“True,” Zul said. “Our females must remain protected.”
The other five males in the room nodded their agreement.
“Are you prepared to serve as the Council Supreme’s new chairman?” Gil asked the Omari Prime.
The male nodded and replied, “Only with the Fangrys Triad and Mosk and Yiis as my advisors.”
“The Ulscanti Triad will arrive tomorrow,” Gil confirmed. “The official reason is to accompany their mate to the Halloween festival, but they will be bringing important communiques.”
“And the others?” Yiis prompted.
Bran answered, “They are ready to support us.”
“As long as we do not divulge their names,” Zul added, tasting the sour note in his voice.
Yiis shrugged. “When we succeed, they need not fear retribution. Until then, they are wise to be leery of discovery.”
“But are we certain of their loyalty?” Pako looked worried.
“Yes,” said Zul.
Bran smiled, revealing pointed teeth. “Yes. I made sure of it.”
Yiis blinked. “You didn’t?”
“I did.”
“You could establish yourself as a warlord with that kind of psychic strength.”
“I could, but I don’t want to,” Bran replied. He glanced at Gil and Zul. “It is sufficient to lead my triad.”
Gil and Zul nodded, the latter commenting, “He is a wise leader.”
Mosk’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Zul, then opened wide. “You were the Third of the Uk’khadir Triad. Borsulvar cen’Gyrah was your Prime.”
Zul nodded. “He was. You knew him?”
“I did. We were younglings together.” Mosk, with his customary blunt candor, then said, “You were well rid of him when he was killed in battle.”
Zul’s jaw clenched against the urge to snarl, and he maintained a stoic silence.
“Borsulvar was a bully,” Mosk stated.
Zul could not deny that and didn’t try.
Chapter 22
Each accompanied by two of their three mates, Ursula and Carmen went to the village of Fangrys to set up for the following day’s events. Armed with printed diagrams and lists and pens and a coterie of female volunteers accompanied by their mates, brothers, or fathers, Ursula set everyone to work. She gave diagrams and signs to those who would be marking assigned spaces around the village’s central square. She assigned several males to build a temporary stage at the far end of a side street, which the sheriff agreed to barricade against vehicular traffic. Other village streets were also barricaded. She checked in with each vendor to ensure they found their assigned spaces and received any assistance as needed. Bran and Zul shook their heads at the barely controlled chaos of event organization.
“There’s a lot more that goes into planning a party than I guessed,” Carmen quipped after she finished helping a local vendor set up his market stall, much to that male’s nearly gibbering horror. The Omari Prime chuckled while keeping a close watch over his mate and offering the merchant a word of reassurance that human hybrids were less docile than other hybrid females.
“It’s not just a party,” Ursula explained. “It’s a market combined with a roster of performances. There are alotof moving parts toalign so everything goes off smoothly.” A crash resounded, and she winced. “And it never goes smoothly.”
With a quick smile, she headed off to see what had happened and to rectify the problem. Zul rushed after her, ready to lend a muscular arm, a skilled hand, or a stern glare. Bran looked at Pako and shrugged.
“The things we do to keep our mates happy.”
Pako grinned and glanced at Carmen who was already haggling with a vendor to buy something at a discount. That vendor sent a pleading glance at the Omari Prime for help. “I’d better rescue that poor male, or he’ll find my mate has robbed him of everything valuable.”
