When your existence is measured in days, no amount of time feels like enough. Tracing my fingers over the screen of my freshly repaired phone, I watch Xavier nap with a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

How could I send Caspian there? How could I allow that monster to rain down his hate on the place where the other half of my family resided? 

I can only repeat those words that Red had told me, some of the best advice I'd gotten, I couldn't save everyone.

"We've seen army activity moving in from Germany. Thankfully we've had enough of a stronghold with our forces to keep them at bay. We're holding steady for now, humans have been surprisingly helpful." Pascal informs me over the watch communicator I was gifted by our temporary agent since it would seem I was staying on the France border. "Hello? Nic?"

Pulling myself out of my remorse, I clear my throat. "I'm sorry Pascal, I am listening to you. I'm just..."

"Watching Xavier?" She sounds understanding. "We're going to be okay. You've done a great job preparing us, everything is set for this wedding. We will do it in the same location where you and Fillipa were married." 

I'm impressed that Naptaleon's castle still stood. It hadn't even occurred to me to check the validity of my plan, I couldn't allow myself the time to question if I was doing the right thing. "So.. about the German forces?" 

"What're we facing?" I put on my politician's face. 

Now was no time to get cold feet. 

Pascal explains to me that it's a mostly magical force as Caspian had made it very clear humans were for consumption and slave labor, not to be allied with. Some small congregations were readily sacrificing themselves to what they considered a god and it didn't surprise me considering the hold Fenrir would have, a god occupying a lycan vessel. 

We hadn't been having an easy time ourselves, Bet had taken to the streets to relay messages and technology to our rogue bounty hunter forces. 

The invading forces were growing desperate, coupled with the awkward stares from terrified humans who had no idea what we were planning for them, the movement to eliminate us and split off from the government to form their own strictly human party was an ever-growing threat.

 I had hoped it would hold, that the government's assurance that they were doing the right thing in siding with us would prevent the split until after the first of the year but we are never so lucky. 

"A small group of humans opened fire on a patrol last night outside the capitol. I think people don't know what to do without Caspian's machines, Lotta is trying to reach out to other governments but to be honest, they're terrified of what Caspian will do to them for cooperating with us."

I stroke my chin thoughtfully. "I'd like to speak with them if I can.." 

We were hoping to arrange a meeting but it had never come to fruition. 

"There needs to be plans in place to get people back to doing their jobs behind the scenes. There's plenty to do, we must offer humans protection from Caspian's forces. Divide and conquer-" I can hear by her silence she's wary of such a plan. 

"Splitting up our already limited forces..." Her voice trails off and I know how it must sound. 

"I know. But it can no longer be us and them. We have to protect them or they will side against us, we must encourage other countries to use their armies in our favor. I'd like to talk to the French Prime Minister and update him on our plans, Spain is ready to communicate whenever we can arrange. It's time to get armed forces in motion to take out these threats. 

We have to show them that we are incredibly serious, human consumption will not be tolerated. I hate to say this but we must demand the immediate termination of anyone found on Caspian's side." 

It was something I'd been trying to prevent, killing more of our kind wouldn't mend the bond of scorned magic users following some distorted plan they felt I once had but it would prevent humans from thinking we were going to turn on them. It was time to call our card, we could no longer be the only stronghold. After establishing borders, we had to now defend them. 

"Of course, Your Majesty." It grates on me that someone I once considered a friend had stepped away from that role, as much as I knew it was out of respect, it made me wonder if Legardo wasn't partly the reason for her distance. 

As the watch clicks off, I run my fingers through my hair and shut off the phone to toss it across onto the couch in frustration. Phones, screens, it was all so impersonal. The past few days had consisted of constant phone conversations while everyone else was running around trying to enact my plan, meanwhile, my husband was keeping me at arms length besides his attempts to serve me personally. 

I had decided, stubbornly, that I wouldn't accept anything less than the amount of relief I was used to and it was admittedly making me quite irritable. While some might say I was unreasonable, knowing him as I did, I knew if I gave in it might be quite some time before I ever got him back into my bed in a way that was meaningful to both of us. 

