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“So you’d like to offer up your bedroom, then?” Lachlan asked the king, his red beard twitching as he smirked.
“Fuck that,” Alek mumbled. “They can overflow onto cots in the ballroom for all I care, but unless they carry an onyx blade, they’re not sleeping in the residence.”
“From what Cassandra says, some of the aristocrats are taking in civilians at their estates,” Benedict said, slipping his hands into his pocket.
“And we’re listening to the daughter of traitors now?” Dagon snapped. “She’s lucky to be allowed on the compound after what her father has done.”
“We only hold criminals accountable for their crimes,” Alek answered. “Not their children. Benedict questioned her and was satisfied that she had nothing to do with what happened with Olivia.”
“Her panther is causing problems,” Benedict added. “We’ve had several complaints of it frightening some of the aristocrats, to include jumping into the communal bath in the bathing chamber of the females—”
I threw out my hands and flung a time sphere around my brothers—the ones from my time. The others froze in their positions, which in Benedict’s case meant a wide-open mouth.
“I can’t,” I said, letting a laugh rumble through my chest. “I just can’t.”
“You can’t is right,” Zachariah lectured, but his mouth fought a smile. “You can’t keep stopping time every time you want to talk shit in a meeting.”
“Oh,thatI can do,” I assured him with a nod. “We’re seriously discussing the female who was so obsessed over our king that she tattooed his mating mark on her body, and her pet panther terrorizing the nobles.”
“You can’t honestly tell me it’s worth our time,” Dagon chimed in.
Saint leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table, but stayed silent, just as he had since coming home.
“Whatever our king says is worth our time, is worth our time.” Zachariah folded his arms across his chest.
“We aren’t just assassins,” Talon argued. “We’re fuckinghunters, born and bred to exterminate bloodmad vampires, and you’re telling me that sitting in here is more useful than being out there hunting Samuel?”
Saint’s hands clenched into fists.
“I’m arguing that we can only see the first six bulletpoints of the briefing,” Zachariah said, waving his hand toward the screen. “We’re in the middle of a war, our species is being hunted, and a vampire we considered our brother is on the loose, conspiring with the enemy. I highly doubt we’re only here to talk about panth—” His eyes widened and his gaze swung to Talon. “Tell me it was actually a fucking panther in that bathing chamber.”
My head whipped toward Talon as a laugh threatened to burst from my mouth.
Talon put his hands up. “Hey, that one was her panther.”
Zachariah stared him down.
“But maybe it was me terrorizing Lady Asterling.” He grinned. “Couldn’t help it. She was accusing Saint—” His smile died. “Anyway, I may have chased her around the garden for ten minutes or so. She’s faster than she looks.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Zachariah rubbed the bridge of his nose.
I laughed, my shoulders shaking with the motion, and Dagon joined in. God, I loved my brothers.
Even Saint’s mouth quirked slightly.
“Not. Fucking. Funny.” Zachariah pointed at each of us. “You’re in the court of the king. Act like it.”
“There was a reason we were never allowed at court.” Talon shrugged. “They knew we were better used doing ourjobs.”
“I’m going to kill Samuel.” Saint’s low voice caught all our attentions. “I don’t give a shit what the next bullet points on that agenda say. My one and only mission will be to hunt down my brother and kill him like the menace he is.”
Silence reigned for heavy seconds.
“If you can’t stand behind me in this, I’ll do it on my own.” He leveled a dark stare on us all in turn.
My chest tightened. “I won’t stand behind you, Saint, but I’ll fight at your side.”
He nodded.
