Dage’s left eyebrow rose. “It’s odd I know nothing about them. Very odd.” His puzzlement swelled through the room with a hint of the anger he’d already shown.
Mercy swallowed. She really needed to contact her people. “Listen. The Seven, who Logan will tell you all about, did not kill Enhanced women to create the shields that become their torsos. They did kill seven Cyst members, who had killed Enhanced women, in order to pervert the laws of physics and create a situation that will end the world as we know it.” She glanced at Logan. “Can I go now?”
Silence met her from every direction.
“Yes,” the king said. “Soldiers will escort you to safe quarters, while the rest of us have a little chat.”
Excellent. She did not want to be present for that talk. Nope. Not at all.
“She stays here,” Logan said evenly, definitely the calmest force in the room.
The king’s chin lowered. “Why is that?” he growled.
Logan held his hand up, palm out, showing the mark. The mating mark.
Dage’s gaze cleared, Talen’s eyes widened, and Zane leaned forward. “Bro,” he said quietly.
“Well. I guess she stays,” Dage agreed quietly.
Wonderful. Now she was totally outnumbered. She opened her mouth to argue, and Logan squeezed again. Her small huff brought a smile to the king’s face. Great. Now he was amused.
She was so going to kick Logan’s butt after this.
Chapter 29
Logan kicked back in his brother’s sprawling house in front of the lake, a beer in his hand, and an ache in his head. Mercy was in the guest shower, having all but run from him once they’d finished with the questioning session of the century. He and Zane had retired to the family room to start drinking.
One of Logan’s architectural masterpieces in building blocks was on a table in the corner. He’d built it with Hope last time he’d been in town. The thought that his brother had kept it warmed him.
Zane sucked down half his bottle. “So. The marking.”
Logan’s beer cooled his throat, if nothing else. “Yeah.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.” He took another drink.
Zane grinned. “Fair enough.” He twirled his bottle around in his thick hands. “Are you really going to do the Seven ritual?” His gaze remained on the bottle.
Logan shifted his weight on the overstuffed chair. “You going to order me not to?” Technically, he worked for the demon nation, and Zane was the boss.
Zane met his gaze. “I turned you into an adult when you were twelve years old. I can’t change that now.”
Logan sighed. His brother had to give up the guilt. “We were both kids, and we did what we had to do.” They’d become soldiers—the best. And his brother had trained him to survive. “It’s in the past, and we lived through it.”
“I don’t want to lose you.” Vulnerability, so rare to see in Zane, flashed for the quickest of seconds.
“I don’t want to be lost.” Logan forced a grin. “I can’t figure a way around the ritual. The Fae are right to be concerned, but at some point, Ulric’s world is going to burst, and he’s going to be back in this one. I know that is true—the Kurjans will make it so. I can’t let all Enhanced females, including your mate, die.”
“It’s unthinkable,” Zane muttered.
It truly was. “This is something I need to do. I’ll make it through—I always do.”
Zane rubbed his chin. “True.” He shrugged wide shoulders. “I feel like I should try and talk you out of it, but I’ve always known, somehow, that you had another calling.” He cocked his head to the side. “You and Sam.”
Logan’s ears pricked up. Family really was what mattered. He’d die to protect Zane’s mate. In a second. “Do you know what Sam’s destiny is?”
“No. Was hoping you did,” Zane said, bending sideways to open a minifridge behind him and take out two more bottles. He tossed one Logan’s way.
