"So brilliant, my mate," Ari whispered into her hair.
Brie looked around. "Where are the hostages?"
"Right here," a female voice answered.
They turned to see many smiling faces looking at them. "My name is Elissa Elian. We cannot thank you enough." She wiped at her eyes. "They would play the screams of others for us and said we would soon be next. Had you not come, we would have died for sure."
Jace and Ian stepped forward. "If you'll follow us, we have a portal set up that will take you directly to Éire Danu. There's a very anxious queen waiting to see her children," Ian said, pointing to the front.
His statement brought on more tears as the people immediately began moving toward the place where their queen awaited their return.
Darian passed many of them as he re-entered the warehouse. One of them saw his ring and gasped. "Your highness," the man breathed in a timorous whisper. The crowd halted, and as one, they dropped to one knee.
Darian quickly went to the side of the man who had recognized the signet ring. "Please, stand, all of you. Don't worry about deportment now of all times. Let's get you home and looked after."
They stood, some on wobbly legs. The man looked at Darian. "You came for us?"
Darian clenched his jaw. "I will always come for my people when they need me, this I do swear."
His quiet promise had the rest of the crowd dissolving into quiet sobs. Darian looked around, and Oron went to his side. "We'll go with you. The queen is insisting on making sure you're all well, and her squire is cooking up a storm," he said, smiling.
One of the women looked at him fearfully. "An Eirson," she whispered, backing away.
Darian slung his arm around his brother's shoulders. "You're wrong. Much has been celebrated in Éire Danu as of late. For example, the queen's consort Brennus has passed on head of household to Oron, he is now Oron Vi'Eirlea."
The people gasped and stared at Oron in wonder.
Oron rubbed the back of his neck. "My uncle Eamon also had a daughter, Meryn. She is mated to the Unit Commander. She's the most adorable little thing."
"Gamma Kitten One, if you don't update me, I'm going to shock you till your nuts fall off!" an irate female voice yelled. Her threat echoed from the walkie talkie through the empty warehouse.
Oron grinned. "Speaking of my little sister," he said, winking at the crowd.
The people began to chuckle as Sascha frantically tried to unclip his walkie talkie. "Dammit, someone tell that pint-sized menace I'm trying!"
Ben lifted his walkie talkie. "Menace, Gamma Kitten One says there's no way your screwdriver can do that and to watch your mouth or he'll tell BooBear on you."
Sascha froze, his mouth hanging wide. Abandoning all modesty he pulled his pants off and lifted the walkie talkie to his face. "Menace, I said no such thing. My walkie talkie was stuck on my belt loop!"
"I will see you when you return," she said ominously. "Over."
Sascha dropped his pants and reached for Ben who was laughing manically as he ran from his unit leader.
Darian jerked his thumb at their shenanigans. "As you can see, they have serious and important work to do. If you all could head through the portal and meet up with Portia and the queen, we'd be helping them enormously." The once somber people were now chuckling and moving once again.
Once the warehouse was clear and they had pried Sascha's fingers from around Ben's neck, they walked over to the strange box Kincaid had created.
Thane and Justice were examining it with excitement. Thane looked over at Kincaid. "Do you know what you did?"
Kincaid looked confused. "I made a box."
"You made more than a box. Kincaid, this is porcelain," Thane explained, running his hand over the wall.
"And?" he asked.
Justice shook his head. "He doesn't get it."
"Porcelain is created when clay is heated in a kiln to over two-thousand six-hundred degrees Fahrenheit," Thane shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this before."