Iris and Ymer came in, and Oren immediately stared at her belly.Arwell sighed.“It is a three-generational thing, dumbass.Her child is second gen, but her mother isn’t an elf, so watch your grandkids and their kids.”
Iris put her hand on her belly.“So, what is the problem?”
Arwell sipped at her coffee and shifted into her other form, her jagged ears on display, gold skin and silver eyes and hair.She smiled at Iris.“This is the result.Very stylish, no?”
Ymer stared.“A le—”
A band of duct tape smacked across his lips.
“We are a new world and are considering our very specific kind to be earth-born djinn.We are not lesser anything.”She tapped on the table with a gold nail.“Remember that, wizard.”
Iris stared and then grinned.Ymer got the tape off.Brexel grinned, and Oren snorted.
Brexel grinned.“So, there are djinn here now, and my kids had a sleepover with one?”
“Yes.He won’t activate fully until he’s twenty, so I am glad he’s in the accelerated program.”
She finished her coffee.“Don’t worry.We all specialize, just like you do.”
Brexel said, “You know we are wizards?”
“Of course.It is pretty obvious.”
The clatter of feet let her know to rise to her feet, and her ward hugged her.“Arwell!Are you okay?Is everyone okay?”
She laughed and patted his shoulder.He leaned back.“Yes, Dorn, everyone is well.No property damage.The building has to be cleaned, and one apartment and a hallway have to be renovated.The community room was beneath the apartment, so no one there got wet.”
“And the bad guy?”
“Arrested with a ton of evidence.If they don’t keep her, I will go for a visit.”
Brexel frowned.“What happened?”
Dorn explained about Dex and her family and that her mother was trying to kill her.
Iris said, “Where is Dex?”
“At home with her mates.Her mother just happened to see her walking into the apartment after getting out of a cab.”
The boys and Tamara clattered down the stairs next, and as they rounded the corner, a full buffet of the most common items took position on the counter.
Iris laughed.“Thanks, Arwell.”
“No problem.That is easy.I just assembled the ingredients and cooked them on the way into the pans.Feeding kids, I will take any advantage I can.”
Her phone started pinging aggressively, and Arwell smiled.“Excuse me, I have to be yelled at.”
Tamara looked up from the plate she was loading.“Yelled at?”
“I had a choice between arresting an arsonist or meeting my mate last night.Guess which one I picked?”She grinned.She answered Hatcher, and the call came through, so Arwell had to wait to explain what she had been doing instead of going to Ford’s place to meet with Hatcher’s mate and one of his buddies.
She held the phone away from her ear while Hatcher went apeshit.“Honey, sweetie, I am going to take care of Dorn to make sure that he knows I am safe, and if you want me to meet you and the collective somewhere for breakfast, I can do that.I have had no sleep and one cup of coffee, but I can do it.”
Hatcher spoke softly,“You can?”
“Yes, punkin.I can.In my visions, this was the date that I met him.I can either meet for breakfast or hit him with my car.The choice is yours.”
There was a pause and a soft giggle.“Do you know where Hynura is?”
