Jace stood and indicated the height difference. “We realized when we met the commander’s mate that it might hurt little ones to look up at us constantly.” He quickly turned to Nerius. “Can they reach the toilet?”
Nerius palmed his face. “I guess we’ll find out eventually.”
Jace walked over and handed Ian the pan of pork. “I’m going to run out for step stools.”
Ian nodded. “Good thinking.”
Yuki looked up at her. “They are quite tall,” he observed, in a deadpan voice that sent her into a fit of giggles.
Gage turned to the fae unit leaders that remained in the dining hall. “Can I speak with you all for a moment?”
The leaders all looked at each other, then noticed that Ari, Priest, and Kincaid had stood at Gage’s request. With serious expressions, they nodded.
Gage ruffled the boy’s hair. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to update the unit leaders on what happened earlier. Can the two of you watch over Zoe?”
Ame and Yuki both sat a bit straighter. “Hai.”
“Good lads.” Gage kissed her forehead and left with the others.
“That bad?” Ian asked, sitting down on her other side.
“Storm Keep’s Witches’ Council forged documents that I mated another and is trying to force me back,” she explained in a detached manner.
Ian’s eyes bugged out of his head. “And Gage didn’t kill them?”
Brie laughed. “It was a close thing. Aiden damn near had to tackle him.” She shrugged. “If someone was trying to take Ari from me, I’d have shot first and listened later.”
Ian strummed his fingers on the table. “Who came?”
“Karl Brugmansia,” she answered.
Ian sat back. “They’re playing hardball. Karl is known for his smooth talking and political prowess.”
Zoe had come to the same conclusion. Karl was known as the one who got things done in Storm Keep. “There wasn’t much he could do when the queen said no.”
Ian shook his head. “Think about it, Zoe, in any other scenario, wouldn’t what he attempted have worked? If he had that forged document and presented it to the Elder Council of any of the other cities, their hands would have been tied. The only reason I bet you’re still sitting here is because he wasn’t about to take on the queen in her chambers in Éire Danu.”
Zoe felt a sliver of ice slide down her spine. He was right. In any other scenario, politics would have gotten in the way. Only the queen’s sovereignty had saved her.
“What can we do,” she whispered.
“Kill him,” Yuki recommended.
Brie and Ian nodded.
Zoe stared. “You can’t just kill people!”
Brie held up her gun. “No,youcan’t kill people. After Meryn’s reaction, I could double tap his ass then snuggle up with Ari to watch TV, no problem.”
“Is the commander’s mate well?” Ian asked.
“Her empathy sucker punched her when Karl and Andrei walked in. She really doesn’t like those two. They caused her to throw up,” Brie explained.
Ian shrugged. “Well, that’s good enough for me. They need to die.”
At her side, both boys nodded.
Zoe didn’t know whether to be concerned or touched by the levels of bloodthirstiness in her loved ones. In the end, she went with touched because she wasn’t one-hundred percent certain she wouldn’t do the same for them.