Of Dragons & Vampires

Chapter Twenty Four

Colette had called a meeting in the townhall, every supernatural leader had come. The dragons, Kenzou, Wilder, Ebba, and Camille and Darcey Desmarais. The Mers, Brooke, Delta and Kai. The hunters, Reed, Tatiana and Peter. The Thunderbirds, Castel, Alo, Kaniya, Machk, and Nina. The Faes, Ailsa, Cyrena, Giselle, and Arion, and the Werewolves, Brendan Sutcliffe, Heather, Sage, and Heath. They had all eyed Danae and Damien warily, but as soon as they saw Evander next to them their distrust diluted. Brae, Jack and Charvi had remained at the house with Savannah, who had been attempting to teach Wyatt how to scry more accurately for the past day, much to his annoyance.

Evander had been a little more relaxed lately, although he remained skittish and jumpy whenever someone who weren't his siblings stood near him. He had been spending most of his time with Damien and Danae, or touring Charvi, Brae and Jack around the island. When he wasn't doing that he sat on the sofa with Abel, listening to his reports on war training, or their progress with conjuring a seer to foresee when Atlas would attack. They had yet to kiss, or cuddle, or do anything, but Abel could wait. He saw Evander healing bit by bit each day, no matter how small each healed wound was, it was progress, and Abel would wait a thousand years if he had to.

"Leaders," Colette began, taking a seat. Amber sat beside her, Wyatt beside his girlfriend, Abel beside him, Evander next to Abel and Damien next to Evander. Danae sat next to her brothers, her eyes scanning the crowd suspiciously. "As you're all aware, Constantine Heridicles is dead at the hand of Evander's, Danae's and Damien's brother, Pericles Aetos. His sacrifice will not be in vain," She nodded solemnly at the three vampire siblings as the table of supernaturals murmured in agreement.

"We will summon a seer tomorrow, especially now we have another Witch on the island, Damien's wife, Savannah," Colette continued, shifting the papers in front of her, "Danae has offered to train the female hunters in vampire combat, and Damien has agreed to train the men." She nodded gratefully to the two, and Evander felt a thrill of pride soar through his veins. He squeezed Damien's wrist with a small smile dancing around his lips as his brother winked at him.

"We will be summoning the seer tomorrow, ready to see when Atlas and his army will come. Danae's husband, Valentine Riall, has been feeding us information of his movements as much as he can."

Danae's eyes flickered with sadness. She missed her husband, more than words could express, and now that she was mourning the loss of her brother, she needed him more than ever, but she could not risk returning to England, nor would she want him to endanger himself the way that she had. She sensed his frustration at not being with her every time they spoke, but if this was the price she had to pay for Valentine's safety, then she would pay it.

"For now, we train and train and train. The Mers and water faes will be our first line of defence, the Thunderbirds, Dragons and Werewolves will be on the frontline, then the Faes, Hunters and half of the witches will be the third line of defence. The remaining witches and the supernaturals too young to fight will remain at the top of the hill, near the Drake household, where they will heal and help any wounded...on our side."

Colette watched as the leaders erupted into agreeable cheers and nods before she dismissed them, watching as Wyatt whispered something to her sister and kissed her cheek, jogging to catch up with Evander who was already half way out of the door with his siblings and Abel.

"Hey, Evan!" He went to grab the vampire's arm but stopped last minute. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Evander pursed his lips but nodded, waving off his siblings who were already eyeing him suspiciously. Sheesh. Talk about over protective. Wyatt had no doubt in his mind that Evander could tear his throat out before he had the chance to even utter an incantation.