Jack felt like he'd been pacing in the garden all day, though realistically he knew it had only been two hours since he'd gotten up at dawn. The moon was still out, and most of the castle still asleep, but Jack had once again woken up to that bodiless voice calling to him, and there was no beating his insomnia after that. Even with Tiberius's warm body pressed against his own.
He'd gotten out of bed and dressed with the intention of going through the letters that Tiberius had promised him he'd finally get to read, but they'd been stored with Graham who was still out on patrol. So instead, Jack had tried to go through the library for something about shadow monsters, but he couldn't stop thinking of what Violet had said yesterday.
"I think we're safe for tonight. I'll come by tomorrow morning so we can work out the details."
He sat down on the fountain with a huff, uncaring about the frost and running a hand through his hair. "What's wrong with me?" he murmured.
"Nothing," Tiberius said, and Jack looked up to find him approaching with his hands in his pants pockets, smiling. "Not one thing."
"You're biased," Jack said, dropping his hands. "I can't trust a word you say."
Tiberius pulled off his cardigan so he was in nothing but a cream-colored turtleneck, tugged Jack up off the fountain to place it underneath him, and sat him back down, taking a seat beside him, unbothered by the cold.
"I'm allowed to be biased," he said, smiling. "I have the most beautiful mate in the world." Jack tried and failed to smile, and Tiberius took his hand. "We agreed not to let each other wake up alone anymore."
Jack shut his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just can't stop thinking about that thing . . ." he exhaled shakily. "I don't know why I'm so bothered about this. I've been around werewolves, witches, fairies . . . why is one more monster getting to me? Have I finally cracked under the pressure? I knew I was handling it too well."
Tiberius barked a laugh. "Didn't you threaten to kill me with a pen at one point?"
"But I didn't," Jack said matter-of-factly. "Handling it."
"Yes," Tiberius agreed, his smile dimming. "You are. You're not breaking now, my love. That thing wasn't a regular occupant of Crowswood, you're right to feel unnerved. Just the scent of it told me it was from somewhere far away."
"How far?"
"Enough," he said grimly, and squeezed his hand. "But it won't touch you. I promise you, whatever it was, I'll take care of it."
"We'll take care of it," Jack corrected with some exasperation. "You're keeping me in the loop now, right?"
He nodded. "I never meant to keep you out of it in the first place."
"I know," he said, because he did. "After everything we've been through, I understand not wanting to see any more monsters for a while." He ran another hand through his hair and mustered a weak smile. "I just wish we'd gotten another week or two, you know? This'll put a serious wrench in the wedding preparations, and Vivaldi's really not going to be happy about that."
"Oh, I'm marrying you at the end of the month," Tiberius said, his gold eyes fierce. "I would marry you right now if not determined to have your mind at peace for it first. I don't want you worried about anything when we promise eternity to each other."
He cupped Jack's cheek, and Jack leaned into the warmth. "Worried about anything . . ." he murmured. Jack should've swooned at the words, comforted by Tiberius so close by, but there was still one more weight that he really needed to get off his chest.
"Listen, Tiberius, there's something I need to tell you."
Tiberius brushed his thumb against Jack's cheekbone, brows furrowed. "What's wrong?"
"It's about why I couldn't sleep," he started. "I've been hearing this—"
Tiberius suddenly straightened, head tilted to the side, alert, and Jack cut off at once.
"What? What is it?"
His eyes narrowed. "They're coming."
Jack didn't have to ask who. Right away, he heard the howls of werewolves, pine trees trembling and forcing birds out of their nests for the morning. The castle came to life behind them at the noise, and people were already looking out windows and hurrying out the front doors.
"The kings are outside!" one called out.
"Miles, call the others!"
"Already here!" Miles, a brown-haired wolf called from one of the stone bridges high above them, and as he leapt down, he transformed midair and landed at Jack's side as a wolf.
"Hey, Miles," Jack breathed, his wary eyes on the forest. At once, a blonde wolf appeared at Tiberius's side, bracketing them.
