Tiernan strode over to Killian and set Miri in his arms. “That you do.” He pulled the dirty cloth from his shoulder and tossed it into a laundry bin, then smacked Kill on the arm. “You're up. Diapers are in the second drawer.” Tiernan hurried out.
Killian started to grin at the baby. Then he processed what Tiernan said. “Wait. What?” Andthenhe got a whiff of what Tiernan was talking about. “Oh! You're a horrible person!”
Laughter, not just Tiernan's, came in response.
Chapter Twenty-Two
We didn't want to arrive in Korea in the middle of the night again. So, after we had breakfast with the family, we decided to get some work done from Twilight and spend more time with the kids. With the time difference, we could leave at three in the afternoon and arrive in Incheon at eight in the morning.
Tiernan and Raza checked in with their courts. Tiernan's mother and sister looked after Seelie for him while he was gone, and Raza had asked Rayetayah to do the same for him in Unseelie. Raye had been gone a while, ever since we discovered his girlfriend had been running a terrible scam, taking human orphans from Earth and selling them to fairy couples who desperately wanted a child. It was especially terrible since I had a service in place to legally bring human children to Fairy for adoption, so those couples thought the sales were legal. They didn't know I'd never charge for that. Evie had abducted children, swindled fairies, and misrepresented me. Raye left Fairy before we executed Evie and her Bean-Sidhe coconspirator. He didn't want to know her fate. Frankly, it was difficult for Raza and me to decide what to do with them. But in the end, we determined that what they had done was too traitorous to simply imprison them. It had involved children after all.
But Raye was stronger now, even dating someone new, and he was comfortable standing in for Raza. He'd once been Raza's heir, so the Unseelie Fey knew him and, more importantly, respected him. It didn't matter that he was a Twilight Fairy; they obeyed his commands. Of course, that could also be because he's a Raven-Mocker and they're pretty bad-ass as far as fairies go.
Daxon usually left Desmond in charge of things in L.A., but this time, it was Matvei. While Tiernan and Raza scried their stand-ins, Dax scried Matvei. Sever, of course, didn't have anyone to check in with, so he joined Killian and me for our scry to the High Human Council in Ireland.
We needed an extinguishment warrant and since our target was a human, we had to go to get it from the Human Council.
“Do you lurk around the scrying ball all day?” I asked High Councilman Murdock. “You're always the one we speak to.”
Murdock scrunched up his already wrinkly face. “I'm the only one who's willing to deal with you two.”
“Aw, that's not true,” Killian said with a grin. “I speak to other council members all the time.”
“Maybe alone, but when it's you both, I step in.” Murdock sniffed imperiously and grimaced. “What do you want this time? Please, tell me the world isn't about to end because of some kind of magical relic.”
“No, nothing that serious,” I said. “We need an extinguishment order.”
“Then why the hell are you bugging me?” he growled. “Scry one of the minor council houses.”
“They'll only have to send the request up to the High Council for approval anyway,” Killian said. “And we need approval now.”
“Why?” Murdock leaned in. “What has this human done?”
“He's killed three Kumihos and taken their pearls,” I said.
“Pearls?” Murdock snarled. “Fucking pearls again?!”
“Yes, but these aren't as bad as the Cintamani,” I said.
“I don't know,” Killian mused. “Now that I'm thinking about it, it could be.”
“Explain that, Ambassador!” Murdock snapped. Then his gaze flicked behind us. “Oh, hello, King Severriel.”
“Hello, High Councilman,” Sever said. “But drop the title. I stepped down.”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” Murdock smirked. “In that case, what the hell are you doing, scrying me with these two?”
“I don't know, actually,” Sever said. “I'm not on the team that's after this man. Maybe I should go check on the kids.”
“Don't listen to him,” I said to Sever. “He likes playing the part of a grumpy old man. You're my husband and Prince of Twilight. You have every right to sit in on this conversation.”
“I am a grumpy oldhigh councilman,” Murdock corrected. “That is a far different beast.”
“Beast is right,” Killian said. “But not in the cool way, like Raza and me.”
Murdock snorted. “Thank God for that.”
“High CouncilmanMurdock,” I said, emphasizing his title, “can we please get an extinguishment order for this murderer?”
