“Yes.” I reached forward, and he took my hand, stepping closer to do so. “Thank you. I know I was rough on you.”
“You have no idea,” he muttered.
“I'm so sorry, Braxis.”
“No, it's fine.” He let go of my hand. “It wasn't your fault. I realized quickly enough that you were under the influence of something.”
“Gee, what gave me away?” I drawled. “Was it when I offered to let you do whatever you wanted to me?”
Braxis snorted a laugh while my men made annoyed sounds.
“I told you that I was aggressive,” I said to my kishanos.
“Oh, we believe you, Se Esaria,” Cyprian said. “After all, we just experienced it for ourselves.”
“I'm impressed that you resisted her,” Kyrian said to Braxis.
“And I'm grateful,” Malik added gruffly. “I'm also sorry that I attacked you.”
“You were within your rights, Your Highness,” Braxis said gruffly.
“For fuck's sake, call me Mal,” Malik huffed.
Braxis grinned and nodded. “Mal.”
“So, you went to my father,” I prompted Braxis. “Then what?”
“Rywen said that the only people we could trust wereyourpeople. She twisted to Danu and returned with King Everan and a unit of knights. We flew Prince Malik's—I mean, Mal's—ship to Germany, but then we had to search for you. It took two days of scanning the countrysides for any sign of supe activity before we spotted a Fury. Then I knew who had betrayed you and who I had to kill. Except that Talon escaped before we made it past his warriors.”
“The bastard left them all to die,” Landry said as he stepped into the room with his Danutian girlfriend, Rywen.
“Dad!” I dropped the blanket and rushed into his arms.
The softly textured bark of Landry's skin rubbed against mine, comforting me. My mind instantly registered that touch as “father.” I breathed in the scent of redwood that always clung to him and sighed.
“Hey, kid,” Landry whispered as his strong arms closed around me. “You had me worried again.”
I eased back. “Thanks for coming after me.”
“Anytime.” He brushed his hand over my hair.
“And thank you for fetching Everan,” I said to Rywen, who had once commanded the Southern Army for Everan's father. Her cardinal-red hair was pulled back in a sleek braid and her slim body was covered in Danutian armor.
“Of course.” Rywen hugged me too. “My Queen was captured; I had to act.”
“I hate that you were in trouble, and I didn't know.” Everan took my hand and kissed it.
“It scared me too,” I whispered. “Whatever Talon has in these walls, it's powerful.”
“After we surmounted their forces, we found everyone except for you in the basement,” Braxis went on. “I searched the house until I found you.”
“Malik revived before the others,” Rywen added. “He went looking for you.” She glanced behind me at the men. “And found you with Braxis.”
Malik cleared his throat.
I sighed and stepped away from Rywen. “When Talon took everyone's magic, he saved Leo and me for last. I don't know what his plans were, but while everyone else was unconscious, he put Leo in the extractor. Then he took more than one vial of Leo's magic.”
“What?” Kyrian whispered. “Why?”