More wolves stepped forward to shield Jack, their glowering eyes fixed on the pine trees, their stances ready for an attack. It seemed everyone had heard last night's events.
But then Tiberius raised a hand and everyone stilled.
"No need to worry," he announced, even as he came to stand beside Jack himself. "Our sergeant and his men are simply accompanying our guests."
True to his word, two lines of werewolves stepped out of the pine forest, one of them headed by Graham, and between them walked Violet, her sisters Philomena and Lavender, and what looked like a young boy with white hair and a staff.
Jack frowned. "Is that a . . ." he trailed off. He'd been about to ask if that was a kid, but as the boy approached, Jack saw he wasn't a kid at all. His eyes were a pale lilac, something about them aged far behind the rest of his face, and through his straight white hair Jack could see the tips of pointed ears.
He blinked. "An elf? But wait, why . . ." he took count of all them there; him and Tiberius, Violet, and now . . . "You're the Elder Elf?"
The Elder Elf's laughter was like breeze rippling along a flower field. "You were right, Violet, he is clever! Most people never figure that out!"
Jack saw Miles, who'd been inching forward as if to protect him from the Elder Elf's attack, relax his stance at the mention of his title. What had Everett told him? That the Elder Elf had been a great asset in the war? Could it have been this same person? But that war had been . . . far before even Tiberius and Violet's time, if Jack remembered correctly. And he usually did.
Tiberius only smiled and brushed a thumb against Jack's hip. "Thank you for coming, Ender."
Ender nodded, tapping his staff on the ground a few times. "I had to, Tiberius. Something has felt off in the mountains for weeks now. Truth be told, if Violet hadn't sent word last night, I would've come myself."
"Sir Ender!" Everett's voice sounded, and just as quickly there he was, at Jack's side, ramrod straight. His face was flushed and his eyes sparkling. "An honor, sir! Truly!"
"Ah, another elf here," he smiled. "Yes, mated to one of the werewolves, are you?"
Mira appeared from behind Everett like she'd been hiding there the whole time, her wide eyes on Ender.
Ender raised his staff in greeting. "To you, I presume? Very rare occurrence, isn't it? Elves rarely leave the mountains, but every now and then. . . . Are you adapting well to life at Crescent Castle, my dear boy?"
Jack thought it was kind of funny to see this kid speak like an old man, but Everett looked beside himself at being addressed so kindly by his hero.
"Yes, sir!" he said breathlessly. "Absolutely, sir! I'm King Jack's personal manservant, aren't I, Jack? Er—Your Highness?"
"He's more than that," Jack said simply. "Everett's my best friend."
Everett looked startled and momentarily forgot who to stare at, but Ender's soft laugh chimed and his blush deepened.
"How lovely," he said, "to see such relationships formed between our species."
"Wait a minute!" Wyatt appeared at Jack's side. "I thought I was your best friend!"
"Too many people!" Lavender cut in irritably, holding her hands up. "And certainly too many wolves."
Some of the werewolves took offense, but Lavender merely crossed her arms.
"Look, the Damned Quarter was attacked last night, I suggest we save the pleasantries for later and get down to business, shall we?"
Philomena laughed nervously. "Uh, she meant a please and thank you somewhere in there, I promise!"
"I'm afraid Lavender's right," Violet frowned. "I've placed my apprentice in charge of looking after the rest of the witches, but our groves have already started wilting and time is precious."
"How's that possible?" Jack's brows furrowed. "That beast last night didn't enter the Damned Quarter, did it?"
"That's the scary part, King Jack," Philomena confessed. "It didn't have to. It's like it poisoned our roots from underground."
"Poisoned roots," Jack muttered, pulling out his notepad. "And poisoned rivers?" He shared a look with Tiberius who seemed to have the same thought he did. Jack was about to say out loud what he knew they both suspected, but then caught the looks the werewolves were sharing. Though they'd heard about the attack last night, they clearly hadn't known the extent of the damage done.
"Tiberius," he murmured, casting glances around at the other wolves, and Tiberius seemed to understand at once, nodding.
"Ender, Violet," he said, "let's move this conversation somewhere more private, shall we?"