8

Sebastian nodded. “I need to help you. I shouldn’t have gotten so close to overturning your claim on a virgin. On the throne.”

My chest tightened. “More than my claim,” I whispered as images of Sebastian, his fangs so close to Leia’s neck flooded my mind. “You nearly stole my first touch of my mate, brother.”

“Your true mate?” His eyes widened. “I thought those were stories.”

I shook my head. “Not all stories.”

“We need to storm Francois’s castle, we need to rescue your mate before he…” Sebastian looked at me, his eyes a little wild. “Before he…” He swallowed and looked away.

“Before he claims my mate as his,” I finished grimly.

Sebastian nodded then clasped my forearm. “We’ll get her back. I’ll swear an oath of fealty to you right now and promise to protect your mate above all else.”

I chuckled without humor. “No oath necessary. Just keep your fangs to yourself around Leia, and you’re welcome in my army.” I grabbed my phone. “I need to get everyone together. You coming on the plane?” I glanced at my brother.

“Did you not just hear me? I’m in this battle with you.” He took his own phone in his hand. “Who can I call?”

 

   

I walked toward my private jet with Sebastian, Jason, and Kyle by my side. We strode with purpose across the tarmac, like four avengers. Or four bringers of death.

It was time I brought the war to Francois, and if I happened to leave him dead in the process, so be it. Daddy would wake up from his stasis one additional crazy family member removed from the royal line. I’d be doing the old man a favor, really.

“You okay?” Jason grasped my shoulder.

“Yep.” I forced the word out, my gaze focused wholly on my jet as I closed the distance between the terminal and the short flight of steps.

The plane was sleek, like a bullet aimed just for Francois. I slipped into the cream leather seat. Not to relax. I had too much energy, but the pilot had a habit of refusing to take off until I was buckled in.

Jason skimmed his hand over the silver-gray woodgrain accents and whistled through his teeth. “No expense spared on the new jet, Nic?”

“Hm?” I glanced up. “I guess not.” The finish of my G6 was the lowest of my priorities.

Once we began to taxi down the runway, Kyle leaned toward me, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped like he was about to say a prayer. But his eyes burned with the fires of Hell because Kyle wasn’t the praying kind.

“Okay,” he said. “Now, I know you’re going to want to go running in there as soon as we land, Nic—”

“Fuck,” Sebastian grunted. “We should all want to do that.”

“And we do.” Kyle emphasized his words. “But it’s not the smart thing to do.”

“What made you think Sebastian was smart?” Jason managed to look innocent as he asked his very pointed question, and I rolled my eyes.

“What’s the plan, Kyle?” I wasn’t all too eager on waiting, either. Leia was out there. “Look, the longer Francois has Leia, the longer he could—”

Sebastian hissed. “He could use her virginity to position himself for the New Orleans throne. He could fuck her.”

I held up my hand to stop him. “Yeah, and—”

Sebastian ignored the hand. “Fuck. Once he’s done that, what use is she to him?” He looked at me, his eyes wide like he’d only just realized the full implications of the destruction Francois could bring to my world. “He could kill her to deprive you of your true mate, or he could turn her for himself.” He paled.

Turn her? Fuck. I hadn’t even thought that far. I needed to bring this all back under my control—and fast.

Jason pressed the tip of a fang to his lower lip, but he nodded, not disagreeing with Seb’s assessment.

“It’s a cluster fuck, all right.” Kyle ran his forefingers up the bridge of his nose, intensifying the illusion he was saying a prayer. “But like I said, we need to play this smart. We can’t go in without a strategy because Francois is a loose cannon. We don’t know what he’s doing, we don’t know what he’s going to do.”

I scrubbed my palms over my face, the movement impatient rather than hopeless. “He could have done it already.”

Kyle nodded, the movement small. “And I’m not going to deny that. But it doesn’t mitigate our need to head to the safe house I’ve arranged as soon as we land and make a solid plan.”

I stood abruptly. That landing would be soon, and although the jet was carrying me closer to my mate, I’d never felt so adrift. “I have a call I need to make.”

I fixed my earbuds in place and retreated to the back of the jet, where the hum of the engines gave me at least the illusion of privacy.

She answered on the first ring.

“Mom?” Sweet fuck, I sounded desperate. I never called her Mom.

“Nicolas? Is everything okay?” She sounded worried.

I sighed. I hadn’t meant to worry her. I’d just needed to hear her voice. “Francois has Leia. He abducted her.” I hadn’t meant to blurt out my news, either. “I’m going in to get her with the guys I trust most.” I skimmed my gaze over Seb. Fuck it, I even trusted that bastard.

“Francois did what?” Her voice shrilled down the phone.

“Yeah. I know,” I said. “I’m going to make him pay, don’t worry about that. I’m on my way to New Orleans now. But I might need more help.”

Mother released a long exhale and the sounds behind her grew fainter and more muted. When she spoke again, her voice was lower, too. “I don’t think we can arrange that. Even you going to New Orleans like this, chasing a virgin who’s still technically unclaimed… It’s… It’s an act of war, Nicolas.”

“Oh, I know what it is.” I stretched my arm out along the back of the chair at my side. “But Francois knew what gauntlet he was throwing down the moment he took Leia from Baton Rouge.”