Give him time. 

Trying to remind myself of patience was becoming more of a struggle.

I feel warm hands settle on my shoulders and sigh as the skilled thumbs roll into the back of my neck to massage away the tension. "I'm still upset with you from last night." After my attempts to consummate our reunion were met with claims of exhaustion, my ego was nearly fatally wounded. 

"Last night?" Verando asks curiously, his voice rougher than normal, making me wonder if the added stress had led to him sneaking off to smoke though I hadn't smelt it on him lately. 

"Yes, last night. You were too tired, remember? Come on, you're not that old." I turned to see him and realized the person behind me looked like Randy but the eyes were wrong, golden instead of blue. I jerk back, firing a blast of ice at the double ganger only to be met with hysterical laughter. My heart pounds as I take in the outfit and realize that the person is dressed much like Tiberius. 

"Tiberius?" I demand shortly.

He shrugs innocently. "Siren's shift to whatever your heart desires, I was enjoying that delicious lust you were feeling, I had to get a closer look. Besides, I have to practice my 'Verando' if your plan is going to work."

Standing slowly from where I'd crashed from my chair, I brushed myself off and stormed over to slip into my shoes. I'm fed up and ready to be outside, in the fresh air or as close to fresh as we could manage in this dank little town. 

"Come now, Your Highness," The sarcasm is not lost on me. "It was all in a good bit of fun."

"Your accent is wrong. I'm glad you were enjoying feeding on my frustration though. Parasite."

Feigning offense, he chuckles and offers me his arm which I reject as I march out of the apartment. I was ready to see how the event was coming along anyway, considering tonight would be the grand unveiling.

"Touchy touchy. Alright, probably not the funniest prank but you must admit that you did believe me for a moment. That's all that matters, that Caspian thinks I'm Verando and follows me to the capitol. Our little bounty hunter brigade is looking fantastic, your warlord is quite lethal when he wants to be."

The nickname makes me flinch and I cross my arms over my chest, wishing I'd brought a heavier jacket. He offers me his and reluctantly I take it.

"Stop looking like that and don't call him that." Only I call him that. "I don't like being tricked, Tiberius." He raises an eyebrow and I sigh heavily. "Walk straighter, Verando doesn't slouch." I smack his chest absently with the back of my hand to straighten him, taking a whiff of the jacket. "Also, he doesn't smell like this and Caspian will find you out in an instant."

How could just a flamboyant personality pretend to be such an iron-clad man? 

As we walk, I can't help but feel the familiar doubt creeping in. "Do you think this is going to work?"

Tiberius pulls his lips into a thin line, attempting to mimic that pensive expression. "No. I think a group of civilians can't stand against a god. Fenrir is the destroyer of worlds, once he realizes Tyr is among our forces, I imagine that will trigger him." 

Sensing my growing decent, he bumps me with his elbow gingerly. 

"It's not supposed to work. It's supposed to buy you time to get to Fergus. You know how I feel, I think you should use the dragon realm to return to us once you've defeated Gabriel."

He makes it sound so easy, that part at least he had a handle on. "Verando thinks I won't be able to defeat Gabriel."

Making an interested sound, Tiberius folds his hands behind his head and I shut my eyes to not focus on the physique of the man accentuated by the tight clothes dawned by the Siren. 

I hear the start of a chuckle and flush, "Wow. You have it bad. I need to hang out with you more often, this feels so good." 

I elbow him roughly in the ribs and seeth to myself. 

"I mean, we could always... you know... I technically am your-" 

Shoving him, I muttered a quick revealing spell to send him through a wall and into a crowded store. He blows me a kiss, trailing his tongue wickedly over his fingers with a wink. Slamming the wall shut behind him, I march down the road and open my jacket to cool down. 

Suddenly, red hair catches my eye and I slow my walk to glance across the street. I see a woman, staring at me. She stands among the crowd of people just trying to get to their tasks and yet she's unmoving even as people walk past her. Her body is undisturbed, lifting my hand to test the breeze, I see that not even her hair blows in the gentle gust. 

