bChapter /bb97 /b

bNoah /b

Gods, he really was ours. I watched him from the tree line, arms crossed, pretending to be assessing fort integrityb, /bbut really, I was just trying not to let anyone see the stupid smile on my faceb. /bElliot was crouched in the grass beside Macey, the two of them deep in a whisper–huddle like they were nning an international heist instead of building a fort. He pulled something from his pocket, the crystal, faintly glowing with his newly forming magic. I caught bthe /bshimmer of it even from bhere/b. bThis /bkid. We’d barely brought him through the portal and already he had half the pack rallying behind him and Macey swearing vengeance in his name. She used to bcry /bwhen someone knocked over her fort. Now she was plotting full- scale retaliation. With him. Gods, I loved him already.

I wasn’t even sure when it happened. Maybe it was the moment I saw him gripping Envy’s hand like she was the sun and the only anchor he had. Or when he looked at me like I mattered. Like we mattered. Like we were safe. That kind of look sticks.

“He’s gonna wreck usb,/b” Haiden muttered beside me, arms folded. “Look at that teamwork. They’ve got a battle n. Schematics. Probably a war councilb./bb” /b

“They’re building battlements out of actual enchanted vinesb,/bb” /bLevi said in disbelief. “What even is that crystal he’s using?b” /b

Xavier just chuckled. “Envy’s raw magic. It’s bgot /bMacey taking notes. That’s terrifying.”

“Honestly?” I said, watching Elliot as he smiled, really smiled, that full kind with crinkled eyes and augh that sounded like something blooming after winter. b“/bI hope he wrecks usb./bb” /b

My brothers went quiet for a beat. I didn’t care. Let them see. Let them know. Because something inside me had already rearranged itself the moment Elliot took my hand back at the Veil and looked at me like I was more than just a warrior or a hellhound or a walking wall of loyalty. He looked at me like I was safe. Like I was home and gods help me, I wanted to be that for him.

“He’s family now,b” /bI said quietly.

Xavier gave me a sideways nce. “Already making adoption papersb?/bb” /b

“Damn right,” I said.

Out

in the fieldb, /bElliot and Macey beganyering illusions over their walls. Not just shields, trickery. Portals that looped back to the entrance. Decoys. Sound–based traps, Was that aughing fog cloud?

“Oh gods,” Haiden whispered. “They’re evil geniuses.”

“They’re bus/bb,/bb” /bLevi said with a hint of pride and he was right. After absolutely decimating the other kids‘ fortsb, /bbecause tradition is tradition, we circled back as a unit, lining up in front bof /bbthe /bfinal stronghold. Elliot and Macey stood atop it like tiny warlords, their hands sped dramatically as they stared us down. “We won’t go down easyb,/bb” /bElliot called.

“Not without a tickle taxb!/b” Macey added.

I grinned. Gods, I was so proud of this little nightmare prince already. He didn’t just build a fort. He built a kingdom.

Haiden

This was supposed to be a gameb. /bA light–hearted, run–‘em–down, knock–over–some–pillows, let–the–kids–feel–cool–for–five–minutes kind bof /bgame. But no.

We were under siege. By children.

“Alright,” Imuttered, crouched behind a hay bale with mud on my face and moss in my hair, “new rule: next time we let the tiny feral warlord design bthe /bbgame/bb, /bwe ask for a terrain walkthrough first.”

You mean before the illusion fog tricked you into crawling into a pit of tickle vines?” Levi snorted, belly–crawling next to me with actual glitter stuck to his left eyebrow.

That fogughed at me.”

“Itughed at all of us,” Xavier said grimly. His shirt was half–melted from an enchanted bubble trap. “bI /bbsaw /bbmy /breflection wink before it exploded.”

?

“Are those bunnies still chasing Noahb?/bb” /bbI /baskedb, /bpeeking over the edge of the barricade.

Sure enoughb, /boff in the distance, Noah was being herded by three enchanted dust bunnies the size bof /bwatermelons, all squeaking aggressively. One had a crown. I didn’t want to ask.

Levi ducked beside me, breathless. “They named it the Fluff Squad. We’re losing.”

“Losing?” I repeatedb, /bnarrowing my eyes toward the bso/b–called Royal Stronghold of MaceLot, which was still standing in the middle of the field like some kind of magical child–built citadelb. /b“Nob, /bno. We don’t lose. We adaptb./b”

Xavierb, /bever the calm one, wiped ba /bstreak of mud off his cheek. “n?“.

“Overwhelm their defenses,” I said. “They’re relying on enchantments and illusions. Let’s push through with pure speed.”

“And when we hit another mirror maze?”

“We memorize theyout this timeb./b”

“You mean likest time when you ran into yourself and screamed?”

“Okay,” I snapped. “First of all, that mirror was taunting me. Second, shut up. Third, on my count.”

We regrouped, four full–grown hellhounds looking like we’d been through actual war (and we have, this was worse), and took position behind the central barrier. Macey peeked her head over the castle wall and waved sweetly. Elliot stood beside her, arms crossed like a tiny king watching fools try to take his throne. Little punk looked proud.

“ONE,b” /bI shouted.

“WE ARE SO GONNA DIEb,/b” Levi yelled.

“TWO!”

“I REGRET EVERYTHING!” Xavier groaned.

“THREE!b” /b

We charged. First trapb? /bGlowing hopscotch stones that exploded with flower–scented smoke. Easy. We sprinted through. Second trap? A portal loop that kept sending us back to the same damn tree. Took us ten minutes to figure out it was bthe /btree. Maddox headbutted it in frustration. Third? Sound–based distraction spells. Every time one of us spoke, our own voice echoed back but in baby talk.

“Haiden want a huggy–wuggy?” the air squeaked when I yelled. “No thank you, I want to burn everything downb./bb” /b

By the time we reached the base of the fort, muddy, wheezingb, /bslightly glittered and questioning all our life choices, bwe /bwere hit with the final defense. A banner unfurled from the top of the castle:

“RULE b#/bb1/bb: /bTo Enter, You Must Answer bthe /bRiddleb… /bor Danceb./bb” /b

“What riddle?b” /bbI /bsnapped.

“THIS ONEb!/bb” /bElliot shouted from above, beaming. “What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and none after the Fluff Squad attacksb?/b”

Noah, somehow recovered from his bunny ambush stumbled in beside us. “I think it’s us, guys. It’s us.”

Levi groaned. “Okay, dance it is.”

And

bso/b, four elite warriors of the Underworld performed the most miserable, uncoordinatedb, /bembarrassing dance the realms have ever seen. Elliot and Macey judged us from the wall. They bgave /bbus /ba seven. Out of ten. Because “Xavier had potential,” apparently and thenb, /bfinally, they lowered the pillow drawbridge and let us in, Inside? Tiny throne. Snack pile. nket–tunnel maze. A glowing sign that said;

PRINCE ELLIOT’S FORT bOF /bDOOM & SNUGGLES.”

bI /bblooked /baround at bthe /bcarnage. At my brothers, humiliated and breathless. At Macey giggling so hard she fell over. At Elliot, who wasughing. Reallyughing and I grinned, mud and all. Totally worth it.