The soldiers filed out, not even daring a side look at us as they passed.
After the door closed behind them, I let out a sigh of relief, then grinned at my husband. “Is it wrong that I found that incredibly sexy?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The faeries of Italy went back to their homes and businesses, many speaking to Azrael and me first. They wanted to thank Az and also ask us about what was happening. So, we were there for a while. Before we went home, I checked with Torrent to make sure that Azrael and I didn't have to quell other uprisings. Torr texted back that everything was fine but there was something we needed to see. I didn't like the sound of that.
Azrael shifted back into his Angel body, and we traced to Pride Palace. The larger tracing room startled me at first, but then I remembered Salem. We'd have to be more vigilant with the children until I could put the room back to normal. I didn't want them accidentally tracing somewhere. I considered enlarging the door to fit the new doorway, but it would have been far too large for the foyer.
“Maybe you should check in with Michael and see how Shehaquim is doing,” I suggested as Az and I headed into the dining hall.
“You're right; I haven't heard from him and that's worrying,” Azrael said.
It was dinnertime so there were more people in the dining room than I expected. Many of the Intare sat at the table with my husbands, children, Torrent, and Artemis.
“The guys made barbecue chicken. It's in the kitchen,” Trevor said when he saw us.
“Thanks, babe.” I kept walking past him, straight to the kitchen.
“No one wants to know how it went?” Azrael asked.
“We saw it,” Torrent said. “Several reporters caught the whole thing and streamed it online.”
“Did they also catch the meeting I had with the Commander of the Swiss Guard?”
“No, but we saw him enter the Embassy,” Odin said. “How did that conversation go?”
“Azrael was incredible,” I called over my shoulder before going into the kitchen.
I fixed some plates for Azrael and me, then carried them back to him. The kids were gone already, off to the Common Room to watch a movie before bed. All but the twins, who were asleep on the rug before the fireplace, in the sitting area directly behind Azrael. I set a plate before Az and sat down beside him. There were drinks on the table, and he had poured a glass of punch for me while I was getting the food. When you're a parent, fruit punch is mandatory. Party punch is even better, but then you have to make a separate pitcher for the children.
Azrael was in the middle of outlining his badass speech to the Commander.
“Hold on, you told him the miracles were illusions?” Odin asked. “I thought we were going to stay out of it?”
“That went out the window when a mob attacked the Fey Embassy,” I said. “Az had to think on his feet, and I support what he said. It's the truth after all. Partially. They are being tricked, we just didn't tell them it was their god who was doing the deceiving.”
“They just needed to be reminded that we're not hurting them but if they hurt us, that will change,” Azrael said.
“Hopefully, the rest of the world will see the footage and be reminded as well,” Artemis said.
“I think I should make that announcement we decided against,” Az said. “Now that we've gone down this road, there's no point in doing it half-ass.”
“I think maybe wait on it,” Torr said. “The faeries are helping you.” He pushed a laptop across the table to Az.
Azrael turned it around and angled it for both of us to see. The screen had a paused video on display. From the rectangular shape of the video, I assumed it was taken on a cell phone. Az clicked it and the view panned up from a crowd of humans to the sky above them.
“Yes!”a voice shouted.“Check this out, people! This is why we support the Fey. They're freakin' awesome!”
Lightning hit an invisible barrier over the heads of the humans, crackling along it to form an outline of a dome. The shot panned down to show a lone faerie in the middle of the humans, his hands uplifted and stare focused on the shield he was creating. His blond hair lifted on a breeze and his butterfly wings pressed together behind him, half blocked by the crowd. At last, the lightning storm stopped, dispersing into nothing in seconds. As the faerie released his Air magic and dropped his hands, the humans cheered.
“Sir?”the man holding the cell phone stepped up to the faerie.“Would you like to say anything to the rest of the world?”
The faerie stepped out of the crowd and spread his beautiful wings. The humans sighed and stared reverently, a few reaching out as if they might touch him. I couldn't fault them for it. The faerie's wings were patterned with turquoise and purple, iridescent in the sunlight, and absolutely stunning.
“To my fellow faeries,”he started.“I don't know who is attacking the humans who support us or why, but it's time that we support them in return. Not all of them have welcomed us to this world, but many have. Many have been more than welcoming, and I will not abandon them when they are being harmed merely because someone doesn't want us to get along. We cannot let this injustice grow. Not if we want to make a home here. These people are our friends and neighbors now. Defend them with honor.”
The humans applauded.
