“Shar, Shar, and let me guess, Shar,” Baz said to be a smartass.
“You think you're a funny man,” Kaia replied with an eye roll. “We need to decide on who we're taking with us. I want to keep our allies as much of a secret as possible. It's bad enough his messenger got a look at the extra bodies we've got hanging around.”
“Tuck's a given, but I think we should bring Micah and Calix, too,” Baz put in. “They proved themselves when we went after Shar,” Baz said.
“I think Baz is right,” Rafe agreed. “I think we need a show of force, so they should come inside with us,” he added.
“All right. Who else?”
They discussed it for a few more minutes until they had their team picked out. “All right, boys, you can go back to your sparring now,” Kaia told them.
“Woman, you just want something to ogle,” Baz retorted.
“You know it,” Kaia said with a laugh.
The guys went back to sparring and Kaia and Shar watched quietly. “Do you think I should learn some self defense?” Shar asked after a while.
“Honestly, yes,” Kaia replied. “Anything can happen out here, it can't hurt to be prepared. Why don't we start that after we get this shit with Silas sorted out?”
“That sounds good to me,” Shar replied.
Dinner, that evening, was a boisterous affair with so many men and women in attendance. Kaia’s heart swelled at the knowledge that so many people had come together to protect her family and fight for them.
“I want to thank all of you for coming to our aid. Tonight I will be meeting with Silas and he will know that he's being shafted. Expect the attack from him to come within days,” Kaia told them.
“He'll come in hard, fast, and heavy,” Baz interjected. “He'll want to do optimal damage in as little time as possible because he's a businessman, first and foremost, and this waiting is eating into his business,” he added.
“From what we know of Silas, that makes sense,” Makai, one of Kaia's allies, said. “Business means everything to that viper, whether it's the skin trade or weapons.”
“He'll have a rude awakening when he gets here,” Aratha, another of her allies, said with a smirk on her scarred face.
There were murmurs of agreement all throughout the dining tent.
“Yes, yes he will,” Kaia agreed and went back to her meal.
“You've done good, babe, bringing so many people together,” Rafe told her.
“I haven’t done it alone. You and Baz helped,” she pointed out.
“We might have brought in some allies, beautiful, but most of the people willing to fight alongside us are here because of you,” Baz countered.
She thought about what they were saying and realized they were right. “Well, shit.”
“Exactly,” Baz said, grinning.
“Yeah, yeah, you were right. Enjoy it while you can,” she grumbled.
Baz and Rafe chuckled at her, and even Shar laughed a little.
Kaia grumbled more and finished eating. When they were done they informed the team they were taking with them into Duskcairn what time to be ready, then the four of them went to their room to relax.
“I'm sorry to be such a problem,” Shar said from where she was curled up between Kaia and Rafe. Baz was lying behind Kaia, his arm draped over both women.
“Don't you dare apologize, baby. You're not the problem, Silas is,” Kaia told her.
“But if it wasn't for my invention, which I'd like to start building soon, we wouldn't be in this situation.”
“We also wouldn't have met,” Kaia pointed out.
