Priest whacked his arm. "I was going to take them."
"Dibs!" Kincaid called out.
Meryn laughed. "He called dibs."
Aiden blinked. "That actually works?"
Meryn nodded. "I told you."
Ari sat back. "I think we should take into consideration Meryn's station. She will probably need a whole unit to keep her safe."
Gage slapped him on the back. "You have learned from your father."
"Don't forget that Ryuu and I accompany them as well," Pierce added.
"You're not leaving me and my one and only behind this time," Micah added.
Serenity was about to speak up when the air around them vibrated. Everyone turned to the doorway where two fae were waiting with exasperated expressions.
"Kendrick, if you would," the queen asked.
Kendrick lowered the soundproof bubble and raised it when the two fae entered. Izzy noticed that although they were male and female, they looked very much alike. The female's eyes locked in on Serenity.
"Ut, oh," Serenity murmured.
"Ut, oh?" The female exclaimed. "You almost die taking Zach with you and all you say is 'ut oh'?"
"Allia, I'm so sorry I worried you," Serenity said, looking contrite.
"Both of us were scared to death," the male added.
Serenity sniffled and looked up at them. "Ailain, I wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been absolutely necessary." Zach rubbed her back. "I already throttled her," he advised them.
Allia and Ailain hurried over and pulled both Serenity and Zach into hugs.
The queen dabbed her eyes with her napkin. "I swear I've cried more in the past two days than I have in the past two thousand years."
Meryn snapped her fingers. "They're Etain's brother and sister, the other set of twins."
Ailain stepped away from the group hug to pull two chairs over so they could sit next to their adopted baby brother and sister.
Allia looked over to Meryn. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you in person. We have read all about you on Facebook. I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for our brother. He sings your praises every time we speak and has all but ordered us to watch over you," she sniffed. "As if we wouldn't anyway." She looked around until her eyes landed on Creelee. "Is that a brownie?"
Izzy nodded as Oron went around the table with another set of introductions. When he got to Ari and the Tau Unit, Allia giggled. "We know them from sparring lessons."
Ari winced. "Etain has threatened my ability to reproduce if either of you gets hurt during training."
Allia waved a hand at him. "He'd have to come here first. Maybe I should get hurt. He hasn't returned home in centuries."
Ari paled. "Please don't. Your brother scares the hell out of me. He sounded so pleasant when he was describing, in detail, what he'd do to me should you get so much as a splinter. It was eerie."
Allia ignored Ari's plea and turned to Izzy. "Welcome to Éire Danu." She grinned. "I heard about what you did to that tailor." She clapped her hands. "Brava, my dear, brava!"
Izzy smiled back. "The asshole shouldn't have talked about my mate."
Allia nodded. "I back you one-hundred percent. Should the need arise where you must fight again, I will be there."
Meryn pointed to her and looked up at Aiden. "A ride or die bitch."