Father Falcon’s sharp eyes moved between us. “And how exactly do you know its ancientfaemagic?”
Ezra didn’t flinch. “A fae jaguar shifter identified it. From my research, he only left Faerie about five years ago. He said it carried the feel of old power, one that was locked away when the royal wars started in Faerie.”
Daddy Lex leaned forward, smirking at me before licking his lips in excitement. “You talking about the fighter on the TV? The one bugging Nova?” His gaze swept toward the other dads. “I thought we’d agreed to kill him, no?”
The words “kill him” made my pulse stumble.
“No,” I said a little too fast. Making myself talk slower, I added, “He’s fine. We’re, uh, bringing him on staff. He won't be a problem.”
Five pairs of male parental eyes snapped to me, watching me intently, their skepticism loud enough to hum.What is it with this family and giving people looks? Like, look somewhere else!I tried to look away from their questioning stares, focusing on Ezra like I was waiting for her direction.
Mom shot up from her seat. “That's it. We’re coming home.” She was already motioning to the others. “Let's go. Pack your shit. They need us.”
Ezra’s tone came quickly, calm but unyielding. “Mom. No. You need to finish this last trip. We got everything handled at the home front.”
Mom froze mid-step, head tilting like a lioness deciding whether or not to eat her cub. “Ezra,” she said slowly, deadly, “I told you thisideaof yours was not more important than our family.”
Idea of hers?My eyes snapped toward Ezra.What the hell is she plotting overseas?
“I know,” Ezra said softly, steady as a rock, “but I got this. We got this. We are the bosses,remember?”
Their eyes locked onto each other, waging that silent kind of argument only moms and daughters could have. Finally, Mom’s eyes fluttered. She huffed, grumbling about her “stupid, stubborn kids,” and dropped back into her seat.
Ezra smiled, her victory won.
“We’ve got this,” she said again, firmer, loud enough for all of them to hear. “We’re strong enough to handle it, so let us.” She looked at the rest of us. “Right?”
We all chimed in, one after another.
“This is nothing.Don’t worry about it.”
“We got this under control.”
“No one’s getting past my territory.”
“The antidote is nearly done anyway. It's fine.”
Mom crossed her arms,still muttering under her breath, but she didn’t stand again. That meant she was accepting our word. That had to be a win, right?
Always the one to try to bridge the gaps, Papa Avery took the high ground. “You know that we and your mom support you guys in everything you decide. We trust you.” He winked at us and smiled. “Just know, we’re always here. Ready to jump in if you need us.”
The parents looked around at each of us before they got up, and the meeting adjourned. “And get that fucking knife examined,”Papa Avery warned. “Contact your Papu Syris.” He winced as he said it. “I know he’s a handful, but he’s the last survivor of the fae royal line. He might know something about this magic that we don’t.”
“We’ll talk to him once I find him again.” When Mom’s brow lifted at that, Ezra huffed, “They found the tracking device.”
Mom barked out a laugh, warning Ezra to find them because they were troublemakers even on their best behavior.
With the call winding down, the parents’ holograms flickered like dying stars as they said their goodbyes. Ezra lifted a hand to scratch her nose, the movement too deliberate to be casual, and shot us a look over her fingers.
Her signal was clear.Stay on the line.
I folded my arms together.Yeah, well, I have some questions for you, too, E.
Once the parents blinked out, the silence stretched. Ezra turned to Calix. “Are you really that close to making that antidote?”
He nodded, rustling some papers again. “Yeah. The research Father sent from the other organizations helped fill in some odd gaps. I’m going to test it once we get off the line.”
“Great,” Ezra responded. “Send a batch to Nova first, then some to each of us just in case.”
