"Meryn," Aiden chided gently.
"What do you feel the Committee is after?" Kari asked.
Catherine tapped her lips. "Power, pure and simple. If they crumble the foundation that supports the unit warriors, they could then move in their own personal guards that report only to them. We'd return to the way of life we had before the Great War. People would have to walk the line or you'd face the ferals because the guards that are meant to keep you safe report to those pulling the strings. The creation of the unit warriors was the single greatest thing to come from such a horrible war. Whoever came up with the idea of mixed race units to achieve true neutrality was a genius."
"I'll let him know you think so," Kendrick said absently, as he swirled his wine.
Catherine turned to him. "What?"
Kendrick blinked. "What?" He looked like she startled him into paying attention.
"You know who designed the units?" Jedrek asked.
"Oh. That. Yes, it was the Dark Prince of Noctem Falls. By the end of the war, I heard his patience snapped, and he wanted to wash his hands of the entire thing. His suggestions carried weight, and the rest is history. With unit warriors guarding the pillar cities, they didn't need a single Dark Prince anymore," he explained.
"He did it to be lazy?" Meryn asked. "I aspire to be that lazy."
Kendrick shrugged. "I think he deserved a break at that point."
Rex looked at his parents. "In order to maintain peace in the city when Magnus was laid low, Gavriel Ambrosios claimed his heritage."
Jedrek nodded. "We heard that he was confirmed as a true Ambrosios."
Rex nodded slowly. "Yes, however, he isn't just a member of the line, he is the Gavriel Ambrosios from legend. He's the Dark Prince."
Both Jedrek and Catherine reached for Jedrek's glass at the same time. Jedrek allowed his mate to drink of the liquid first. She passed it to him. "The Dark Prince?" Catherine asked hoarsely.
Declan winced. "Yes, Mother."
Jedrek eyed his sons. "You both knew?"
"Yes, Father," they replied together.
"They were sworn to secrecy," Aiden said, then sighed. "We have too much going on to deal with that damn Committee now."
"The Dark Prince is a unit warrior?" Catherine asked.
Aiden brightened. "He's my second-in-command."
Between Catherine, Amelia, Anne, and Meryn, Brie had gotten pretty much caught up on what was going on. But in seeing Ari's parents' reactions, she wondered how much of that was common knowledge. "Can I just assume everything I've heard in the past few days are secrets?"
Kendrick nodded. "Probably a good idea," he said, leveling his gaze at her.
"No problem," she gave him a mock salute.
"There's more?" Jedrek demanded.
"Yes, much more. But in light of certain events, it's probably not wise to divulge such things to the council," Kendrick responded.
"So we need a way to sabotage or kill the Committee?" Meryn asked, opening up her laptop.
"Meryn, let's give Jedrek the ability to say he has no idea what's going on later, shall we?" Kendrick advised.
"Oh, yeah." Meryn closed her laptop and put it away.
Jedrek stared at the small woman in horror. "You can't do that." He looked from Aiden to Kendrick. "She can't do that."
"Do what?" Meryn asked brightly, her face full of innocence.