And she won’t even be wrong.
I thought I was protecting them, and it’s going to come back and bite me in the ass.
Yipee.
CHAPTER FIVE
Dalia
Ipull Seraphina to a stop and dismount beside my sisters, rubbing her neck as the stable hand rushes out to take the horses from us.
“Thanks, Tanya.” I offer the teen a quick smile as she gathers all three leads and heads toward the stables.
We’ve added them all over the island since it’s our primary mode of transportation. Since we’re on an island, there’s only so far the horses can go, but it’s a pain in the ass trying to hunt down your horse after they wander off—hence the stables.
Not that I ever have to worry about Seraphina. She never wanders off.
Neither do my sisters’ horses.
We have a stable at the cottage, but we never lock the horses in there. They roam around the area when they’re at home, returning to the stables for meals and to sleep.
They seem to sense any time we need them, because they’re always there waiting.
They’re not normal horses, but I don’t know exactly what makes them special.
They were clearly meant to be ours as they all appeared to us at once and won’t allow anyone else to ride them.
I’m not sure how we got so lucky, but I can’t say I mind all that much.
Morrigan stalks up the stairs, completely ignoring me, and I let out a sigh.
“Don’t take it too personally,” Phoebe says, her smile firmly in place as she loops her arm through mine. “You know she hates it when we keep things from her.”
“I know, but I have my reasons for not telling you.”
She nods. “Of course you do, and we’re allowed our secrets. But you know you’re going to have to tell us.”
“But do I really?” I ask, with a hint of a whine in my voice that causes her to laugh.
“Yes, really, and you know it. Come on, let’s see if everyone has arrived yet.”
I allow her to lead me up the steps, and when we walk into the town hall, we find the foyer empty. The building is really a house, but we converted it to meet our needs. It’s an older building that really stood the test of time.
With so much of the island being destroyed by the war, finding this one house close to the center seemed like a sign. It’swhere we stayed when we first came to the island, along with the first settlers—Jaeden among them.
To the right is a public area that used to be the living room and kitchen area. The kitchen is still there, along with a waiting area filled with chairs made by our very own citizens.
On the left, there are four boardrooms for meetings with the town members. Straight back past the stairs are two public restrooms.
We head up the stairs, nodding to Legos, one of the guards who works here. We rarely have to use the building, but we keep a guard there at all times just in case. We don’t keep sensitive information here, but we also don’t want to deal with any vandalism.
Sure, the citizens of Iero are good people, and our city only works because we all pitch in. But that doesn’t mean teenagers don’t get bored and cause havoc.
It’s just better to be safe than sorry.
We converted the upper level of the building into offices for each of the council members, and a large council room we use for meetings like this one. We meet once a month to go over how everything in the city is running or if there is a newcomer who wishes to join our community, but I don’t think we’ve had to call an emergency meeting like this since the founding of Iero.
I’m sure it’s putting the other councillors on edge, much like me.
