You take care of yourself and your son. And let Skender help.” Lilly pulled back and put her hands on Tenia’s shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze. “His past is abhorrent. But he is your true mate, and he will not let anything happen to you or Torion. For now, that’s just going to have to be the way it is. You can decide later, when everything has settled down, whether or not a relationship with Skender is worth fighting for. Because Tenia”—Lilly gave her a little shake—“that’s what you will be doing if you choose him. You will have to fight to keep him.”

  Tenia felt the weight of those words press down on her, and she wondered how her legs didn’t buckle under the pressure. Unable to respond, she stepped back from Lilly and looked at Myanin. “Maybe see if you can get some cotton candy while you’re out from under the watchful eye of the vipers? Keep it up, and I’ll forget to heal a few of your injuries.”

  “What injuries?” Gerick’s voice came from behind them.

  Tenia couldn’t help but chuckle as Myanin’s face morphed from a smirk to one that could only be described as a plea, saying ‘don’t you dare leave me to deal with this on my own.’ “That’s my cue.” Tenia bowed her head to the queen and ignored Myanin as the djinn whispered, “I’ll totally get you back for this.”

  She flashed from the warlock mountain and reappeared in front of building four as Ludcarab had instructed. Her stomach churned while she stared at the door that would take her inside. Tenia didn’t want to go in. She knew the elf king was going to force her to take someone’s will, and she couldn’t stand to see who her victim would be. It didn’t matter that her magic didn’t make them mindless robots. In fact, her magic was worse because it literally changed their will. It made them want to do what she suggested. They wouldn’t ever know unless she told them that it hadn’t been their own idea to act on those desires.

  Bile rose in her throat, and she took several deep breaths to keep from vomiting. She thought of Torion and of the horrible things they would do to him if she didn’t cooperate. No matter how she felt about what she was doing, Tenia couldn’t bring herself to refuse. Not if compliance meant keeping her innocent son safe. Maybe that made her a wicked, selfish person. There was a point in her life when she would have refused any evil act with her magic because of how absolutely abhorrent an action that would be. But that was before she had a child. Everything changed when Torion came into her life. She wouldn’t change it for the world. He was the one bright light in her world that had become a consuming darkness that threatened to suffocate her daily.

  “Don’t do this to yourself,” Skender’s voice said through their bond.

  She should have known he would feel her intense emotions. Tenia no longer regretted his intrusion. She allowed herself the right of a mate, to take comfort in the one who held the other half of her soul. And until she understood everything that Skender’s past entailed, she wasn’t going to feel guilty about the emotions growing for him.

  She immediately felt his frustration and fear at those thoughts. “Don’t,” she told him. “You don’t have the right to tell me how to feel. That’s my choice.”

  After a few heartbeats, he responded, “You’re right. But I don’t deserve what you’re offering.”

  Tenia didn’t have time to argue with him. She needed to go inside and deal with whatever it was the elf king was going to ask of her. She withdrew herself from the bond as much as she could and then pulled on the handle of the door. When she stepped inside, her steps faltered. Ludcarab was walking slowly in a circle around four women who sat in chairs in the middle of the large room. Though she hadn’t seen a sprite in a very long time, she knew immediately simply by the power radiating from the females what they were. Their power was unique in its purity. Perhaps this was because they stayed in their own realm, and it was untainted by the evil magic that had permeated the human realm. For a moment, Tenia found herself jealous of the race who’d managed to stay away from all of the ugliness the rest of them had faced over the decades. But she immediately dismissed her feelings. There was a reason they remained closed off, and perhaps the time was coming to reveal why.

  “I can tell by the surprised look on your face that you know what these females are.” Ludcarab continued to circle the women like a vulture looking for an opportunity to strike its prey.

  “I’m guessing that since you’ve requested my presence, they aren’t here of their own free will.” Tenia relaxed her body, trying to appear indifferent. She couldn’t afford for him to think that she was anything less than loyal to the Order’s plans.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Not to me.” Tenia shrugged. She let her eyes roam over each of the women and memorized their features so she could describe them to Lilly when she was able to speak to the queen again.

  “Excellent.” His lips turned up in a wide smile. It was disturbing to say the least. “Then if you would please let these ladies understand why they are here and why they want to be here.”

  To their credit, the four sprite females didn’t look scared. Instead, the tightness of their lips, blank eyes, and proudly raised chins gave the impression that they were resolved to their fate. They might not feel that way if they understood what she was capable of. Don’t think about it. She mentally kicked herself. Tenia shoved her conscience out of the way and stepped closer to the sprites. She closed her eyes and began to pull at her eternal power. It was as if the magic lived in her bones, so much a part of her that she wondered if, like a vital organ, she wouldn’t be able to live without it. When she felt the warmth of it flowing over her skin, she opened her eyes and looked down at her arms. Small, black streaks of what looked like lightning shooting across her flesh sparked and began to travel to the rest of her body. Once upon a time, the electric bolts had been pure white. But over the years, it had slowly changed, growing darker. It wasn’t lost on Tenia that this was proof her power was corrupt.

