Nervousness ate at me again. There was that danged guilty conscience. “What?”
Kingsley’s frown was subtle. I was probably advertising my (hopefully baseless) guilt. He looked at Austin to continue.
Austin didn’t hesitate. “I told them that after we defeat Momar, tear down the Guild, and unify magical people into a fair governing system, represented by all, Kingsley would be the best person to move forward with the organization. This is his brainchild, and he’s perfectly suited to handle it. We’d step down when our vicious and wild talents become obsolete.”
“Oh. Well, yeah. Wasn’t that always the plan?” I gave Austin a confused expression. “I was just in it to create a sanctuary for people. We can, which means we should, right? You promised that once we did, we could finally have our own peace.”
Kingsley’s eyebrows lifted. He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “You two are perfectly suited for each other, do you know that? If I believed in fate, I’d think it had a hand in all this.”
“Seriously, though, that was always the plan,” I said. “It was for me, at any rate.”
“That makes things worlds easier, then.” Kingsley finished his coffee and glanced at the time. “Mr. Tom, I think I’ll have one of those bagels, if you have one handy.”
“If you’d just had it in the first place,” Mr. Tom said, “you wouldn’t have been so unbearably grumpy while waiting for the miss to peel herself from her much-needed slumber.”
“Is it really worth it with all the backtalk?” Kingsley murmured to me. “It’s settled, then. You will be the original alphas of the convocation. There will be those who won’t believe you’ll step down, and those who won’t want you to, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“We need to put someone in charge of creating and maintaining a database of the shifter packs.” Austin looked at me. “Is that something Nessa or Fred can handle?”
“Is Fred short for something?” Kingsley asked in dismay.
“No. She chose that name, much like Mr. Tom chose his.” I shrugged. “At some point, you just learn to roll with it.”
“I’ve always wanted to be a Tom,” Mr. Tom murmured as he prepared Kingsley’s bagel.
Kingsley looked like he was sorry he’d asked. He took a deep breath. “Aurora wants to return home with you guys. It’s been made clear to me that she’s an adult, and I have no say in the matter. With the mages back, though, she’s not sure of her living situation. I’ve?—”
I held up my hand. “I’m not sure anyone should live in the mages’ house. If they learn Sebastian’s real name, which probably won’t be hard, they’ll track him there. It’s not safe. We’ll figure something else out.”
Kingsley didn’t agree right away, probably nervous for Aurora’s safety. I couldn’t really tell because he wasn’t giving anything away. To me, at any rate. Finally, however, he nodded. “Okay.” He paused. “I get to keep the car, right?”
I spat with my unexpected laughter. “Sorry!” I wiped my face. “Yes, he wanted you to have that. That’s yours.”
Kingsley grinned. “Good. It’s a thing of beauty.”
“So that’s good, then.” I lifted my eyebrows at Austin. “These are experienced alphas with big packs, right? This is a good start for the convocation.”
“Very.” He inclined his head. “It’ll go a long way to instill confidence and lend some credit to my reformed nature. Maybe one of these days, I won’t be so fun to talk-trash and speculate about.”
“Oh, I doubt that.” Kingsley grinned at him, but his smile quickly dwindled. “When are you going to go after Armendale?”
Austin leaned into the cushion and put his arm along the back of the couch. “Not yet. I want to hit a couple of the bigger, surlier alphas first. I want a few of the unhinged original alphas that make people nervous. Like me.”
Kingsley studied him for a long beat. “Is that wise?”
“We need viciousness, Kingsley. We need adaptability and open minds. If I can dominate, they’ll respect my position. They’ll fit best with the gargoyles in battle. I’ve heard of a few serious power players living a somewhat untamed life, and I’ve heard about some rogues who don’t want the responsibility of their own pack, but that no alphas will take in because they’re too powerful.”
“I’ve heard of some of those, yes. That’s a dangerous move. You’ll have to keep control of them.”
“I’ll keep control, and I’ll provide a home for those who otherwise can’t find a place to settle.”
“Aiming high is one thing, but just make sure you don’t become reckless and get yourself or your mate killed.”
I grimaced as anger swirled through the bonds. Kingsley had unknowingly reminded Austin of the night before.
“Anyway. Cool.” I gave them a thumbs-up and stood. “I’ll just go see if my people can form a line. I’m not expecting great things, but you never know.”
“Are you going to hit those after this?” Kingsley asked Austin as I put my mug in the sink.
