Chapter 419

“I think it’s nice,” Jackson says, looking around the yurt.

“Thank you!” Midnight says, quite pleased, lounging back on her little bed and squeezing one of her new stuffie toys to her chest.

“It’s great for camping, but come on Jacks, this is not nice for a house – please don’t encourage her,” Jesse sighs, a little frustrated with his friend.

“Nicer than a lot of places I lived when I was growing up,” Jackson murmurs, reaching for another cookie on the plate and eating it in one bite. “Do you have anything else to eat?”

“We have cabbage!” Midnight eagerly volunteers, dashing for the kitchen.

“Great,” Jackson says, his eyebrows going eagerly up.

Jesse just rolls his eyes, because he did indeed forget that Jackson and Midnight are both members of the foundling club, and that in trying to have this discussion with them he was going to be sincerely outnumbered.

After a great deal of negotiation, Jesse convinced Midnight to vanish them back here to the yurt so that they could more comfortably fill each other in on the events of the past week. Talking her into that was easy, but persuading her not to tell Darkness that Jackson is here was much more difficult. In the end Midnight given in, but only when Jesse explained that Jackson – like her – was family.

Family, it seems, is a keyword that means a great deal to Midnight now.

“So, the cages are for Ariel?” Midnight asks, turning her head to look at Jackson with interest as she begins to slice the cabbage with a sharp new knife Juniper gave her. “I was wondering why they built them.”

“Yup,” Jackson says, looking at her seriously. “But can we save the cabbage for another time? You’ll have to take me back now. Ariel’s calling me back.”

Midnight looks at him with fascination. “How do you know that?”

“We can talk mind-to-mind,” Jackson murmurs, dusting off his hands and standing to his full height, his head brushing the roof of the yurt.

Midnight gasps and spins her head to Jesse, her face miserable with jealousy. “I want to talk mind-to-mind! That would be so much fun!”

Jackson frowns between Jesse and Midnight. “You guys can’t do that yet?”

“Don’t get her started,” Jesse mutters, looking down at the ground, guilty.

“He won’t accept the bond,” Midnight snaps out, pissed off. “He’s being rude and withholding.”

“Who taught you that word,” Jesse asks, lifting his eyes to her with a scowl.

“You did,” she bites back.

“Why won’t you accept the bond?” Jackson asks, his voice suspicious. “Is there something wrong with her?”

Midnight stares at Jackson, aghast at the suggestion, a hand pressed to her chest. “Rude. I am perfect.”

“She’s perfect,” Jesse agrees, waving a dismissive hand. “But her wolf is…”

“Corrupted?” Jackson asks, his head whipping back to stare at Midnight.

Jesse frowns at him. “How…did you know that?”

“Because she’s not the only one,” Jackson says, holding out a hand to the girl. “Come on, we’re taking you to see Ariel.”

“Why?” Midnight asks, leaning away from him. “What can she do?”

“Probably nothing,” Jackson says with a shrug, his hand still out. “But she knows someone like you. Could be interesting to compare notes. Especially since he’s apparently been made horrible by his corruption, and you are still lovely.”

Midnight beams at this compliment, and Jesse smiles because he knows Jackson probably didn’t mean it to flatter her. No, he was probably just stating the facts as he sees them. Midnight eagerly drops her knife and moves to Jackson’s side as Jesse, too, gets to his feet.

“Can you take us back to the cages now?” Jackson asks, looking down at the girl.

“I can,” she says, giving an eager nod. “But first, can you pick me up?”

Jackson bursts out laughing as Jesse frowns at his mate. “Why do you want him to do that?”

“Because I’d always see him doing it with Ariel!” Midnight says, laughing. “And it looked like fun!”

Jackson laughs again and nods towards the door of the tent. “Sure, little girl, I’ll pick you up. But come on, let’s go do it outside so you don’t hit your head.”

Grinning, Midnight slips her hand into Jackson’s as the pair head out into the darkness, Jesse on their heels.

