Ryuu gracefully rose to his feet. "Denka and I have moved to a deeper understanding of each other, which allowed us both to grow. I think the tattoo changing is a reflection of our new relationship." He straightened his vest and jacket before smoothing them to lay flat. He placed his hand over his heart and bowed. "Denka, if you would return to the dining table, I will continue to serve dinner."
Etain put his phone away. "Micah and Serenity are on the way. Normally I would let them rest, but I have a feeling they will need to hear what happened."
Meryn grabbed Aiden's hand and tried to pull him into the dining room. "Come on, I'm starving."
Magnus looked to the others. "Then by all means let us continue our dinner."
*****
Micah gripped his mate's hand tightly as they hurried down the hallway on Level One toward the Rioux quarters.
"Did Etain say what was going on?" she asked.
"No, but he knew I wanted to spend more time reconnecting with you. It must be something important."
As they approached the entry door, they met up with Gavriel coming from the direction of the detention cells. His eyes blazed scarlet. He looked at them and simply nodded before opening the door for them to walk through.
When they walked into the dining room everyone was seated as they normally were, but the conversations around the table were subdued.
"I hid," Pip admitted quietly.
"I am glad you did Pip." Magnus said approvingly. "I did not want him anywhere near you."
Once they were seated Micah turned to Adriel. "So, what happened?"
Adriel simply drained his wine glass. Micah was about to ask Gavriel when he saw that he too was emptying his goblet.
Kendrick stared down into his wine, but wasn't drinking. That's how Micah knew it was bad. As a witch drinking impaired your abilities. If Kendrick wasn't drinking, he wanted to stay sharp in case he had to call on his magic.
Kendrick set his glass down. "Meryn confronted DeLaFontaine today and made certain truths clearer for the rest of us.
"The virus was designed so that the only possible cure was older vampire blood."
Micah nodded. "We knew that."
Kendrick continued. "Meryn pointed out that, had we administered the third trial, bloodshed would have been inevitable as shifters and vampires alike lost control due to the aggression triggers built into the virus. I think we all realized the bullet we dodged, but only Meryn saw it for what it was. A calculated attempt to destroy the city."
"Father did not like that people were getting sick," Pip said quietly. "But the scary men said it was the only way father would get the city."
Meryn tapped on the table with her finger. "That's what I thought. He wanted to be the new prince, which meant he kinda needed people to kiss his ass. This virus would've wiped everyone out." Her eyes widened, and she looked over at Vivi. "I think because I stopped the trials, the city remained on lock down and they couldn't take advantage of the chaos to escape. So, your attack was simply a way to open the door for them to leave," she grimaced. "Sorry about that."
Vivi waved off her concern. "It wasn't your fault Meryn."
Aiden looked down at Pip. "Pip, why didn't you go to any of the unit warriors and tell them what was happening?"
Meryn glared at Aiden. "It's not his fault if he was scared of his dad."
Pip just blinked up at Aiden. "But the warriors knew."
Aiden looked over at Adriel who shook his head. Aiden turned back to Pip. "Why would you think that?"
Pip poked Aiden in the upper arm. "Because they had the same tattoos as unit warriors, except theirs were red."
Micah wasn't the only warrior to collapse back in their chair. Of course, Pip wouldn't know the difference.
Aiden had tears in his eyes as he continued to ask the questions no one wanted to hear the answers to. "Did they all have red tattoos?" Pip nodded. Aiden looked like he was going to be ill. "Is that why you tried to protect Meryn when we first met? You thought I was like them?" Pip nodded again. Aiden unbuttoned his sleeve and pushed it up to reveal his unit tattoo. "This is a unit warrior tattoo Pip. It shows what city, unit, and race we belong to. Mine is black because I am actively serving. When a warrior retires or goes inactive an outline appears around it." He swallowed hard. "When it turns red, that means the warrior has turned feral. Because warriors are trained for so many centuries it was decided that in the event a warrior loses his soul, the ink will turn red as a warning to others to stay away or call for help." He looked around the table. "There is nothing more dangerous than a unit warrior who has lost his soul."
Meryn covered her mouth with both hands. "The missing Vanguard."