Once we were back together and sure that everyone was fine, it was time to aid Cintre’s people. Fern relied on her control of the surrounding nature to transform the forest she’d created within the fortress.

It was only a small patch that resembled a forest, but several trees were growing out of the ground, emitting a type of energy I had only felt when the Druid Healer of the Eserian Grove had healed me. The deadly plants in the patch of land withered away, only to be replaced by other shrubs and plants, filling the air with a warmth that was hard to ignore.

Fern retrieved saplings and seeds from thin air and planted them in the ground. Her lips parted, and incantations in a language I’d never heard echoed through the vicinity. The warmth spread everywhere as the saplings sprouted at a visible speed. They grew rapidly and spread just as quickly until the warmth reached me. After that, I had no idea what was happening. The warmth was cozy and made me want to lie down and sleep for several days.

Unfortunately, sleep was not on my to-do list. Not yet, at least. I joined Clove and helped him carry the injured to Fern’s little makeshift grove. My mate stayed back, controlling the plant life and the energies they emitted with painstaking precision. While we did try to help where we could, we were only three people. It was impossible to rescue everyone alone.

Fortunately, we weren’t alone. Jer, among dozens of other people, appeared at Fern’s makeshift grove, his body drenched in blood and covered in massive gaps that required immediate attention, but he did not stop to give Fern and her power time to tend to him. He carried several demihumans to the gathering spot, placed them down as gently as he could manage without collapsing to the ground, and departed once more.

He was not the only one who helped, but others made sure they themselves were healthy enough to walk around and assist before they left to tend to others.

That day passed in the blink of an eye, transforming one of Cintre’s greatest disasters of recent years into a place where everyone helped each other. The community was strong, and it would survive no matter how much they had lost that day.

As disastrous as the day had been, the sense of community was beautiful. It brought a smile to my lips as I collapsed to the ground, hoping nobody would bother me for the next few days.

Unfortunately, I was not given that much leeway. After spending a night at Fern’s makeshift grove, Clove pulled me out of the best sleep I had in the last few months. He didn’t care about my glare and dragged me to the Inn, which was bustling now that most civilians had lost their housing. Cintre didn’t look all that good, but its people were oddly resilient. It was almost like this wasn’t the first time they had experienced something like this.

But even if they had experienced something like this before, Gareus would have protected them. Now—

Now the strongest in Cintre was Bork. As for what had happened to the Minotaur demihuman, I had no idea. I hoped he was doing fine, but it was hard to tell.

Clove dragged me to our room, where Fern was already waiting for us. She smiled weakly, looking far more exhausted than the day before.

"You really need to rest," I called out.

"Maybe, but I can’t. If I cancel Hain of Recovery, people will die. And I cannot maintain it if I sleep to recover." Fern shook her head.

"They will be fine without you now that you took care of the worst injuries." Clove waved dismissively. "You won’t be able to help anyone if something happens now. Go sleep."

"Is that why you brought Xavier? To have him convince me?" Fern sighed.

"Actually, no. I was just tired of seeing him sleep in the Hain." Clove smiled, but everyone could tell that that wasn’t the entire truth.

"You really should sleep, though," I said, while the young fae added, "after you tell us what happened out there. Why were Vampires here, and what in the gods’ names were demons doing here? The guards didn’t look too surprised about the Vampires, but the demons scared them shitless."

Fern regarded both Clove and me for a moment before grimacing. "I don’t know the details, but Bork told me some interesting things. Apparently, the border cities of the Forea Alliance have become the training ground for several Families."

"What? Why would the Houses accept that?" Clove growled, enraged. "They would never allow those pale-faced shitters into the Forea Alliance. What changed?"

"I don’t know what changed, but apparently the Vampires’ tactics are well known." Fern tilted her head. "They starve their youngsters before releasing them on their first mission. Starved to the verge of death, they’re brought to a place bustling with potent Bloodlines. The border fortresses of the Forea Alliance are apparently the best place in that regard."

"Anyway, the starving Vampires are tested to see whose wild instincts are the strongest. Those who succeed and survive long enough are pulled out of the ’training ground’ once their bloodlust is stilled. In a way, the Forea Alliance might be trying to kill as many young Vampires as possible by allowing them into the border fortresses where hundreds of guards are trained."

"Usually," Clove corrected Fern, while I added, "’Allowing’ is probably too broad of a term as well. I guess they’re forcing their way in, and the Forea Alliance doesn’t know how to handle them—especially if the Khörs Vampires can pull the younger, bloodthirsty Rotheart Vampires out of the fortresses in seconds."

We’d seen them do that, and while I had no idea what they were doing or how they did it, it was hard to imagine that the Forea Alliance had no way to deal with them.

"Or the Forea Alliance allows the Vampires to do that—to train their youngest while the Vampires train their own." Clove let out a guttural growl, his opinion of the Forea Alliance and the Houses sinking with every minute.

"Can this still be considered natural selection?" Fern didn’t look sure. "The Khörs Vampires only pull their strongest out of Cintre. Most died, and those that did not meet their requirements were left behind. At least, that’s what it looked like."

Putting two and two together, it was a mess.