  She raised her head and made eye contact with each of the women. Altering the will of supernaturals was not the same as humans. It took more power and very specific words in order to force their own magic to change along with their will. Magic followed intention, and she had to make their magic believe that their intentions were not coerced but a choice of their own making.

  As she began to speak, Tenia infused her voice with her own will. She used a part of her own intentions, lies that she had convinced herself were truths. This helped alter the person's decisions, motivations, and thought processes. “Look at me,” she ordered, making sure that each of them was staring into her eyes. “My words are your thoughts. My declaration is your belief. You have come to the Order of your own free will. Each of you has come to the conclusion that the Order of the Burning Claw is right in their design for the future of the supernatural races.

  “You will not question what is asked of you because you do not need to. There is nothing that would bring alarm to anything that you see, hear, or are a part of. This is your mind, your soul, and your magic's desire.” She paused and clenched her teeth as she made sure that her words were from her very soul. That there was no deception in them because her own mind was convinced it was the truth. “You have no need to contact your race. They don’t understand your reasons and don’t support you. Because of that, they are your enemy. This is your life. This is your present and future. Your past no longer matters. From this moment forward, there is nothing else but this. The supernatural races have hidden long enough. Humans are beneath us. Weak, afraid, and foolish. They need to be controlled like sheep. The Order will usher in a new age, one that sets all supernatural races in their rightful place in the world. Each of you will be a part of this and find fulfillment in your purpose.” Tenia drew on more of her power and directed it to them. It wasn’t necessary for Tenia to stay in their presence for her spells to work. Simply having something that belonged to them, something important, would send her power into their essence. But physical proximity certainly helped when she was using her magic on more than one at a time.

  When she felt the connection with them break, Tenia knew it was done. Their own desires had been changed. Her own influence was no longer required. She immediately turned her eyes on Ludcarab. She could feel his watchful stare. “It’s finished.”

  The elf king slowly turned to look at the sprites. “I’m glad you have decided to join us,” he said to them. “It is a wise decision.”

  “We’re glad to be here,” the woman on the far-right side said. She wore a long white robe and her skin almost glowed with light. A luminous sprite, Tenia thought to herself. “We will do what we can to assist the Order.”

  “Excellent.” Ludcarab clapped his hands together and rubbed them like an eager child. “Then if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you what services we require.” Without another look at Tenia, he strode past, but he said, “Alston is waiting for you in his office.”

  Tenia couldn’t look at the women as they filed out. She couldn’t think about what had just transpired. She had to move on and deal with whatever Alston was about to drop on her. She didn’t flash to the building where his office was located. Tenia found she needed the walk to regain control of her emotions.

  As she walked, she felt Skender’s comfort through their bond. It was strange to go from feeling alone to enveloped in love. That was the only way she could describe what it felt like when he used their bond. His words were gentle when she heard them in her mind. “You did what you had to do to protect Torion.”

  “Like you did what you had to do to find your true mate?” she challenged.

  “It’s not the same.”

  “You’re right, because magic was used on you. Why on earth would your memories have been taken? Who would have gained anything from that other than the Order?” As the words left her mind, she realized there was a rightness in them that settled in her gut. The Order claimed to have sent him to a pack to be protected. Why? Why not just keep him with them?

  “It protected me from packs that were fighting against the Order. The memories had to be taken so that Vasile wouldn’t know through the pack bonds once I became a part of his pack.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not just Tenia.

  “So, why did you return to the Order when you did? What prompted you, and why now?” Tenia slowed her steps so she could make their conversation last a bit longer before she had to face Alston.

  “I felt the pull of my true mate,” Skender said, and then he did something he’d never done. He opened the bond enough for her to see some of his memories. She could see the moment when he realized he needed to leave the Romanian pack. She also felt his confusion that accompanied the realization. But she also felt his joy and desperation when he realized what the pull was. There were gaps, like a movie skipping forward, things he obviously didn’t want her to know. The next thing she saw was Skender arriving at the Order compound. Sudden clarity come over his mind, pain at the memory of his parents, and confusion over the Order sending him away. But underneath all of that, in a small part of his mind, lurked his doubt. Tenia focused on that doubt. She honed all of her senses on it. But no matter how she tried to see why he had the doubt, she couldn’t get past the shield. “Once I was back, I remembered some of why my parents were loyal to the Order. Everything Alston said to me seemed to make perfect sense. I couldn’t understand why I had been loyal to Vasile and his pack if I believed in the Order’s cause so unquestioningly.” As he paused, Tenia felt a shudder run through him as if it was passing through her own body.

