Darian shook his head. "No. I'll drop you off, but you need to stay with the queen. This is going to kill her."
Oron looked torn. Every warrior knew that there were no two people that Oron loved more than his mother and baby brother. "Are you sure, Dari?"
Darian took a deep breath. "Yes. It's time we started protecting her for a change."
Oron looked around the room. "Where's Aeson?"
"I'm here," the warrior said, walking in with Gage.
Oron looked over at Darian then back. "I'm leaving him in your care."
"I give you my word that nothing with happen to our prince," Aeson promised.
Aiden scowled at Oron but didn't say anything. Ari knew that the commander wanted to add that he wouldn't let anything happen to his own unit brother, but by not saying anything, he acknowledged that the request was just as much to help Aeson as it was to protect Darian.
Brie approached, tucking her phone back into her vest. "He said they'd be ready by the time you got there."
Aiden waved Thane over. "I'm assuming there's a barrier."
Thane nodded. "It's identical to the one we saw in Monroe."
Aiden looked over at the pile. "Considering the reaction we got in Éire Danu last time, let's wait until we have processed the scene and transported the bodies before we take it down."
Thane eyed the walls. "That works. I want to study this a bit more as well."
Ari and Brie stared down at the dead. He immediately noticed a difference. "They haven't been dead long," he observed.
Brie pointed to one arm. "There's barely any bloating."
"The sooner River can get here and begin documentation, the better," Aiden said, sounding tired.
As soon as River arrived, he began to bark out orders, getting the men organized. He, along with the rest of the warriors in gloved hands, began to unstack the dead. It took them hours to get the bodies photographed and into the black body bags. Every once in a while, his mate would pass by wielding an impressive looking camera. She took pictures of everything, paying special attention to the ceiling and the marks on the floor.
When they were done, all but Aiden's group and the Tau unit had made their way back through the portal to Éire Danu. Ari stayed behind because he wanted Kincaid to watch Thane and Justice in action. He might not be a witch, but he knew that opportunities to work with these legends didn't happen all that often.
A few seconds after the barrier went down, Aiden's phone rang.
"It happened again," Meryn reported in a small voice.
Ari couldn't even fathom the confusion and pain that would be running rampant in the city tonight. He sent up his prayer of thanks that his family was alive and safe.
Aiden turned to Darian. "Let's head back."
Darian was already using his signet ring to open a portal. They stepped through, and Ari felt a wave of relief that he had brought them directly to the palace. He didn't want to walk through the streets tonight.
"Where's Mother?" Darian asked, glancing around the room the moment they walked through.
Brennus looked up at them from where he sat in an oversized chair holding a goblet of gold liquid. "Anne, Amelia, Meryn, and Izzy took over the bedroom. They have Aleks cocooned in blankets, eating chocolate and watching some sort of cartoons to help her feel better."
Aiden accepted a similar goblet from Cord. "That method has proven to be very effective in helping females recover from traumatic situations."
Ari sat next to his brother. He pulled Brie down to sit on his other side. "How'd it go in the city?" he asked.
"The queen did a general announcement prior to the barrier going down, so the people weren't completely blindsided again. Though it did nothing to lessen the grief of the family members of the recently discovered." Rex leaned back to squeeze Brie's shoulder. "How are you holding up?"
Brie placed her hand over his and smiled. "Actually, I'm much better today than I was yesterday…was it yesterday? God, it feels like we've been handling this for weeks."
Rex gave a final squeeze then sat up. "I know what you mean. The past forty-eight hours has aged us all."