Maybe three partners would be a lot of trouble, but how could I pick among these three men? They were all supportive, strong, and loving. They each had their own strengths. They were each freaking hot.
Sometimes, there would be nights like Riley was going to have tonight. But so far, it was painfully obvious the positives outweighed the negatives.
"I'm not worried," I lied. "I know we'll come up with a plan."
The core council chambers were near Alexander's office, and the room, while having a fancy name, was really just a room with a big, expensive table and a bunch of leather rolling chairs. It had a view of the courtyard and, beyond that, the ocean, which just went to show how confusing this whole building was because it was nowhere near the ocean.
Magic.
Riley and her mates were already seated when we arrived. Zander sat at the head of the table with Roan to his left and me on his right. Riley and her mates sat on the other side. The table was so large we ended up not sitting near each other.
"Welcome," Zander said. "Thank you for coming." He chuckled. "Scoot on down here if you'd like."
Cindy rushed into the room seconds later as everyone repositioned so we could talk without having to yell. "Sorry," she said breathlessly. "Laura can't be here. She's dealing with a rogue."
"Laura Bates," Roan whispered under his breath to Riley and me. "She's the new core council member for the magic users."
"Is this us?" I asked. "I thought the core council was made up of a bunch of crotchety old men who want to subjugate women and keep to the old ways."
Zander shrugged. "Maybe they didn't get my text?"
"We're here representing the Dannan," Roan said with a nod toward Zander.
"And we're here for the Supay," Anthony said with a nod to Elias. "If I'm not mistaken, the other Supay elder isn't too good with his phone."
Zander's eyes twinkled. "Is that so?"
"You don't have to worry about the Sárkány," Doryu said. "As I'm the elder who is actually supposed to be here."
"And Laura is like the opposite of a crotchety old man," Cindy said. "She's all for saving the babies, however, we have to do it. I have her full support."
"Okay, so our predicament." Zander ran down what happened with Dumadi for Cindy's benefit. Roan then said, "Now our choice is whether or not to let Dumadi see the baby, as well as whether or not to give him any freedom."
"Surely the question of the baby is up to Riley's family." Cindy looked toward my cousin.
"We are having a bit of an internal struggle with it," Riley said. "I don'twantLinna exposed to Dumadi, but I see that it is really our only chip." She nodded toward her two Supay mates. "Anthony and Elias are worried about what he might do if we let him see her, but I'm more worried about what he might do if we don't."
"It's not just about what he might do to the baby," Elias said. "It's about what he might do to Riley."
"I'm not worried about that," Riley said. "I can take care of myself."
Oops. That eye roll Elias gave Riley was what we called fightin' words. She glared at him, and he backpedaled in a hurry. "I know you can take care of yourself, but we don't truly know what he's capable of."
"Why don't we focus on what we can do?" I suggested. "His freedom."
Everyone in the room shouted the word no at once.
No, that's wrong. Everymalein the room shouted it. Riley, Cindy, and I grinned. "I don't mean literally give him freedom. But surely he can be made more comfortable? Given entertainment?"
Riley cocked her head. "You once told me the council wanted to keep me in a gilded cage."
Zander opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Riley held up one finger. "Even ifyouwere against it, the council tried to get me, did they not?"
He snapped his mouth shut and nodded glumly.
"So, in a way, that's what we're doing to Dumadi. We have him locked away with nothing to do but think about how to get out. We need to give him a reason to want to stay, or at least a comfortable imprisonment. We desperately need the information he can give us."
"I see your point," Zander said. "But I'm not sure how we can do that."