  “What changed?” she asked. She stopped walking, only a few feet away from the building where Alston waited. “Is the loyalty of your true mate so absolute that it would really make you turn your back on something you’ve been loyal to, even unknowingly, for so long?”

  “Tenia, there is nothing, save loyalty to the Great Luna herself, more important than a Canis lupus’s true mate. There is nothing he wouldn’t do to be with her. I don’t know if there is any way I can make you understand that without the bond completed.”

  “And that won’t happen,” she said, hating the bitterness that laced her words.

  “You’re a persistent little thing, aren’t you?” he teased. She could tell he was trying to change the subject, but he’d hit the nail on the head. Tenia was persistent, and this was something she was not going to let go of.

  “We will talk tonight. I’m done with the secrets, and I’m going to figure out why the hell that spell was put on you.” She didn’t give him time to respond. Tenia shut the bond down tightly, entered the building, and made her way to Alston’s office.

  She entered without bothering to knock. Her ire at her mate was too high, and she wasn’t feeling particularly accommodating at the moment, especially toward the ass who was currently in control of her life.

  Alston sat at his desk, his elbows resting on the top, hands steepled as he stared down at a piece of paper.

  “You’ve been holding out on me,” he said, without bothering to look up at her.

  Tenia stepped closer to his desk raising her chin to see if she could see what held his attention. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked.” She racked her brain to figure out what he was talking about. Had he figured out that she was actually in league with Lilly? Did she know about her relationship with Skender?

  “From what I understand, parents tend to be proud of their children’s talents.” He finally looked up at her, and it took every ounce of her self-control not to take a step away from the evil she saw in his eyes. Instead, she glanced down at the paper again. He’d dropped his elbows from the desk, and now she had a clear view of it.

  No! Her brain screamed at him even as she kept her face blank.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your son’s remarkable gift?” Alston pushed up from the desk, picked the paper up, and started walking around to her.

  “I, of course, am very proud of my son,” she said. “But this gift, as you call it, is merely a parlor trick. He can make his imagination form art that simply mimics that of a cartoon on a television. It’s hardly something useful to our cause.” Tenia purposefully made herself use the word “our” instead of “the Order,” hoping that it would reinforce her loyalty to him.

  Alston looked back down at the paper. “ So his ability to draw something and then make it perform isn’t anything like your ability?”

  Her brow dropped, and she shook her head. “Not at all.”

  “A lot of times, the offspring of a powerful supernatural will manifest a similar gift as their parents. I’m curious to see if his ability grows into something more.” He looked back at her and tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “Perhaps his drawings will become a way to influence people’s wills, similar to the way your power works.”

  She slipped her hands in her pocket and shifted her weight to one leg. “You mean he could draw what he wants a person to do and use his magic to make it come to pass?” Tenia kept her tone casual, a tad intrigued, hoping to keep hidden the defensiveness she was feeling. She shrugged. “I guess that’s a possibility. He’s very young. It can take decades for a youngling’s power to develop.” Alston, of course, already knew this, but perhaps reminding him would keep him from being too eager to pursue it further.

  “That is true. But still, I think it’s worth keeping an eye on.” He held the paper out to her.

  Tenia took it but didn’t look at it. “Of course. If it’s something that can benefit us then it would be wise to utilize his … gift.”

  “And you wouldn’t have a problem with that? Considering you didn’t exactly join us of your own free will,” Alston pointed out.

  “I told you the longer I’m here, the more I realize that the Order is right. Humans shouldn’t have control of the world. We shouldn’t have to live in the shadows as if we’re afraid.” Her words tasted disgusting in her mouth, but she said them with every ounce of conviction she could.

  “I’m glad to see you’re coming around.” Alston stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You are a very important asset to us. We’re proud to have you as a part of what we are doing.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She stood still, not daring to step away, even though she didn’t want his blood-soaked hands on her.

  Alston dropped his hand and then turned back to his desk. “We will set up regular sessions with your son to test this ability. You, of course, can be present. Your power might even help his evolve.”

  “Certainly. We are ready to serve at your request.” When he didn’t say anything further, she turned and headed for the door. Her hand was on the knob when he spoke again.

  “Tenia…” She paused without turning. “You seem quite genuine in your loyalty. But if I suspect you are hiding something from me, I will have no mercy on your child. I will torture him in front of you until he is nothing but a lifeless corpse.”

  “Leave, now.” Skender’s voice was the only thing that kept her from turning around and lunging at the high fae. How dare he say something so vile about her Torion?

  “I would expect nothing less. Traitors deserve nothing less,” she said.

  “And one more thing,” Alston said. “I want you to return to the warlock mountain and find out what the queen is sharing with Myanin. I’m still not sure how loyal the djinn actually is. But you, I feel like I can trust, considering your change of heart … and with the future of your offspring hanging in the balance, of course. Leave now and don’t return until tomorrow evening. And I expect you to have some useful information when you do.”