“Could you teach me sometime? When you’re not busy, I mean.” I took off the glasses in time to catch his smile.
“Of course, beloved. We’ll teach you anything you want to learn. Oh, wait.” Koa traded me a sleek black phone for his glasses. “This is yours. Noticed you didn’t have one. Our numbers are preloaded, along with King Lucian’s and our older brother, Sebastian’s.”
“Do not call them unless it is an extreme emergency,” Casimir’s chest rumbled against me, “but do not hesitate to call them if itisan extreme emergency.”
I hugged the phone to my chest, then on impulse, kissed the corner of his jaw. His muscles locked, a statue carved from warm marble, before relaxing into the embrace.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat, turning toward a rack of tactical gear.
My eyes followed his to the gear propped against the walls: Military-looking vests, an open case with some kind of rifle, another with a compound bow. My curiosity got the better of me.
“Could you teach me about those things, too?” I asked, gesturing to the equipment.
“This is temporary,” Casimir explained. “We’re still setting up the armory. But if you want to learn how to shoot, I’ll teach you. Once you’re healed.”
“Brace yourself, precious,” Zane cut in, smirking. “When the gunnery sergeant comes out to play, he doesn’t believe in ‘beginner mode.’ ”
I grinned, glancing at Casimir, who looked like he was torn between annoyance and resignation. I didn’t know what a gunnery sergeant was, but the warmth in the room, the easy way they included me, made me happy.
Brumous pawed at my uninjured dangling foot, whining when I reached to pet him, but Koa intercepted my hand.
“Leave the wolf’s training to me. You’ll want both arms secure when Casi starts screaming about trigger discipline.”
“Safety protocols exist for—”
“See?” Zane flung himself across a swivel chair, boots propped on a motherboard. “Already prepping for the lecture.”
My grin died when three voices snapped in unison: “Don’t touch that!”
All of their eyes were fixed on my curious fingers hovering near a funny-looking box.
“Weapons and ammo stay inert until you’re trained. Understood?” Casimir’s voice dropped an octave.
Brumous tucked his muzzle under Koa’s palm, his eyes as wide as mine. I nodded, my throat tight.
“Relax, commander.” Zane spun his chair, plucking a paperclip from the desk. “I’ll protect our damsel with this deadly shiv. Worked wonders in Saskatchewan.”
“You mean when you jammed a salad fork into a diesel generator?” Koa’s grin was dark and deadly.
“Electrocution still gets the job done!”
“Is that going on your next t-shirt?” He gestured to Zane’s “I Have Rabies!” shirt.
“Maybe it is!”
Shaking my head at the two of them, I glanced up at Casimir to make sure he wasn’t angry with me.
“Are you interested in hand-to-hand combat?” he asked, his tone casual, like he was discussing the weather.
“Probably not,” I admitted. “Is thatyourspeciality? Like Koko’s is techy stuff?”
“We’reallexperts at hand-to-hand,” Zane fidgeted with his deadly paper clip, “but I’m the best at archery. And guerilla warfare.”
“What does a gorilla have to do with war?” I blinked, confused.
The room erupted into laughter. Even Casimir, who usually held his emotions close, chuckled softly. Brumous let out a little yip from where he sat at my feet, his tail thumping against the floor, as if he, too, were trying to figure out why they were amused.