When they’re free of the tent, Jackson crouches low, wrapping an arm tight around Midnight’s thighs and hoisting her high into the air so that she perches neatly on his elbow, her head high above his. Midnight laughs with delight, looking around eagerly from her new height as Jackson likewise laughs, pleased to see her so pleased.

“You never ask me to pick you up,” Jesse mutters, his wolf walking a jealous path back and forth in his soul as he comes to stand close to his mate and his friend.

“Yes, but you’re significantly more delicate,” Midnight says with a happy sigh, leaning forward to pat Jesse on the head. He scowls and shoves her hand away.

“All right, time’s wasting,” Jackson says, nodding up to Midnight. “To the cages?”

“To the cages!” she says, delighted, reaching a hand out for Jesse. And when Jesse – still scowling – petulantly reaches out to take her hand, Midnight vanishes them away.

“Okay, so,” I say, clapping my hands together and then turning for Pippa. “I need your help especially right now, Pips.”

Pippa looks at me with wide eyes. “What on earth am I going to do!?”

“You’re going to get the antidote!”

The three continue to just stare at me as Gabriel wheezes at our feet. I sigh, starting to get frustrated, needing them all to just get over their shock and on board with my plan.

“How…how do you know what the antidote is?” Elias asks, stepping towards me, incredulous. “Also, where on earth did you get poison!?”

“Where I got poison is not…currently relevant,” I say, waving a hand to dismiss the question. “And I learned about poisons at school!”

“I learned…embroidery at school…” Pippa whispers, looking again down at Gabriel, clearly shocked.

“Ariel is a very competent chemist,” Ben says in explanation, resting his fingertips against his temples in a probably-vain attempt to keep his sanity. “Especially in contexts such as this. If she poisoned Gabriel, she probably knows precisely what she poisoned him with, and how much, and how to reverse the effects. Yes, Ari?”

I nod eagerly, because all of that is very true. “Yup, I can fix him! But Pippa, I need you to go to the doctor and request a cyanide kit.”

She just stares at me, still shocked, so I grab her hand and look meaningfully between Ben and Elias. “I’ll be back…in a few minutes!”

And then I use my dark powers to tilt back to Atalaxia, Pippa firmly by my side.

When we get there I move for the door, already starting to tell my friend what to say to the doctor to request the kit. But Pippa pulls hard on my hand, tugging me back and making me fall silent when she looks into my face.

“Is Gabriel going to die?” she asks, her voice tight. My brows raise because…this is not a woman who is scared for her childhood friend asking me. Quickly, Pippa shakes her head, her mouth a thin line. “Elias is next in line to the throne behind him, Ariel,” she snaps. “And I do not want to be a Queen.”

I step close to Pippa, looking her seriously in the eye. “I gave Gabriel a very small dose of cyanide,” I say, fast and low. “If he gets the antidote quickly, he’ll revive fast, though it will take him some time to recover to full health. If he does not get that antidote, he will die. So, if you do not want to be Queen, you need to help me with this.”

She nods once, her eyes moving towards the door, and then back to me. She raises her chin, her jaw clenched.

And my heart drops because…I know what’s coming next.

“That man,” she says, her voice tight. “That…Ben. Is he…my Alpha’s mate?”

I put a hand on her shoulder and nod once. “Yes, Pippa. He is.”

She swallows hard, her eyes flicking back and forth as she processes the news. “Is he a good man?”

“He’s the best of men,” I whisper. “And like a brother to me.”

Pippa exhales slowly and takes a moment to close her eyes, and bow her head, and tuck…whatever emotions she’s having deep in her soul. Then, brisk and assured, Pippa nods once before she heads to the door. “I’ll be back in this room in fifteen minutes. Please be here.”

“I will,” I promise her, watching as the proud woman moves to the door and deftly opens it, stepping out into a noisy hall that is – as Ben indicated – more chaotic than I’ve ever seen it.