Her skin is fair, I ready my fingertips to blast her yet think twice given her position among the crowd. She's too slender to be Red, her clothes are too fitting, too close to her trim figure. Her leather vest is strapped in various places to protect her torso and her flowing long white sleeves pool around her slim wrists. 

Bright, gold eyes watch me. Her lips move and I strain to make out the words.

Tiberius storms out of the store and her eyes widen for a moment, I glance at him as he grumbles and brushes the splattered drink off his shirt. "Unnecessary!" He snips at me, hands on his hips. "I was merely joking and everyone panicked, it was mortifying."

"Do you see that woman?" I mutter, and when I look back she's gone. Yet the words hit me as if she whispered them in my ear. 

"Look out."

"Rebels!!" A man screams, shielding us with his body as he takes a knee before us to fire his gun into the crowd. Tiberius quickly puts his arm in front of me as if that would help and I sling an ice barrier before us.

Gunfire erupts all around, and the echoes bouncing off the building make it difficult to pinpoint the location. "What rebels?" I demand the man who looks to be a police officer. 

"Magic users." That does little to help me. I rub my temple with a sigh and give Tiberius a hard look as he grabs my arm. 

"Don't you dare!" He growls, perfecting that presence my warlord was known for. "I can't help you, you know I'm not allowed to alter the outcome."

I jerk my arm away and step out from around the barrier. One of the continuing positives of Solomonari magic is the effect stress has on my abilities. I deflect the rain of bullets and decide there must be humans among them. In quick motions with my hands, I erect barriers for civilians along the street side, using the old street side snow. 

"This is your only chance to show yourselves and surrender. Come out or face the consequences."

 Frankly, I'm surprised by our lack of presence and response. I see none of our forces, none of our bounty hunters, not even Bet. With no response, I opt to start with the path of least resistance and pull massive gusts of air towards me from the crevices where one might hide should they wish to ambush. 

While I capture some civilians, it's easy to point out the gun-wielding ones to which I freeze to the side of the building with a dismissive toss. 

Sorting through the civilians and finding only humans, feels too easy until the bullet whizzes past my ear, barely clipping my cheek. The impact is sharp, sending me backward as my hands instinctively raise. I flinch away, guarding the ringing in my ear as I thrust up a barrier. I grunt at the impact of a rather large man tackling me to the ground, coming from the side. 

His fist forms the shape of a hammer and he slams it down, narrowly missing my head as I twist to attempt to get free. "Down with the Traitor!" He growls, slamming the hammer down once more as I hardly manage to wriggle out of the way.

Never before had I damned myself for being so short, but the mass of this being was beyond suffocating.

Closing my hand into a fist, I thrust it upwards and smack him in the chest with a block of ice, hardly managing to knock the brute off balance as I slip out from under him. He grabs my foot with his true hand, standing to lift me off the ground. Sending a blast of energy to my ankle, I freeze his hand solid and block my face as I'm dropped onto the pavement. 

The man howls in pain, trying to move his frozen fingers as a fire mage steps out from around the barrier and holds a flaming dagger to my throat. 

"Senator Campbell would like to have a word with you."

Gritting my teeth, I freeze the ground beneath us and think of my combat training. Slinging my head back, I crack the mage in the nose and slip downward on the ice using the wind to climb back to my feet. "You're a bunch of rookies if you think revealing your master is wise. You haven't captured me yet."

The bolt of electricity hits me with such intensity that I fear my heart might stop. I drop to my knees, unable to stop the convulsing as I struggle to steady myself with my hands. The ice had effectively made a platform for the current. 

"I don't know, Nic, you seem pretty captured now." The slim fingers tangle in my hair, yanking my head back to see Grayson standing before me. "A bit cocky to walk out into battle on your own, don't you think?"

I will my body to move but I feel paralyzed. Dropping to my hip, it takes everything in me not to fall over completely. "Traitor." I spit through my teeth.

