Turns out alliance ceremonies involve a lot more arguing than I’d expected, which in hindsight was obvious because getting five different supernatural factions to agree on anything was like herding cats except the cats could kill you and also held centuries-old grudges.
The witches wanted the ceremony at dawn because apparently that’s when magic was strongest or whatever.
The vampires wanted it at dusk because sunlight was uncomfortable even if it wouldn’t kill them.
The wolves wanted it at noon because that’s when the pack was most alert.
And I wanted it to be over so we could stop debating optimal timing and actually formalize this thing before the demon recovered enough to attack again.
"Compromise." I interrupted what was probably round fifteen of the sa argunt. "We do it at sunset. Witches get their magic transition ti, vampires aren’t uncomfortable, wolves are still alert. Everyone’s slightly unhappy which ans it’s fair."
The room went quiet and I couldn’t tell if that was good quiet or you just made a terrible political decision quiet.
Then Lysander—because of course he was here representing the coven—smiled that sharp dangerous smile. "The hybrid has a point. Sunset it is."
Great. I’d accidentally agreed with the vampire who’d enslaved Draven. This was going fantastic.
Through Draven’s bond I caught his amusent mixing with exasperation and tried not to let my face show how much I wanted to punch Lysander in his perfect teeth.
"Sunset works." Morgana made a note on her tablet. "Now for positioning. The Hybrid Queen stands at the center. The four alphas—"
"Wait." The word ca out before I could stop it. "Why do my four specifically get special positioning? What about the visiting Alphas?"
"Because your bonds are the source of your power." She said it like it was obvious. "The ceremony channels that power to seal the alliance. Your mates need to be close."
Oh. Right. Magic logic. Still felt weird having Kael and Riven and Draven and Thorne positioned around like I was so kind of supernatural battery, but apparently that’s what Hybrid Queens did so I was just going to have to deal with it.
"The visiting Alphas stand in the outer circle with their packs." Morgana continued. "Vampires to the east. Witches to the west. Everyone faces center."
More note-taking. More discussion about who stood where and what words got said when and honestly my brain was starting to shut down from information overload.
"Can I see the actual oath?" The question ca out rougher than I ant. "Like, what am I actually promising here?"
Morgana pulled up text on the main screen and okay yeah that was a lot of words.
I skimd it—sothing about binding the factions in common cause, pledging to defend against the darkness, uniting bloodlines that were never ant to unite—and caught on one particular phrase.
"What does ’unto death or dissolution’ an?" Because that sounded ominous.
"The alliance holds until the demon is dead or the factions choose to dissolve it." She scrolled down. "Standard magical contract language."
"Or until I die." The clarification mattered. "If I die, the alliance breaks."
Silence. The bad kind.
"Essentially yes." Draven’s voice was clinical but I caught his concern through the bond. "You’re the lynchpin. If you die before the demon does, the binding fails."
Fantastic. So I was literally the only thing holding this together and if the demon managed to kill everyone went back to their separate corners and probably died individually.
No pressure.
"So we make sure I don’t die." I heard my voice go flat. "Great. Love that plan. Very sustainable."
"There’s protective asures built into the ceremony." Morgana pulled up another section. "Once the alliance is sealed, harm to you rebounds to the attacker. Not enough to stop a demon completely but enough to slow it down."
Small comfort but I’d take it.
The eting continued for another hour—details about security and backup plans and what happens if soone objects during the ceremony, which apparently was a thing that could happen because supernatural politics were just regular politics with more teeth.
By the ti we finished my brain was soup and all I wanted was to go back to Thorne’s room and sit in the quiet for a while, but Kael caught my arm before I could escape.
"Walk with ." Not a request.
We ended up on the roof—because apparently that was just my default processing location now—and he didn’t say anything for a while, just stood there looking out at the territory while I tried to figure out what he was thinking.
"You’re scared of the ceremony." Not a question.
"I’m scared of everything." Honesty was easier than lying. "But yeah. Standing in front of two hundred people while they all watch promise things I might not be able to deliver? Terrifying."
"You’ll deliver." Simple. Certain.
"You don’t know that." I couldn’t keep the edge out of my voice. "What if the demon cos back stronger? What if I can’t channel the power right? What if—"
"What if you stop catastrophizing long enough to see you’ve already done the impossible?" He turned to face . "You united five factions. You wounded a demon that’s been killing wolves for decades. You’re still standing after a battle that should have broken you."
"I’m standing because Thorne almost died saving ." The truth tasted bitter. "Because all four of you keep throwing yourselves between and things that want to kill . That’s not strength, that’s luck."
"It’s love." He cupped my face. "We protect you because we love you. Not because you’re weak."
Through the bond I caught the full weight of what he ant—that protecting wasn’t about thinking I couldn’t handle it, it was about refusing to watch face it alone.
The distinction mattered even though it didn’t change the outco.
"The ceremony’s in three days." I leaned into his touch because grounding was grounding. "What if I ss it up?"
"Then we figure it out together." His forehead pressed to mine. "That’s what the bonds are for."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to point out all the ways this could go wrong.
Instead I kissed him, and for a few minutes I let myself stop thinking about ceremonies and demons and promises I might not be able to keep.
Three days.
Three days to figure out how to stand in front of everyone and not fall apart.
Three days to beco the Hybrid Queen they needed to be.
No pressure.
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