They sat forward at the same time, and their chairs creaked. Matching determination sharpened their features.
One by one, the other Claws nodded, silent, bodies angling as if they were already preparing to move with us.
Reo shook his head immediately. “Absolutely not. All the Claws cannot head off with Nyomi.”
Hiro quirked his brows. "Why not?"
"If all of you suddenly hover around the West Wing tonight with the Dragon’s Heart, every staff member on this island will smell something burning."
Toma pushed back from the table slightly, his chair scraping. "It's our job to smell smoke. We don't like letting Hiro walk into a possible fire alone."
"Ican’t be alone? DoIneed protecting?" Hiro growled and cracked the lollipop between his teeth. What commenced was a succession of crunching sounds as he finished it and put the now empty stick away. “Do not worry about me. Focus on clearing the house.”
A few of the Claws grumbled.
Reo moved to the window, hands sliding into his pockets as he looked out at the darkening island. When he turned back, his expression had sharpened. “If every Claw abandons their usualpatrols at the same time, what do you think the maids, cooks, and junior guards will do?”
No one answered.
“They’ll whisper,” Reo said. “They’ll stare. They’ll text each other. And we don’t know if one of them is the spy. So. . .the more normal we look, the better.”
Daisuke frowned. “Okay. We all can’t go, but some of us should. Like me.”
“No. Not you. Nyomi and Hiro are fine.” Reo pointed to us. “Them walking together tonight will appear normal. At this point, the whole island knows that they’ve cooked together. There’s been a lot of gossip today about it.”
Say what? Why are people gossiping about that?
Reo continued, “Nobody will think twice if Hiro walks her through the Scales’ wing under the pretense of showing her the house.”
Toma smirked. “True.”
“And the twins?” Kaede asked. “I would feel better if the twins went too.”
Reo looked at Hiro. “How often do Aki and Yuki trail you?”
“Since Nura. . .they’ve become my little stalkers. They trail me every day.” Hiro shrugged. “Apparently, the twins can’t get enough of me. They’re with me morning to night unless Kenji orders otherwise.”
Both twins snickered in unison.
However, Aki's snicker faded first, and something softer crossed his face—almost embarrassed. "We just. . .want to make sure you eat."
"And sleep," Yuki added, but his voice dropped lower, almost protective. "You forget to do both when we're not around."
Hiro's expression flickered—just for a second—with something that looked like gratitude before he buried it under a smirk. "They're my mother hens. It's annoying."
"It's necessary," both twins said together, no humor in their voices this time.
The weight of those words hung in the air. They weren't stalking Hiro because they were obsessed. They were keeping him alive because they'd already watched too many people they loved die.
“So, if the twins are with you,” Reo said slowly, “it’s not weird. It’s expected.”
“Correct.” Hiro turned to me. “However. . .can you work with them hovering?”
I glanced at the twins again. Their eyes were locked on me—curious, lethal, and sharp with loyalty that orbited Hiro like gravity. Honestly, they appeared like, even if I did say I didn’t want them around, they would be coming anyway.
The twins must be the closest to him. Closer than the other Claws, maybe even closer than Kenji.
A flicker of curiosity pricked my chest.