Grayson glares but to his credit, doesn't strike me. He grips my chin almost thoughtfully, watching my face. "You will learn to love me, I forgive you for all of this. Caspian has even offered to let me keep you for myself, I would have happily remained on your side if you offered me such an enticing deal." 

It was as if he was hoping I would have any desire to buy him back. 

"I'll give you some time to think. In the meantime, I have a lot of people just dying to meet you-"

The booming crackle of the loudspeakers from the local coffee shock causes the surrounding magical users to writhe with their sensitive hearing. Grayson's hands buzz with electricity and I focus all my energy on the pulsing vein in his neck, willing my body to work. I hear the familiar sound of our Siren friend, an older song that was stuck firmly in my mind as it nearly caused my husband and I to lose ourselves in a booth at the first concert we attended.

 Grayson lifts his hand toward the speaker and I mutter a quick spell to seize him. 

I can feel his blood, the weight of it at the edge of my consciousness. I can feel his pumping heart, and the fibers of his muscles, his body remains frozen as I lower his hand and think of what it would feel like to pull the blood from his body. My vision threatens to redden, my teeth gritted impossibly tight, I want him to suffer. 

I want to watch him turn into a husk before me. If only I could use my magic to work its way through the practical short circuit of the electrical shock. 

"Neat trick.. huh?" He manages, "Stunned ya. You can hold me, but not for long." He fights against my hold as the song begins. The effect is not lost on me as my cheeks heat up and the unsuspecting patrons on the street begin to react to the intoxicating lyrics of the Siren. 

Tiberius runs towards me, treading carefully on the ice as he snags me off the ground. 

A burst of electricity threatens to come from Grayson's spread fingers and the Siren glares back in return yet as I cling to him, he is gracious enough to remove me from the situation and save me the shame of lacking ear protection and clinging to my faux husband. 

As we shove our way into a local store, it feels impossible to get past the bodies and my own burning desire. "Can you stand?" 

In response, I throw my arms around his neck and he quickly attempts to hold me at arm's length. 

"Damn it, Nic!" Tiberius hisses, tables, and chairs creak and roll as the patrons of the store throw themselves at each other from the explosive lyrics played at full volume. 

Getting on his phone, he calls Bet. "Where the hell are you?!" 

"I thought you couldn't help me?" I ask as I fight against his pants. "Please change back into yourself." His free hand blocks me as best he can as I yank on his belt and fly. 

"I can't." He keeps his voice low. "If anyone sees me shift, the plan is ruined." 

Turning his attention back to the phone, he curses and speaks frantically into the loudspeaker to send in our police force with earplugs fitted. 

I giggle almost drunkenly. "Everyone around us is making out." I point out, almost childishly. "I think.. your song.... is bad." 

A couple crashes to the floor at our feet and I jerk the man to me as I try and kiss him only to have him quickly block me with his hand. "I need... earplugs." 

My voice comes out in more of a plea as I climb him, throwing him back onto a table and pinning his hands above his head with a strength that surprises us both. 

Exasperated, he clears his throat. "Trust me, this is just as hard for me. Siren's feed on lust, preventing that from happening is brutal. Bet is moments away. There was another attack on the opposite end of town, it would appear this was an attempt to get you alone."

I dive to kiss his stomach and he rolls off the table and quickly puts the piece between us. "I'm really angry at you," I tell him desperately as I freeze his hands on the table. "You could have just stopped them. Then we wouldn't be in this mess. How dare you come in here, dressed like this.. looking like this..." 

Approaching, I grab his face in my hands, the gold eyes preventing me from assaulting this poor man who only looks like my husband.

On cue, the rush of people outside tells me our help has arrived and within moments, the speakers cut out. The small coffee shop is filled with over a dozen half-naked, entwined patrons, and me, only moments away from kissing someone to whom I'm not married. Angry, I unfreeze his hands as I come to my senses, rubbing my sore temple.

Before the threat can leave my lips; before I can move to rush out of the building at the realization that there is now nothing holding our captives, the bolt of lightning tells me exactly what I need to know.

 Grayson had managed to escape.