"The magic didn't touch them," Damien finally whispered, his voice a low, soothing hiss meant to calm the room as much as the near-awakening sleeping fox.
Ivan let out a ragged, trembling breath, his massive shoulders finally dropping an inch as he slumped against the doorframe, his golden eyes fixed entirely on her face. Her small fox ears gave another soft, rhythmic twitch, not from pain, but from the familiar, safe scents of her mates finally pushing out the lingering stink of lavender and cold iron.
They had the manor surrounded. The team was a fortress of muscle, scale, and iron, and down in the valley, the cleanup crew was already painting the cobblestones red.
—- back in town —-
It began exactly as Maddie's desperate pockets of resistance were being completely stamped out near the north.
